Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer
This will be a heck of a football game coming up Sunday. Detroit is a really good football team. We're going to have to play really good, especially in the situational areas of the game, to come out and win.
Q: What are the challenges of playing on the road in a dome?
A: The biggest challenge is the crowd noise, communication on offense. Really, that's the biggest thing.
Q: What are the key traits that make T.J. Hockenson a threat in the passing game?
A: He's got very good hands, runs good routes. He'll come out there and sell it, turn his head one way and go back the other way. He's a hard guy to defend in space. He's a good player.
Q: Do you feel like you've put together a team that can move on no matter what happens the week before?
A: I hope so. I asked somebody, I said, 'What was the score last week?' and no one even knew. It's just like, it's time to get back to work. We're focusing on this week and that's really what we're trying to do. We understand how good a team Detroit is and how good we're going to have to play.
Q: Everybody says they want that. How hard is it to achieve that and what do you have to do to get there?
A: Part of it is making sure that we correct the mistakes that we made in the last ballgame and making sure that we don't let anything lapse in that area and making sure guys are on time, they're studying, they're doing all the things they're supposed to do.
Q: What kind of physicality battle do you expect with both front fours being pretty formidable?
A: I think it's going to be a physical game. They're good up front. [Damon] Harrison [Jr.] is a big bodied guy anyway, so it's going to be probably a pretty physical battle. Their defensive backs hit pretty good and linebackers. Jarrad Davis is a good football player and a good thumper. I think we have some guys, too.
Q: What have been some of the keys in Dan Bailey doing better this year compared to last year?
A: I think the smoothness of the operation with the holds and the snaps and all that has helped. He's kind of been on a roll lately, so we just try and keep it consistent.
Q: Eric Wilson had a big game in Detroit last year. Do guys get energized and have big games when they go back home?
A: I hope [Kirk] Cousins does. I don't know that for sure.
