Monday Targets: Vikings-Packers quick-hits

Monday Targets

-Packers coach Mike McCarthy has won a Super Bowl, yet he's terrible at clock management.

-Aaron Rodgers' knee is not as damaged as we were led to believe.

-On a different team at a different time, Daniel Carlson would be worth an investment of time and misses. Not on a championship-caliber team that may need its kicker to advance to, or win, a Super Bowl.

-Never invest heavily in a kicker whose name is not Adam Vinatieri. If your name is not Adam Vinatieri, there's probably someone on waivers who is about as good as you are.

-Bring back Kai Forbath? No. He missed too many extra-points. Go get Dan Bailey.

-Laquon Treadwell needs to be benched in favor of Brandon Zylstra. He caught 100 passes in the CFL last season. Good enough for me.

-The officials made a bad call on Eric Kendricks when he tackled Aaron Rodgers, and on Clay Matthews when he tackled Kirk Cousins. If you want to enjoy the NFL, you're going to have to accept that there will he a half-dozen significant missed calls every game. The game is too fast and the rules are too complex for NFL officials to comprehend.

-Dalvin Cook gets every yard available in the running game, and with the Vikings' current offensive line that's not many yards.

-If Cousins hadn't led a dramatic comeback, we'd be talking about the Vikings' defense not being up to the challenge of stopping a mediocre running game or a gimpy quarterback.

-Through two games, there's little doubt that Cousins is better than his successor in Washington (Alex Smith, who produced nine points at home against the mediocre Colts) and his predecessor in Minnesota (Case Keenum, who has thrown four interceptions already in Denver.)

-If anyone locates Anthony Barr, please give him the Vikings' schedule and request his presence.

-Are we sure Mike Priefer is good at his job?

-I enjoyed MIke Zimmer's press conference after the game. He was honest, emotional and appreciative of facing a great quarterback.

-Life of a general manager: Spielman deserves credit for landing Cousins and Sheldon Richardson, even on a day when his kicker and a former first-round pick lost the game.

-Great point I heard somewhere else: Giants and Cowboys have built offenses around great running backs, and they're utterly predictable. The Jaguars are 4-0 when Leonard Fournette doesn't play. The Belichick model is right for the NFL: Use your running backs however they fit best into the weekly game plan, not because you're invested in their statistics. Latavius Murray was more than good enough to help the Vikings win 14 games last year.