Tag: Minnesota Vikings

Stefon Diggs is investigating Lizzo’s mysterious Vikings reference on ‘Truth Hurts’

Who is the “new man on the Minnesota Vikings”?

It’s a question that’s on everyone’s minds after listening to Lizzo’s hit, Truth Hurts.

Who IS the “new man on the Minnesota Vikings”?

That’s also something Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs is wondering. And he says he’s not the anonymous player mentioned by the singer.

On Thursday, Diggs was asked by Sports Illustrated if he knows who the player is and he responded, “Nobody has come forth and said anything. … I’ve asked my teammates, nobody has said anything. But we’re going to get to the bottom of it, I promise.”

Stefon Diggs is on the case!! But maybe we’ve already found out some info about the player?

First, here’s the moment with SI Now:

As BET.com pointed out, Lizzo has confirmed a Viking was in her DMs and she went out a date with him (it’s also worth noting the song was released in 2017, so it could be a Viking who’s no longer with the team). And in May, the singer performed in her native Detroit and, per the Free Press, this happened:

With her 2017 single “Truth Hurts” now bounding onto the charts thanks to the Netflix movie “Someone Great,” the singer offered up a tidbit about the “boy problems” referenced on the track.

“Y’all want to know a secret?” she told the Saint Andrew’s crowd. “The person I wrote that song about is from Detroit.”

Now, that could mean the Viking is a Detroit native … but what if the song is about two men, one of whom is the new one who played for the Vikings? And maybe the Detroit guy isn’t him?

The mystery continues … but maybe Diggs will figure it out.

[jwplayer FWUuPAAw-q2aasYxh]

Former Vikings coach Bud Grant nominated for NFL 100 All-Time Team

Former Vikings coach Bud Grant is one of 20 coaches nominated to make NFL’s 100 All-Time Team. Ten coaches will make the cut. Grant coached from 1967 to 1985, all with the Vikings. He amassed a 158-96-5 record, making the postseason 12 times and the …

Former Vikings coach Bud Grant is one of 20 coaches nominated to make NFL’s 100 All-Time Team.

Ten coaches will make the cut.

Grant coached from 1967 to 1985, all with the Vikings. He amassed a 158-96-5 record, making the postseason 12 times and the Super Bowl four times. Unfortunately, he and the Vikings were 0-4 in those games.

Grant ranks 17th all-time in wins and eighth in total playoff games.

Every Friday night at 8 pm ET through Dec. 27, NFL Network will announce the latest members of the All-Time Team during a one-hour special hosted by Rich Eisen and featuring Bill Belichick and Cris Collinsworth.

Gary Kubiak on Kevin Stefanski: ‘Kevin’s got a brilliant future’

The Vikings have teamed up offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski and offensive advisor Gary Kubiak in 2019 and so far, so good.

The Vikings have teamed up offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski and offensive advisor Gary Kubiak in 2019 and so far, so good.

Through 11 games, the Vikings rank eighth in points and ninth in yards.

There were some questions on whether or not these two would fit together or if Stefanski would feel threatened, but it feels like it’s going about as good as it could go.

Stefanksi was a candidate for the Cleveland Browns head coach job this offseason, which shows how highly thought of Stefanski is around the league.

Spoiler alert: Cleveland probably should have hired Stefanski.

Kubiak addressed Stefanski perhaps being a head coach candidate again this coming offseason.

“I think Kevin’s got a brilliant future,” Kubiak said earlier this week. “The key to getting in position to do those type of things is calling games, calling defenses, calling offenses, making decisions, handling a meeting room of a bunch of players, being able to get the most out of not only players, but coaches as well. Kevin’s been exceptional and this is a great opportunity for him this year to do it in a full-time basis. He’s doing a great job with it.”

If the Vikings continue to have success, there’s a good chance we’ll hear Stefanski’s name floating around head coaching vacancies.

Adrian Peterson named a finalist for NFL’s All-Time Team

Peterson has 13,834 rushing yards in his career to go with 107 touchdowns and is still playing with the Washington Redskins.

The folks over at NFL.com are putting together 12 running backs to be named to NFL’s All-Time Team to celebrate the league’s 100th season.

The list has been narrowed to 24 names and Adrian Peterson is on that list.

Peterson has 13,834 rushing yards in his career to go with 107 touchdowns. He’s currently in his second season with the Redskins.

He’ll be remembered mostly for his 10 seasons with the Vikings in which he ran for 11,747 yards and 97 touchdowns to go with six Pro Bowls, four All-Pro appearances and the 2012 NFL MVP Award.

Peterson ranks sixth all-time in career rushing yards behind Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Frank Gore and Curtis Martin. Peterson needs just 268 rushing yards to pass Martin to move into the top five.

Peterson is the only active player on the list of 24 running backs.

The 12 running backs on the All-Time Team will be revealed this Friday at 8 p.m. ET on NFL Network.

Vikings QB Kirk Cousins nominated for FedEx Air Player of the Week

Couins threw for 319 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions in a Week 11 comeback win over the Broncos.

After throwing for 319 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions in a Week 11 comeback win over the Broncos, Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has been dominated for the FedEx Air Player of the Week award.

It’s Cousins’ fourth 300-yard game of the season and also his fourth game with three or more touchdowns.

On the season, Cousins has thrown for 2,756 yards and 21 touchdowns.

Cousins is going up against Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott and San Francisco quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.

Prescott is coming off a 444-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Lions, while Garappolo is coming off a 424-yard, four-touchdown performance against the Cardinals.

It feels like Cousins might be the underdog, but you can vote for him here.

Vikings offense set to get star receiver back at the right time 

Adam Thielen injured his hamstring in Week 7 while scoring a touchdown against the Detroit Lions.

The bye week is here for the Minnesota Vikings, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The team has won six of their last seven games, and four of their last five without their star receiver.

Adam Thielen injured his hamstring while scoring a touchdown against the Detroit Lions in Week 7, and tried to come back too early against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9. The Vikings have played well without Thielen, but there have been moments his absence has limited the offense. 

During the recording of Under Center on Monday Morning with Kirk Cousins and Mark Rosen, Cousins said the team will be getting its receiver back when the team travels to Seattle. 

While Thielen has been a go-to target for Cousins, and proven that he is a top ten receiver in the NFL, other names have stepped up in his absence. 

The Vikings wouldn’t be sitting at 8-3 if it wasn’t for the recent explosion of the tight end position. Both Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr. have made big play after big play. Bisi Johnson has proven he is a legitimate third wide receiver and Stefon Diggs has continued to gash defenses with his elite route running. The pass catching group has proven that they can hold their own, even without one of the leagues best over the last five weeks. 

Not only did the receivers prove they have more depth than originally believed, but the running back tandem of Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison have proven that they are one of the top one-two punches in the league. The two have combined for 1, 411 yards, providing one of the most balanced attacks in the NFL. 

Adding Thielen back into this mix, alongside a quarterback that has entered the MVP conversation, is a recipe for even more success for the Vikings offense. In the Mike Zimmer era, the team has prided itself of a strong defense. The defense will need to continue to improve, but it looks as if the offense is the strong suit to the 2019 Vikings.

Vikings take S Antoine Winfield Jr. in 2nd round of mock draft

Winfield Jr. already has seven interceptions in 2019.

The Vikings have a bye in Week 12.

What a better thing to talk about than the upcoming 2020 NFL Draft?!

Our friend Luke Easterling put together a three-round mock draft this week.

With the No. 24 pick, he has the Vikings taking Alabama offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood.

And then with their second-round pick, the Vikings take University of Minnesota safety Antoine Winfield Jr.

Of course, this is the son of former Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield. Winfield spent 2004-12 with the Vikings.

The younger Winfield has been an absolute ballhawk for the Gophers, intercepting seven passes in 2019. It’s worth noting that he still has two more years of eligibility remaining after being granted medical redshirts for the last two years.

With Anthony Harris set to be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, and Winfield’s projection to play both safety and cornerback, this seems like it would be a good fit.

With Minnesota’s third-round pick, the Vikings select Utah defensive tackle Leki Fotu.

Vikings were one of the teams to attend Colin Kaepernick’s scheduled workout

We’ll see if Kaepernick, who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016, gets another opportunity in the league before the 2020 season.

It was quite the Saturday for Colin Kaepernick and NFL scouts on Saturday.

Kaepernick was supposed to have his kind of weirdly scheduled workout at the Atlanta Falcons training facility. Instead, Kaepernick’s team moved the workout about an hour away after a few disagreements between his team and the NFL surrounding the language in the workout contract.

On Tuesday, Vikings GM Rick Spielman told reporters that the Vikings were one of the teams at the scheduled workout, but wouldn’t say whether or not they attended the workout once it moved, per Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune.

With the Vikings specifically, they aren’t in the market for a starting quarterback, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to watch Kaepernick to see if he’s a potential backup fit behind Kirk Cousins.

We’ll see if Kaepernick, who hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016, gets another opportunity in the league before the 2020 season.

Vikings down a spot in power rankings

With Minnesota’s 27-23 comeback win over the Broncos on Sunday, the Vikings moved to 8-3 on the season. And with that, the Vikings somehow moved down on USA TODAY’s power rankings from seventh to eighth. I understand the Broncos aren’t a good team, …

With Minnesota’s 27-23 comeback win over the Broncos on Sunday, the Vikings moved to 8-3 on the season.

And with that, the Vikings somehow moved down on USA TODAY’s power rankings from seventh to eighth.

I understand the Broncos aren’t a good team, but it feels weird to move back a spot after a win.

The Seahawks had a bye week and somehow moved up from fifth to fourth.

The Vikings have a bye week in Week 12 and will face off against those Seahawks on Monday Night Football in Week 13.

To round out the NFC North, the Packers rank sixth, the Bears rank 23rd and the Lions rank 28th.

Kirk Cousins deserves his name in the MVP talks 

Leading up to Week 11 of the NFL season, ESPN and their NFL experts came up with a top five MVP watch list. Over the last few weeks, two names have emerged as front runners for the MVP award. Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson have both been playing …

Leading up to Week 11 of the NFL season, ESPN and their NFL experts came up with a top five MVP watch list. Over the last few weeks, two names have emerged as front runners for the MVP award. 

Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson have both been playing MVP worthy football, and as of right now it looks like one of them will end up winning the honors. However, ESPN included five different names in their watch list. 

After the Sunday slate of games in Week 11, ESPN also released the current MVP odds.

All of the names listed above have been having an outstanding season thus far, but Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins needs to be added to the list. 

Through 11 games this season, Cousins has completed 226 of his 320 passes for 2,756 yards and 21 touchdowns. He has also completed over 70 percent of his passes with a passer rating of 114.8, while only throwing three interceptions all season. 

Cousins numbers stack up right with his NFC North rival Aaron Rodgers, who made ESPN’s list of MVP candidates.

Rodgers has played one less game than Cousins, but their numbers are extremely similar. Through 10 games, Rodgers has completed 225 of his 347 passes for 2,718 yards and 17 touchdowns. Where Cousins edges out Rodgers is with his completion percentage and passer rating. Rodgers has completed nearly 65 percent of his passes with a rating of 102.7.

Rodgers has already won the MVP twice, and been an elite talent in the league since he took over the starting duties in Green Bay. However that shouldn’t negate the fact that Cousins has played just as well as him not only in 2019, but since he arrived in Minnesota. 

The Vikings are coming off a 27-23 victory over the Denver Broncos, a game in which Cousins proved he was worth every penny of his $84 million contract. After a disappointing start to the game, the Vikings found themselves in a 20-0 hole at halftime. They started the third quarter in a hurry, coming out in a two-minute offense and scoring on the first drive. 

After his first touchdown to Irv Smith Jr., Cousins didn’t look back. He finished off the 27 point comeback by completing 18 of his 23 attempts for 261 yards and 3 touchdowns and helped his team find the end zone on every drive in the second half. He did all of this against a great defense, with almost no help from the run game and without his No. 1 receiver in Adam Thielen. 

In back-to-back weeks, Cousins has now won on the road against a team with a winning record, won a primetime game and completely carried his team to a comeback that’s more impressive than any in the last 40 years.

It’s time for the narratives on the Vikings’ quarterback to change. Cousins has beaten every single narrative he has been given in his career in 2019, and has shown no signs of slowing down. When he arrived in Minnesota, one of his biggest concerns was how often he turns the ball over. 

In his last 177 pass attempts, Cousins has not thrown an interception, a stat that leads all quarterbacks in the NFL. It should also be noted that the last interception he threw was a ball that slipped between the hands of Stefon Diggs, so the streak could be even longer. 

Not only has he limited the interceptions, but he is also making some insane throws. Head coach Mike Zimmer talked about how impressive the Broncos game was for Cousins in his press conference on Monday. 

 

Cousins has had his ups and downs in Minnesota, but statistically speaking he is on pace to not only have a great season, but also have one of the best seasons in Vikings history. It is time to negate the narratives that hang over Cousins head, and put his name alongside the other candidates for MVP of the 2019 season.