I'm pretty sure it won't help the fans' patience level, but nonetheless Vikings coach Leslie Frazier addressed the faithful in his opening remarks a day after the team blew another first-half lead to fall to 0-2.

"My only words to the fans are `Be patient,'" Frazier said. "We're going to get there. I have a great belief that we will. And we're going to keep working and try to get there sooner than later."

Other highlights:

  • Frazier was asked again about not using one of his three timeouts with Tampa Bay driving toward the winning touchdown near the end of Sunday's 24-20 loss to the Bucs. Frazier let the clock run down, leaving less time for his offense to come back. Honestly, I didn't understand his reasoning when he was asked about it Sunday. And I don't understand today's either. Here's what he said when asked if, in hindsight, he should have called a time out: "There are so many in that game I look back at. You think about, what if we had done this, what if we had done that. I'm sure just about every team in the league that lost the game yesterday in the fourth quarter would say the same thing. There are always some things you feel like you can do a little bit differently that might help the team. I knew exactly what we were trying to do in that situation from a defensive standpoint, even a team standpoint. There are always things over the course of a game you look back at when you lose and you say, maybe you might want to do this and maybe you want to do that a little differently. It's debatable about what's the best approach you might want to take in that situation. You'd like to be able to give your offense another chance, but you'd like to be able to come up with a play to end the game as well or block a field goal, whatever it may be."
  • On whether he has the players to get the job done in the secondary (i.e. make that interception that Tyrell Johnson dropped at the goal line with 1:56 left), Frazier said: "I do. I think we have the people that can do it. We have some guys in our secondary who have done it before. But not only in our secondary - at linebacker, at wide receiver, at running back, at quarterback. We've got guys that have done it before and can do it, and there are going to be other opportunities. I don't think it will be the last time we're going to be in the game in the fourth quarter where we're going to need to make a play. Hopefully next time it will be us making that play instead of them."
  • Kevin Williams returned to the team today after serving his two-game suspension in the StarCaps case. "I saw him a little bit ago," Frazier said. "We haven't been out on the field yet but he feels good and I am looking forward to getting him at practice on Wednesday." The Vikings have until Sunday to make a roster move to get Williams on the 53-man roster.
  • Frazier said the team will have a better feeling for cornerback Chris Cook's status for Sunday's game on Wednesday. Cook has a strained groin. "He's feeling better today, but we'll know better on Wednesday when we practice where he is and whether he's able to move around and what he can and can't do."
  • Frazier said he talked to former Vikings cornerback Benny Sapp, "but not about playing for us. I just wanted to encouorage him and just wish him the best. Benny's a good guy."
  • Frazier said E.J. Henderson's left knee came out of the game healthy. "You really couldn't tell he struggled the way he struggled during the week," Frazier said. Henderson missed two days of practice and was questionable for the game. Frazier said Henderson's knee was fine this morning.