Vikings Daily Digest: Spielman Describes Team’s Mindset as Camp Opens

Viktor

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Mar 19, 2019
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The Vikings defense has been among the NFL’s top units for multiple seasons in a row, while Minnesota’s offense has the potential to breakout with skill players abound, the offensive line improved and fresh ideas on the coaching staff.


More than three dozen players featuring rookies, quarterbacks and select veterans reported to camp Monday, while the rest of the team reports Thursday. The first full-team practice, and first one open to the public, will be held Friday.


Even though training camp is in its infancy in 2019, Spielman said he was excited to watch multiple position battles and added he expects numerous difficult decisions when the team has to trim the roster to 53 players the weekend before the season opener.


“Depending on where we’re at, the cornerback position’s going to be very deep, I think the defensive line is going to be very deep, there’s going to be a lot of great competition there,” Spielman said. “I think with some of the offensive linemen and some of the rookies coming in, how quickly they can adapt compared to some of the vets we have up front.


“And I think the quarterback position will be critical behind Kirk [Cousins], between the three we have backing him up and who that will be. We’ve been impressed with [Sean] Mannion and [Kyle] Sloter and with [Jake] Browning,” Spielman added. “They all had great offseasons, so that will be a fun competition to watch when we get going.”


The Vikings have made five postseason appearances, including a pair of trips to NFC title games, in Spielman’s tenure in Minnesota.


And although the 2018 season was marred by frustrations and inconsistencies, the road to a potential deep playoff run in 2019 starts now for the Vikings.


“I don’t know that it’s different than any other year,” Spielman said of managing expectations. “If you come into a season without a sense of urgency, then you’re probably in the wrong business.


“Every year, if you talk to 31 other teams in these opening press conferences, everyone expects to go out there and win a championship, or else you shouldn’t be in this business. Expectations are there every year,” Spielman said. “I know last year was disappointing from where we thought we were and where we ended up. I know we did a lot of things to try to correct those areas and address them during the offseason. I think we’ve accomplished that so far, but a lot of that will be determined as we head into training camp.”


Quote of the Day


“We’ve moved on from last year. Every year’s a new year, so it’s time to move on and go from there. We talked about things we need to do better this spring, but now it’s all about moving forward, where we have to go and how we have to approach things to get there.”


— Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer


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