Vikings headquarters is quiet. Coaches, players and immediate staff are enjoying a few days off on what the NFL calls the “bye” week.
Not lost on this mini-vacation is the fact that the purple are the only remaining undefeated NFL team. Five for five. No losses. 5-0.
While players have scattered for their mini-vacations until this Monday, the Vikings remain a top story. The Vikings are now dealing with the daily glare of the national spotlight.
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And the media, local and national, is devoting time to assess and break down how everything is going right for the purple. It’s clear that the Vikings’ best start since 2009 is no accident and there are many factors. The most visible is at quarterback. Bringing Sam Bradford from Philadelphia has turned out to be a stroke of genius by General Manager Rick Spielman. Add to that the Vikings have the league’s top defense, the offense still hasn’t made a turnover and Team Zimmer is adjusting to injuries without missing a beat.
The Star Tribune writes it’s been a busy 43 days for Spielman, and the Vikings GM is having his own award-winning season. In New York, forget talk about the Giants and the Jets as the hometown team. The New York Times is hyping Minnesota’s undefeated team. In Charlotte, the defending NFC champions didn’t lose their second game until Super Bowl 50. Now, with the Panthers struggling at 1-3 and already a loss to Minnesota, reporters are giving the “resilient” Vikings front page love.
Before they headed out for the “bye,” wide receiver Adam Thielan admitted “we have a lot of work to do. It’s a grind.” Head coach Mike Zimmer says the difference in this team is its “focus.”
What’s also clear is that the NFL nation is focused and tuned into the undefeated purple.
