Viktor
Well-known member
- Mar 19, 2019
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EAGAN, Minn. – Most years, rookies get their feet wet in the NFL over the course of four preseason games.
But in the case of 2020 and the cancellation of exhibition games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was sink or swim in Week 1.
Talk about a tough first test for Minnesota's young cornerbacks group in Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. The Vikings defense struggled to put any pressure on the future Hall of Famer, which Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer attributed partially to quick passes.
"Most of the time the ball was out in two-and-a-half seconds. They quick-counted us one time on third down, caught us in a couple man-coverage things where they had pick routes. There were some of those situations, too," Zimmer told Twin Cities media members on Monday. "But he was getting the ball out pretty quick a lot of times, unless he got out of the pocket or unless it was maximum protection."
It's also fair to say that there may be some growing pains for young corners, whether that be second- or third-year players with limited experience or 2020 draft picks Jeff Gladney and Cam Dantzler.
"We still have to work technique and things like that, and there were some issues where they should have been in a different alignment than they were," Zimmer said. "Those kinds of things will show up as we continue to move forward. But I can do a better job with them, for sure."
There's one game down and 15 to go in the regular season, so there's no choice but to keep moving forward. Asked how the quick turnaround changes the teaching process with young defensive backs, Zimmer said, "You just stick with it."
"You just kind of keep going and keep trying to harp on them to do their best and iron out the little mistakes that they did make," Zimmer explained. "Again, it gets back to technique a lot of times and then alignments, making sure you're in the proper alignment and [using] the proper hand placement. But it's good to find out where we were and where we have to go from there."