JOTTINGS

• Trevor Siemian, the backup to Kirk Cousins, said of the Vikings quarterback room: "Kirk is obviously doing a great job. You know [quarterbacks coach] Kevin [Stefanski] is doing an awesome job with us. Just trying to learn a lot, learn the system and get everybody on the same page. It's a great locker room. I can't say that enough."

• Former Vikings receiver Nate Burleson discussed on the NFL Network why Dalvin Cook will be key to Cousins' success: "If you're a new quarterback coming to a new team where chemistry is vital, you're going to lean on the running back first, then it's the tight end, then it's offensive line and then it's the wide receivers."

• Sports Illustrated's Jonathan Jones said the Vikings could go 13-3 but noted Week 2 at Green Bay, their first September trip to Lambeau Field since 2008, might be a crucial point in the season.

• The only Vikings player in Pro Football Focus' top 50 NFL players was safety Harrison Smith at No. 15. "Smith didn't just post the highest grade of any safety in the game (97.0), he posted the highest single-season grade we have ever seen from a player at that position since PFF has been grading every snap of every NFL game (2006)." Meanwhile, receiver Adam Thielen was ranked No. 36 in the league by fellow NFL players. "It's an honor to be voted by your peers, by the guys around this league, " he said.

• Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck said he won't yet bring in a lot of graduate transfers, players who can only play one season. "We have to build a solid foundation first, and then you can plug in a grad transfer because the culture is strong enough, the players have been around the culture long enough where they are running the team," Fleck said.

• The Twin Cities ranked seventh in total TV viewership for all five games of the Stanley Cup Final, won by the Capitals in five games over the expansion Golden Knights.