Vikings’ Season Opener is a Must-Win And Mark Craig on Zimmer a Must Listen
Vikings Territory Breakdown Podcast
The Vikings season gets underway on Sunday at noon against the New York football Giants (I mean, c’mon, is “football” really needed there? They certainly aren’t going to play the New York baseball Giants). And for those Vikings fans looking at the season ahead (which we, the fellas at Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast—Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com—will do on the podcast), this game already amounts to a must-win for the Purple.
Too soon for must-win games? Not this year. The Vikings have a very difficult schedule (the 5th toughest on paper in the first week of the year of the season), so a win over the hapless Giants, who lost their star running back to free agency and are not entirely happy with their starting quarterback, is a win the Vikings must have, even though it is on the road.
The Vikings have their own questions coming into the season. They lost their starting QB to free agency, and their star pass rusher Danielle Hunter, as well. The quarterback of the future they traded up to draft, J.J. McCarthy, was lost for the season after half a preseason game due to a knee injury and no one is quite sure how free agent QB Sam Darnold will perform with now his fourth team in a seven-year career.
There are other new faces that fans are anxious to see: former Packer Aaron Jones in a Vikings uniform; edge rushers Jonathan Greenard and Dallas Turner in replacing Hunter; and Stephon Gilmore in the revamped secondary. The Vikings even have a new place kicker worth checking out. It is all worth getting a little fired up for.
Oh, and if you like a little spice in your podcast, tune into this one as Craig talks about his Star Tribune piece on former head coach Mike Zimmer that has everyone else talking. There was plenty of buckshot in the story and even more on the VT podcast when he talks about it. Skol!
Listen to Vikings Territory Breakdown here or on your favorite podcast network.
Mike Zimmer Goes Scorched Earth