Mike Zimmer was fed up with players jumping offsides so he made a decision, 10 pushups for the team, the entire team. Below is Mark Craig's account of the situation:
Vikings fans flexed some of their football intelligence muscles Tuesday when the loudest cheer of the afternoon practice applauded coach Mike Zimmer's decision to make every player on the field and the sideline drop to the ground and do pushups after a string of offsides penalties.
It wasn't a terribly sloppy practice, but the team clearly isn't as sharp as it was at the start of camp. Part of that is the natural progression of training camp. Part of it is the daily installation of new portions of the offensive and defensive schemes. And part of it is, well, it's just time to play a darn game.
Zimmer was asked if he thought about dropping to the ground and joining his players in what looked to be 10 or 20 pushups.
"I probably should have," he said.
Asked if that's something he pre-planned, Zimmer said, "It wasn't pre-planned. It was spur of the moment."
The pushup punishment came after defensive end Everson Griffen jumped offsides.
"The period before, a couple of guys jumped offsides," Zimmer said. "So I got tired of it."
10 pushups aren't the toughest thing, but it symbolizes Zimmer's style. He won't accept making the same mistakes repeatedly. It will be interesting to keep an eye on what he has up his sleeve if and when it happens again.
Adrien Peterson, who hasn't carried the ball in a preseason game the past two years, is sitting out Friday's contest against the Oakland Raiders according to Head Coach Mike Zimmer. Brian Hall of FOX Sports North recalls the conversations with Zimmer and Peterson:
Zimmer said Peterson won't play when Minnesota begins the preseason at home against the Oakland Raiders. The Vikings will be opening their first full year playing at TCF Bank Stadium while the team's new $1 billion facility is built on the footprint of the old Metrodome.
Zimmer said the rest of the team's starters will see action, but it won't include the star running back.
It's exciting because the season's starting to kick off," Peterson said Tuesday. "It'll be good to see the young guys out there in some live situations."
Peterson wouldn't mind seeing some action in the preseason, however, as he adjusts to the new offensive system being installed by coordinator Norv Turner.
"It all depends on how I'm feeling," Peterson said. "I haven't played a preseason game in two or three years, so we'll see. With the new offense, I might want to go out there and get a few plays in, but I'll sit down with Zimmer and see what he thinks."
It is not breaking news that Peterson will be sitting out the preseason matchup on Friday. Peterson has been looking very AD-like during training camp so there is no need to worry about the eight-year veteran having any rust going forward.
Quick Hitters
- Star Tribune's Matt Vensel's opinion on the recently released Vikings unofficial depth chart.
- ESPN's Kevin Seifert visited Vikings camp yesterday and wrote on Offensive Coordinator Norv Turner's thoughts on coaching from the booth.
