Archives for October 2014

‘”Just trusting what my eyes see and not over-thinking,” Spiller said. “That’s been the biggest thing on my end, just over-thinking it too much instead of going back to that little kid in the backyard, playing with his friends and having fun. I put so much pressure on it. It has nothing to do with this being the final year of my contract, it’s just over-thinking and trying to make that play when I should have just taken what they’re giving us when I should have just kept us out of the negative plays.”‘

‘”I was very surprised,” Watkins said. “He’s a great athlete. He’s getting paid all that money and he’s not playing. I feel like anybody would feel the same way whether it’s coach, player, anybody. That’s just the nature of the game. Guys want to be on the field, guys want to make plays. He’s one of those guys that want to be on the field and he has the ability to make any play.”‘

‘”It’s always been team first, and I’m pretty sure (Marrone)’s telling you that’s how I’ve been the whole time. It’s just my agent wanted to see other options, doing what an agent is supposed to do. When I go through practice all week and I find out Saturday I’m not playing, it’s a big shock to everybody. Nobody really knows. He just did his job, and I’m still here in my hometown playing for the team I wanted to play for.”‘

‘The Bills were also without wide receiver Marcus Easley and linebacker Ty Powell on Wednesday. Safety Aaron Williams was back on the field but had his wrist heavily wrapped. He is dealing with both neck and wrist injuries.’

‘No one needs to be reminded what those phrases mean and the painful moments of which we’re reminded. The funny thing is, how many of us wore those phrases on t-shirts or sported them on bumper stickers on our cars? Yet when a yoga pants store chooses to localize its shop with those phrases, we then decide to get our underwear in a bunch?’

Vikings nose tackle Joseph fights against his own instinct (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Vikings giving up too much too early (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Kalil could be Spielman’s biggest Vikings draft bust (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Bills could exacerbate Vikings’ turnover, sack issues (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Scouting report: Vikings at Buffalo (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Job one for Vikings: Make sure Teddy Bridgewater survives, analysts say (Saint Paul Pioneer Press)

Another major challenge for struggling offensive line (Saint Paul Pioneer Press)

Defense knows it needs to show up on time for kickoff (Saint Paul Pioneer Press)

Matt Asiata can expect more playing time this week (Saint Paul Pioneer Press)

Bills rookie Sammy Watkins coming off first so-so performance (Saint Paul Pioneer Press)

Chad Greenway appears ready to return (Saint Paul Pioneer Press)

Bridgewater shoulders blame for Vikings’ offensive struggles (Fox Sports North)

Tale Of The Tape: Minnesota Vikings At Buffalo Bills (WCCO-TV)

Bridgewater has chance to be part of solution on and off field (KSTP-AM)

Teddy Bridgewater takes blame for sacks that Zimmer calls ‘team issue’ (KSTP-AM)

Injury report: Chad Greenway practices fully, Price and Hodges sit out (KSTP-AM)

Vikings WRs struggling to make an impact on field (AP)

Vikings have to protect to improve on offense (The Sports Xchange)

Bridgewater Applying Lessons Learned (Vikings.com)

5 Vikings-Bills Storylines to Watch (Vikings.com)

Practice Roundup 10/15: Vikings Seek Consistency (Vikings.com)

Zimmer, Bridgewater Address The Media (Vikings.com)

‘”I had to tell him, ‘I don’t want to be traded,'” Williams said following practice. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to tell him, ‘I’m the boss, and I want to be here.’ So that’s what I had to do.”‘

”’It’s not one individual,” coach Doug Marrone said. ”It’s easy when it’s one individual. You just put one out and put somebody else in. But it’s up front, it’s hitting the holes, it’s believing and trusting the scheme.”’

‘”I’m not off to the best start in my career, but I still have all the confidence in the world that I’ll be where I want to be when the smoke clears,” Spiller said.’

‘”Yeah, I had to because it started getting out of hand. He was trying to see other options but then it got public, and everybody found out and everybody started going crazy,” the wideout remarked. “So I had to tell him, like, I don’t want to be traded. I told him that. You’re right, at the end of the day you’ve got to tell him, like, I’m the boss and I want to be here. So that’s what I had to do.”‘

‘”I knew about it last week. He had something come up that was personal for him, so I excused him,” head coach Doug Marrone said. “It’s nothing related to anything that has to do with him. It’s family.”‘

‘”It’s going to be exciting,” said Brown, Buffalo’s leading tackler through six games. “Just looking over there I know he’s going to be smiling and laughing. We always had that fun where we’d be talking to each other so it’d be fun to see him out there.”‘

‘Of the 10 penalties against the Bills, a legitimate beef could be raised on five of them. In the first quarter, defensive end Jerry Hughes was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after congratulating teammate Ty Powell with a couple slaps to the helmet.’

‘In last Sunday’s Buffalo vs. New England game, 22 penalties were called, counting ones that were offsetting or declined. That’s a lot of watching people loiter and scratch as the rule book is interpreted to the standard for the day. Toss in an average of 20 commercial breaks, and is it any wonder it’s possible to hit the concession stand or do some yard work and hardly miss a thing?’