The Minnesota Vikings soap opera of publicly addressing the offense’s struggles and internal strife continued today in Eagan, and it goes well beyond star receiver Stefon Diggs’s refusal to speak to the media and sending cryptic, vague tweets.
A day after Kirk Cousins apologized to wideout Adam Thielen for not throwing him the ball enough in the 16-6 loss in Chicago on Sunday, coach Mike Zimmer said he is “not a fan” of players publicly apologizing to one another.
Thielen had just two receptions for six yards and Cousins missed him on an deep shot that could have given the Vikings a game-tying touchdown in the first quarter, for which Thielen remarked to reporters after the game.
“At some point, you’re not going to be able to run the ball for 180 yards, even with the best running back in the NFL,” Thielen said. “That’s when you have to be able to throw the ball. You have to be able to make plays. You have to be able to hit the deep balls. You have to do that, because otherwise, it’s too easy for teams to just tee off and rush the quarterback. We have to be able to run the ball and pass the ball. In this league, you can’t be one-dimensional. It’s just too easy to defend.”
Asked whether he likes Vikings players publicly apologizing to one another, Mike Zimmer said he saw that Kirk Cousins’ had apologized to Adam Thielen, but that he didn’t read about it and wasn’t exactly sure what was said.
“I’m not a fan of it, no,” Zimmer said Wednesday, according to the Star Tribune, which also chronicled:
But Zimmer has more pressing matters for the Vikings (2-2) after dropping the first two NFC North games on the road this season.
“He was probably just being nice. I mean, seriously, I’m not worried about it,” Zimmer said. “Maybe he should get off the podcast.”
The conversation came up after Cousins apologized to Thielen on his weekly “Under Center” radio show and podcast, saying: “I really want to apologize to [Thielen,] because there were too many opportunities where we could have hit him on Sunday.”
“I talk to the media. I always say until I watch the film, it’s hard for me to really give you a straight answer. Well, now it’s Tuesday night. I’ve watched the film. And the reality is there were opportunities for him.”
Thielen had caught 13 passes for 179 yards and two touchdowns in four games, a year after tying the NFL record with eight straight 100-yard games to open a season.
Regarding Cousins’ play, Zimmer said Monday “there’s times you just have to pull the trigger.”
After the loss in Chicago, Thielen said “you have to be able to hit the deep balls” when Dalvin Cook isn’t churning out first downs.
“It was a very broad sense,” Thielen said Monday. “Any team is going to tell you that you can’t be one-dimensional. That’s not a shot at anyone. That’s not taking shots on coaches, players, nobody. That’s just being real and saying you can’t just be a run team. You can’t just be a pass team. You have to do both well.”
