Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has already offered up compliments for Broncos future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, but Manning is equally aware of Zimmer’s impact on the NFL.
According to Ben Goessling of ESPN, Manning said players in the NFL refer to defensive philosophies employed by the Vikings, Bengals, Dolphins and other teams as the “Zimmer defense.”
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Zimmer is in his second season with the Vikings. The early results of his defense have shown dramatic improvement in the secondary and a scoring defense that ranks third in the league entering Week 4.
Minnesota’s run defense ranks 24th in the league, but that’s because they let the 49ers and Carlos Hyde gash them for 230 yards in Week 1. They allowed just 38 yards to the Lions and 90 to the Chargers the last two weeks, ESPN notes.
Earlier this week, Zimmer said Manning, despite being 39 years old, doesn’t look like he’s slowed down at all.
“He’s really tough, he’s really, really tough,” Zimmer said, via the Denver Post. “The Hall of Fame quarterbacks are always really tough, it doesn’t matter who it is, but he’s extremely tough to go against, he’s tough to beat, you’ve got to be on top of your game. He’s a great competitor, so it’s a big challenge.”
“If you make a mistake, he’s going to find it,” Zimmer added, via Vikings.com.
Manning’s counterpart, Teddy Bridgewater, compared a game against Manning to a “chess match,” the Pioneer Press notes.
