Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer wants to walk the walk.

A number of players commented both after yesterday's win and in the locker room Monday on Zimmer's return to the sideline after undergoing emergency eye surgery on Nov. 30.

While there were good-natured ribbing about the eye patch Zimmer needed to don in order to assume his coaching duties, the overarching response from the team was respect for its leader. During his press conference with Twin Cities media members Monday, Zimmer said it was crucial to him to return.

"I need to be there for me," Zimmer said. "I don't know about for them. Since the day I walked in the building here, I've talked about toughness."

As he looked around the fieldhouse, Zimmer added: "There's a sign up there somewhere that says, 'Take ownership in something bigger than yourself.'

Zimmer gave a shout-out to the droves of Vikings fans that filled the Jaguars stadium in purple. He said it was important to him to do well for the fans, the organization and his players.

"If you're going to preach it, you need to walk the walk, too," Zimmer said.

Here are four other topics covered by Zimmer during his podium session:

Assessing the O-line

Zimmer said he was pleased with the offense's ability to put 25 points on the board against the Jaguars, and he was also happy with the offensive line's overall protection of quarterback Kyle Rudolph.

Zimmer specifically addressed the performance of tackle Anthony Harris and said the biggest non-constant with Clemmings is technique.

"When T.J. has his bad plays, it's because he has bad technique," Zimmer said. "When he has good technique, he's a pretty good player.

"It's just something you keep working on with him," Zimmer continued. "You watch the offensive linemen in college, and they all do the same thing. We've got to get it corrected against good pass rushers. We have to fix that. I thought we did a good job of changing up protections throughout the game and then [used] better technique."

Also discussed was center Nick Easton, who played in place of Nick Easton while Berger missed his second straight game because of a concussion. Zimmer said there were both positive and negative takeaways from Easton's performance.

"He had a couple wrong calls that we've got to get corrected," Zimmer said of Easton. "I think yesterday was kind of an up-and-down day for him. There were some times, I think he had six people he knocked on the ground, and then he lets a guy beat him across the face two or three times during the game. So, there are some good things, and there are some things he really needs to clean up quickly."

Bradford on the move

Bradford showed a good bit of mobility at Jacksonville, whether moving around inside the pocket or gaining yards on a couple of scrambles.

Zimmer said Bradford's ability to use his legs throughout the game helped the offense to be effective.

"I think, even the first play of the game, he moved in the pocket well," Zimmer said. "I think when you can just sidestep a little bit and move a little bit – he got hit on that play – but I think it helps buy a little bit of time as you continue moving forward.

"It was really a good play by him," Zimmer added. "There was a man-coverage blitz, and everybody's back was turned and there's nice opening there. So, I thought it was a good play."

Pressuring the passer

The Vikings over the past four games have sacked the opposing quarterback 13 times.

Zimmer didn't specifically recall all four contests, but he did emphasize the defense's execution against the Jaguars in order to get to quarterback Blake Bortles and keep him from scrambling for substantial gains.

"We rushed them the right way," Zimmer said. "We rushed the quarterback the correct way.

"Everybody kind of did their job, and that was important," he added. "And then, you have to win some 1-on-1s, but I think the biggest thing was that we did the things that we [needed to do]."

Response to the playoff picture

The Vikings know they can only control what's right in front of them.

"There's really nothing we can do other than take care of our own business," Zimmer said when asked about the playoff picture. "I'd be lying if I didn't say I'd be hoping for some other teams [to win or lose]. All that we can do is do what we can do. I think if we continue to win, good things will happen."

Zimmer also emphasized once again the focus of one game at a time.

"I know everybody says we need to win out," Zimmer said. "I just want to beat Indianapolis this week. Then we'll worry about the next game and the next game after that."

Zimmer said he doesn't want the team to become distracted by looking too far ahead.

"If we start thinking about down the road and this and that, all these different scenarios, then we're not doing what we're supposed to do," he said. "I'm always of the understanding that you kick it off, you win as many as you can, you count them up at the end and you see what happens."