Colquitt's Muscle Tanks Part of Vikings Bond Building

[Viktor]

When Mike Zimmer was hired as head coach in 2014, he promptly requested a temporary room of platforms, chairs, tables and pipe-and-drape to be constructed around a pop-up video screen in the field house so that the entire team could meet together. Previous days of large meetings at Winter Park involved players spilling into a weight room and peering their heads around the doorway to hear what was being said.


Zimmer wanted the ability to look each of his players in the eye. He still can, but facial expressions are hidden, and there are limits on how many players he can meet with in-person. Meetings with the entire team are virtual affairs.


Although the coach would prefer face-to-face (even if masked) over screen-to-screen interactions, he mentioned that he opens or ends most meetings with a reminder "about what is going on in the world and what we have to do in order to be successful with this season, with not just playing, but being good and winning."


He volunteered that he caught himself before leaving his office without his mask and doubled back to stay in compliance.


"I think it's just getting used to the newness of everything. It's honestly no different from when we moved from Winter Park over here, we had to figure out where everything was and what to do and how to do it. We're still trying to do that now in a different setting," Zimmer said. "But it's like we've told the players, 'It's a new world for us, too.' So we're going to do our very best to keep them safe and then move forward."


It's safe to say that each player's accountability to teammates and the virtue of, "Do your job so the person next to you can do his," are being stressed by Zimmer.


Mastering and executing Xs and Os certainly are important for sure, but team camaraderie and connectedness are also valuable in a sport that is about overcoming obstacles and adversities.


Co-Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach Adam Zimmer described the fast-tracking on getting-to-know-you process that naturally occurs in a normally immersive training camp.


"Some of the guys, I'm just seeing their faces for the first time — and only half their faces, because there's a mask — so yeah, when you're on the sideline you've got to try to talk to people and get to know them," he said. "Usually by now we know the rookies really well or the new faces really well, but that's something to it, learning their personalities, learning how they react to coaching, learning how they tick, and that's something we're constantly spending time with, and I think the position coaches have a better feel for the certain positions than some of the other coaches, so those coaches are going to have to lean on the other position coaches, and we have great coaches to do that."


Adam Thielen has played in 90 games for the Vikings. The only game-day overlap he has with other Vikings receivers is with Bisi Johnson (10 games), Chad Beebe (six games) and Alexander Hollins (two games). Thielen described the importance of on-field communication and fostering relationships.


"I think when you have good relationships, when you're able to communicate, talk about maybe tough subjects, things like that, you're able to play a little harder for one another when you're on the field on game days in a tough environment, when things are maybe up against the wall and things aren't just perfect," Thielen said. "So yeah, again, when you have a good relationship, when you're able to spend time and build that relationship with a receiver, it just makes it easier on game day to be able to play for one another, to have each other's back and to fight for each other."


Cousins said "one of the biggest challenges" of the offseason was not getting to connect with teammates and coaches for "the social aspect."


"Great to see everybody again and get back to some sense of normalcy with our job," Cousins said. "It's been a really productive first week-and-a-half, two weeks, and certainly a different beginning to August than what we're used to, but it has been effective, and I think it's given young players a great chance to learn the system and get their base before we were to go full speed in practice. It's been a pretty smooth transition with the protocols related to COVID, and I think that's been a real positive. It's kind of a new normal. Right now, we're just kind of stacking bricks and hopefully building the foundation for an outstanding 2020 season."