EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. –While 24 NFL teams are taking the field today, the Vikings have a mid-week mentality as they prepare to face the 10-1 Cowboys on Thursday Night Football.
Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer said Sunday that Dallas is an excellent football team.
"Offensively, they're extremely explosive, averaging 28 points a game," Zimmer told Twin Cities media members. "Excellent offensive line, best linemen in football. The back [Ezekiel Elliott] is going to be really a super player – he's really, really good. And the quarterback [Dak Prescott] is playing well.
"Defensively, they play really hard, tough, aggressive, and they're good in special teams," Zimmer added. "We'll need the crowd to help us this week, and we look forward to getting back to U.S. Bank Stadium."
Quarterback Kyle Rudolph told media members that, while there's a sense of frustration in the locker room after losing five of the past six games, he believes that the Vikings continue to maintain a competitive and positive mindset.
Bradford said there's a lot that can happen between now and the end of the season.
"All we can worry about is going out there and beating Dallas this week – taking it from there, taking it one week at a time," Bradford said. "But I think there's still a lot ahead of this football team."
Below are additional topics covered by Zimmer and Bradford during their podium sessions:
Zimmer on multiple injuries throughout the season
The Vikings have been hit by a barrage of injuries throughout the 2016 season, especially to the offensive line.
When asked if the injuries could be related to the team's training regimen, Zimmer said he doesn't believe there's any connection between the two.
"After the season, obviously, we're going to sit down and look at everything, look at that part of it," Zimmer said. "We're going to look at why guys got hurt, how they got hurt, where they got hurt, but at this point, it's just football things.
"We've obviously tried to put our finger on a lot of that, but we're not getting guys hurt in the weight room," he added. "Most every one of them have been on the field or during the games or something like that."
Zimmer on Ezekiel Elliott
In looking over the Cowboys game film in preparation for Thursday, Zimmer said Elliott is "one of the better backs" he's seen in a while.
"He's really an all-purpose guy that catches the ball very well out of the backfield," Zimmer said of the rookie. "He's quick into the hole. Looks like he's got great vision.
"He's good in pass protection, better than [usual] rookie backs for sure," Zimmer added. "One of the things – he's an impact player on contact. He's built, really, 225 pounds, he's physical. He's a hurdler if you try to cut him. He's special."
Bradford on making more explosive plays
Following the Thanksgiving Day loss at Detroit, Bradford said that Minnesota's offense needs to make more explosive plays. He was asked to elaborate on that goal Sunday.
"I think we've got to find a way to create more explosive plays, whether that's mixing in more of our play-action game, which we've kind of gotten away from," Bradford said. "We're trying to create some of these plays with some deeper-route concepts. That's one way, but however we do it, we've just got to figure out a way to make sure that it happens."
According to Bradford, a number of factors could be impacting the lack of big plays by the offense recently. Bradford said that, while trust of the offensive line to hold its blocks as a play develops sometimes plays a part, there's a lot more involved than that.
He referenced the game at Detroit as an example.
"I think schematically, that was just kind of how we decided to attack them," Bradford said. "But I think after last week, we realized that we've got to be a little more balanced in how we go out there and do that."
Bradford on Dallas' defense
The Cowboys offense is highly touted, but Bradford also emphasized the strength of their defense.
"They're playing well right now," Bradford said of the Cowboys, who currently rank fifth in the league in run defense, allowing opponents to rush for an average of just 81.8 yards per game.
Bradford said the Dallas defense isn't overly complicated schematically, but the unit executes well together.
"They bring a lot of energy out there," Bradford said. "They play hard. I think they've caused quite a few fumbles this year, too. So, they're playing good right now."
One area in which the Cowboys defense isn't flashy is takeaways. Over 11 games, they have only four interceptions. Bradford said it's possible that it could present more opportunities to make plays downfield, but he said the biggest focus is just "getting the right plays dialed up at the right time against the right coverages."
