Presser Points: Vikings Flipping Short Week in Prep for 'Aggressive' Saints Team

[Viktor]

Here are four other topics Zimmer covered during his media session:


1. Need to contain Kamara


The Vikings are preparing for a Swiss Army knife in Kamara, and they're doing so less than a week after allowing Bears running back David Montgomery to rack up 146 rushing yards and two touchdowns.


Kamara through 14 games has 165 carries for 777 yards and an impressive 10 rushing touchdowns. But he also has 80 catches for 739 yards and another five scores through the air.


"We didn't play very well against the run [against Chicago]. We didn't tackle very well," Zimmer acknowledged. "Kamara's obviously a great back. He's got really, really good feet like Dalvin [Cook]. He's hard to tackle, like Dalvin is. They use him in more variety of ways. We're just going to have to do a better job in some of the cutback and power runs than we did last week."


2. Brees won't be a breeze


The Vikings are well-acquainted with Brees, whom they'll be playing for the fifth time since the start of the 2017 season – including two playoff games in which Minnesota knocked New Orleans from the race.


Zimmer said familiarity isn't necessarily an advantage, though.


"You play [Aaron] Rodgers twice [every year]; you play [Matt] Stafford twice," he pointed out about two talented NFC North passers. "I mean, good quarterbacks are good quarterbacks. They do a great job offensively with their scheme. Drew's obviously very smart, very productive. I think he does a great job."


The Saints Week 15 loss to the Chiefs was Brees' first game back from a rib injury and collapsed lung that he suffered in Week 10.


"He [still] looked like Drew Brees to me. He hit a deep ball. He's probably – I don't know, you'd have to ask him how he [felt] starting out," Zimmer said. "But the Chiefs are a good defensive team, as well. They probably had some new wrinkles for him initially."