Rashod Hill says he’ll be more prepared to play left tackle on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals than he was in last week’s 31-24 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, N.C.
The Vikings are hoping it won’t matter.
Coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday he hopes to have his entire starting line back for Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium. If he does, it would be the first time since a 20-17 victory at Chicago on Oct. 9.
“I feel pretty good,” Zimmer said. “I think we’re going to get all of them back this week.”
That includes right tackle Mike Remmers, who has missed five straight games because of a concussion, and later a back issue, and rookie center Pat Elflein, who last week missed his first game as an NFL player because of a shoulder injury.
http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/13/vik...-together/

Felton, 31, spent the 2015 and 2016 seasons with Buffalo but was not re-signed as a free agent. He said it’s difficult for a veteran fullback to get a job considering many teams now are playing without one and utilizing a second tight end for blocking.
“A lot has to do with the quarterbacks coming out of college; they run that scheme,” Felton said. “And sometimes offensive coordinators want to be the latest, greatest in new inventions, and they think they have to do a bunch of crazy stuff to operate on offense.”Felton made the Pro Bowl after a 2012 season in which he helped pave the way for Peterson to rush for 2,097 yards and win NFL MVP honors. He also was a Pro Bowl alternate with Minnesota in 2014 and with the Bills last season.
“That would be my best memory football-wise,” Felton said of the 2012 season. “We made the playoffs and I made the Pro Bowl, and Adrian and I were friends and we really worked well together.
“But also blocking for LeSean (McCoy of the Bills) for two years is a great memory. I think he’s a future hall of famer. I will tell my grandkids that I blocked for two of the best running backs to play the game.”
http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/14/for...to-retire/

Zulgad: Vikings have chance to do something special in league filled with flawed teamsThe Vikings’ loss Sunday at Carolina ended their eight-game winning streak and served as a reminder that this is a team with flaws. The Vikings, however, weren’t the only team to get this reminder in Week 14.
The New England Patriots also had their eight-game winning streak with a seven-point loss on Monday night in Miami. The Los Angeles Rams missed on an opportunity to get their 10th victory, losing 43-35 against Philadelphia.

The Eagles improved to an NFC-best 11-2 with the win, but suffered a potentially devastating blow in the second half when star quarterback Carson Wentz suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
A few weeks ago, the assumption was the Eagles might be the biggest roadblock in the Vikings’ quest to become the first team to play host to a Super Bowl. Now, the Eagles are going to have to hope that veteran Nick Foles can pick up where Wentz left off.
So who is the class of the NFC? That is the thing about the conference and the NFL as a whole.
There are quality teams – the Vikings being among them – but there is no team you fear. There is no club you look at and say, “Well, once you get to that club, it’s likely over.”
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2017/1...wed-teams/

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Vikings have been on the road for almost a month. Head coach Mike Zimmer said it felt more like two.
The last time the Vikings took the field at U.S. Bank Stadium was Nov. 19, and after a 2-1 road trip, they’ll finally get a chance to play in front of their fans this Sunday. Zimmer and starting QB Case Keenum said that they’re counting on some assistance from the lungs of the screaming purple faithful.

“I think the big difference is the crowd,” Keenum said during his weekly address with the media. “Being at home, our defense plays so well — all the time, but the crowd makes  a difference. And I think our crowd makes a big difference.
“We need them to come out and be loud and crazy, and then shut up when we’re on offense, and then go crazy when we score. We’re excited to be back home and I think it’s going to be a great day,” he said,
I haven’t covered the Vikings as much this year as in the past. But Keenum’s plea sounded a whole lot different to me than when former offensive lineman Alex Boone asked the crowd for a similar courtesy. Keenum said it with a wink and a smile. Boone said it with an expletive, as a command.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2017/1...ns-sunday/

http://www.startribune.com/former-vikings-offensive-coordinator-norv-turner-co-wrote-a-country-song/463707743/

Former Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner co-wrote a country song along with former coach Steve Mariucci’s son, Stephen Ray Mariucci, called “Things I’ve Never Done.”

Would you like some sample lyrics? Sure you would. Here we go:
"Life looking back in hindsight
Tell me where’d you go
And what if you had 20/20 vision looking back growing old
You don’t want to be sayin’ anytime down the road
you wish you did this, wish you did that"
I’m not sure if that’s the part Norv wrote, but it sure reads like it could be a direct reflection on the 2016 Vikings season, during which he resigned halfway through.

LMAO.

A rival owner described the feel in the room at the winter league meetings, re: Jerry Jones: “He got his ass spanked.”
https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/12/14/jerry-...gn=themmqb&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

I'd rather have a healthy Bradford over Keenum or Bridgewater. Are his days here or a QB anywhere over?

That dude has dropped off the face of the planet. It's like a mafia snubbing. 

What any contending team in the NFL comes to appreciate on the offensive line is a reliable utility man. And at 6-6, 310-pounds, Jeremiah Sirles can play both guards and tackles.There are two NFL changes in the 21st Century that continue to surprise: the need teams feel to rush young quarterbacks into the lineup, and the injuries that tear apart most every offensive line during the course of a season.
For decades, even the best of quarterback prospects generally had to be taught the pro game for a couple of seasons before they were anointed as a starter. As recently as 1999, Vikings coach Dennis Green spent the offseason looking for a veteran option before he finally gave the job to Daunte Culpepper, who had played not at all as the No. 11 overall pick in 1998.
Now, we have teams allowing overmatched rookies such as DeShone Kizer and Nathan Peterman to be humiliated by making starts.
The decimation of offensive lines is more startling. The Vikings joined the NFL in 1961, and for decades it seemed that the groups least affected by injuries here and around the league were offensive lines.
http://www.startribune.com/four-position...464028493/

Last month, Mike Zimmer and Marvin Lewis hung out together at Zimmer’s ranch in northern Kentucky. On Sunday, the two good friends will meet for the first time in the regular season as opposing head coaches.
Zimmer is in his fourth season with the Vikings after spending six years as Lewis’ defensive coordinator in Cincinnati. They will be all business when their teams face off at U.S. Bank Stadium, but the two took time Wednesday to reflect on their friendship.
“I love Marvin Lewis,” Zimmer said. “He’s an unbelievable person, great guy. Heck of a football coach. He’s done tremendous things there in Cincinnati. It happens. You get a chance to play your friends and people who you used to work with. This is a game of I see numbers, not faces.”
It’s awkward timing for Zimmer to go against the Bengals, who are 5-8, creating plenty of speculation that Lewis will be out as coach after 15 seasons.

Lewis is 123-111-3 and has won four AFC North titles. But the Bengals are 0-7 in the playoffs during his tenure, and they are assured of a second straight non-winning season.

“He’s had success,” Zimmer said. “When he first started, they weren’t very good. He got them to (the playoffs seven times). I think he’s a heck of a coach. He does unbelievable things in the community. … In my opinion, he should be able to stay there as long as he wants.”
http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/13/vik...d-friends/