On most mornings, we walk you through what's going on with the Vikings.
Access Vikings morning walkthrough: The wrath of Zimmer, Sid loves him some Bridgewater and more
Coach Mike Zimmer was so frustrated with how the Vikings performed in the last practice of camp, he made them do something that some of them hadn't done since high school.
WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED
— Coach Mike Zimmer was so frustrated with how the Vikings performed in the last practice of camp, he made them do something that some of them hadn't done since high school. But Zimmer's wrath didn't end there.
— Sid Hartman has changed his tune. The legendary columnist now believes the Vikings have found a franchise QB in Teddy Bridgewater.
— Linebacker Brian Peters, a virtual unknown who spent the last two seasons in the CFL, is hoping to be the Vikings' next undrafted gem.
— For NFL longshots like Peters, it pays to not be a dumbbell.
— In the latest Access Vikings podcast, Mark Craig joined Michael Rand and me to discuss the Hall of Fame Game, Mike Tingelhoff and Adrian Peterson. Craig also shared some of favorite camp memories. Brock Lesnar came up.
AROUND THE NFC NORTH
— Lions rookie running back Ameer Abdullah lived up to the hype with 67 rushing yards as the Lions beat the Jets in their preseason opener.
— The Packers picked up where they left off in their playoff loss to the Seahawks by struggling in the red zone against the Patriots last night.
— Bears wide receiver Alshon Jeffery missed the team's preseason opener with a strained calf. Oh, by the way, the Bears beat the Dolphins.
TODAY'S VIKINGS SCHEDULE
The Vikings have the day off after training camp wrapped up in Mankato yesterday. The team hosts the Buccaneers at TCF tomorrow night.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Norv Turner's offenses have historically attacked teams vertically, but that wasn't the case in the preseason opener. No Vikings quarterback threw a pass 20 or more yards downfield on their 26 combined attempts, per Pro Football Focus. Teddy Bridgewater didn't even throw one beyond 10 yards. Maybe the Vikings are keeping things vanilla because it's the preseason. Or maybe Turner's offense will again focus more on short and immediate throws, as was the case last year with Bridgewater under center.
Mike Conley was in Minneapolis, where he sounded the Gjallarhorn at the Vikings game, on Sunday during the robbery.