News

Vikings Offensive Coordinator Bill Musgrave

Good afternoon, getting ready for Chicago. Midweek in the preparation and so far, so good.

Q: With Adrian Peterson out, does this require you to go back and look at your offense and change the philosophy at all?

A: I don’t know that it does this last week. Our O-line has embraced a lot of the concepts that we have gotten good at this year so we want to keep on keeping on in that regard and Toby has proved that whether it be Adrian or Lorenzo Booker or Toby back there, we can block people and create some holes.

Q: As you’ve worked with Christian Ponder this season, what have you enjoyed about working with him and what do you see that you like about him?

A: He’s awfully bright and really does a good job of preparing during the week. All of the quarterbacks come in on Tuesday and get a little preview of the opponent and then do a nice job of studying the various situations, whether it be third down in the red area, short yardage, goal line, first and second down throughout the week. They’re in a good routine and it has helped to have Sage (Rosenfels) around. They’ve got a good professional mannerism to them.

Q: Jim Kleinsasser announced this will be his last game and he has been known as a blocking tight end. Is that a dying art in the NFL and if not, is there a role for that?

A: He has definitely had a fantastic career and it’s hard to tell the future of where the game goes but historically there has always been a place for a bruiser, a tight end, whether it be Mark Bruener in Pittsburgh or Dwayne Carswell with the Broncos. Right now in Atlanta it’s Reggie Kelly, Tony Gonzalez is the receiving tight end, and Jimmy has done a fantastic job of not only being in that bruiser role, but also being athletic enough to play the fullback position and do fullback jobs. He’s a rare find and of course we’re just excited about his future but we’ve really been thankful to have him.

Q: Who on this team, if there is somebody, could replace him in a blocking role?

A: There may be, we’ll definitely have some candidates and as we’ve talked about before, Ryan D’Imperio has been our only fullback on the roster and he’s done a good job as well but starting out the year, that was Jim’s role exclusively.

Q: From what you’ve seen, what are Mickey Shuler’s strengths?

A: He does a nice job on the scout team so far. He really works hard. It looks like he has a good sense for getting open in the passing game and from what the reports read from last training camp before I got here, they said he really battled those defensive ends and has a good work ethic and definitely is not afraid to put his face in the fan in the running game.

Q: What do you ask of a guy like that in a week like this when he has a chance to show a little more?

A: It’s not too different than when he was on the practice squad. He’s got to know the game plan in and out. You just never know what can happen up until Saturday afternoon. He’s one step closer but hopefully his preparation remains somewhat constant.

Q: What does Jordan Todman bring?

A: Jordan is quick, very quick, very tough. He had a good career at Uconn. I know Coach (James) Saxon did a lot of work on him in preparation before the Draft last spring. We’re excited to have him in the loop.

Q: Can we expect to see Joe Webb in something other than the Blazer package this week?

A: Yes, I think you can and we’ve had a good package the last number of weeks where we had Wild Hog type plays for Joe but also orthodox quarterback plays for Joe. We look forward to getting him out there in both roles.

Q: With a guy like that, what is the ideal on how to use him? How difficult is it to get him out there long enough but not disrupt what Christian is trying to do?

A: There is a balance there that we are always striving to attain. Joe did a fantastic job if you remember against Washington getting our drive started with an option play for 16 yards there in the first half. We’re continually striving to find that balance and utilize Joe’s talents in a way that accentuates him but also allows our offense to kind of stay in rhythm.

Q: How far outside the box do you have to think to get that as opposed to the traditional game plan?

A: It’s been fun but it’s been different. We’ve really enjoyed that we’re so lucky to have those two young guys playing quarterback. We can’t believe it. Every day we sit up there and game plan and are so thankful that we have those two guys to develop and build this offense around.

Q: How nice is it to have a guy like Joe who is seemingly happy with his role?

A: I don’t think anybody on our offense is like that. We’ve just noticed that throughout the year. I know we just have been around these guys for six months but there’s a bunch of team-oriented people on this team and the two young quarterbacks are definitely team-oriented, whether it be Christian or Joe and I guess that is just natural. That’s why they’ve had so much success in their lives but we’re fortunate to have guys like that leading our offense.

Q: How tough is that for you that Adrian Peterson is out?

A: We’re hoping that he gets better real fast and hoping for a good result tomorrow from the surgery.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2011

Vikings Defensive Coordinator Fred Pagac

Happy Holidays everybody. We had a good practice in preparation for the Chicago Bears.

Q: What do you think of EJ Henderson’s performance this year, where do you see him going forward in terms of his ability to lead the defense?

A: That’s something we will discuss at the end of the year. When we get done with the Chicago Bears this week, we will talk about personnel. Everybody will have a word on that and we will make an evaluation back through all the tapes and we will make an evaluation after.

Q: Not that Jared [Allen] needs a lot of help, but are there things you can do going into this game to try and get him those sacks to try and get to Strahan?

A: I would love to see Jared get the sack record, obviously everybody would like to see that happen, but our main purpose is to beat the Chicago Bears on Sunday. If it happens and we beat the Chicago Bears, that’s great.

Q: How much of an issue has tackling been for you and how can that be corrected, is it a technique things, is it different personnel in the secondary, how would you assess that?

A: A lot of the times tackling comes with athleticism. Technique is big and that is obviously something we are going to have to improve on in order to win the game this week. If we tackle well we will play well.

Q: Has Chad [Greenway] has as good of a season, in your mind, from the film you have watched this year, as he did last year?

A: That is something we will make the evaluation on after the season; I think Chad is playing solid. He would obviously tell you if you asked him he would like to make more splash plays. But he has been playing solid for the year.

Q: Has he had to cover more ground in the defensive backfield than he normally would?

A: No, he is playing his position.

Q: Kevin Williams, at defensive tackle, that’s a tough position to watch from our standpoint to see how a guy plays, how has he held up?

A: Kevin has had the knee problem this year, he has played well, at times he has played very well, he has played up to Kevin Williams’ stature. That is something where he has to get his leg right and get consistency about him and he will be Kevin Williams of old.

Q: That knee was in addition to the plantar fasciitis?

A: I’m not the doctor, you can talk to Eric Sugarman and those guys about that.

Q: Asher and Cedric are slated to start Sunday?

A: Yes.

Q: What did you see from Cedric last weekend?

A: I thought Cedric played well. He came back and was a true pro and did a nice job for us last week.

Q: What did he do on Saturday that he couldn’t do before, what got him benched and what did he agree to, to get him back on the field?

A: Well, it was just performance levels, he played well on Saturday and we won the game.

Q: Are there technique things?

A: Obviously, mostly technique stuff.

Q: Josh McCown is making his first start in a long time, what do you judge off of the limited exposure that you saw from him last Sunday?

A: NFL. Any NFL player has to be decent to be there and we are expecting his best shot.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2011

Vikings Special Teams Coordinator Mike Priefer

Q: What happened with the PAT Saturday?

A: I think it was a little bit of a footing issue, and then he turned his hips. Anytime you turn your hips that way, if you saw the film, his whole body was going to the right. He kicked it straight, but his body was going right, so that’s why it went right.

Q: Does it take you by surprise any time that happens?

A: Absolutely. In the NFL you shouldn’t miss a PAT.

Q: I think you were going into the wind on the 49 yarder, but how would you assess Ryan’s leg strength at this point?

A: Yeah, it was a little bit of wind going that way. I think he does a good job of managing his leg. I don’t think he’s tired, well, probably a little bit tired because of the time of year, but he still has good enough leg strength. I think if you ask him, he probably felt like he should have made that. He swung hard, and I think he had the distance, it was just a little bit right. They said short on the play-by-play and I thought it was short on the field, but if you watch the film, it has a chance if it goes more towards the middle.

Q: Do you think it would have cleared the bar?

A: It would have been close; maybe it hits the crossbar and goes over.

Q: How much has all the personnel changes and injuries affected you?

A: I think, this time of the year on most NFL teams, unless you’re extremely lucky, you’re going to have injuries. I know the Packers had a bunch of guys on IR last year and they didn’t skip a beat. They won the world championship with it. Am I disappointed in our overall coverage? Probably. We’ve had some good games, we’ve had some bad games, and we’ve had some games where they’ve been outstanding. Last week was an example; we did a phenomenal job other than the one kickoff that was a short kick that got on Brandon Burton so quick that he gave up the edge. Being a young player, that’s going to happen. It’s hard for me to simulate that in practice, I believe, when a kick’s that short. But, hopefully he’s learned from it. I talked to him about it again today. He knows better. I’m going to keep him in that spot and he’s going to keep getting better. Anytime you have young players and something happens to them that they’re not quite ready for, it’s very difficult to react to, unless they experience like Brandon did on Saturday. That’s the only way he’s going to get better at it.

Q: Now that we’re at the end of the season, have you seen a big difference in returns because of where the ball was moved to last March?

A: It’s impacted a tremendous amount in terms of the touchbacks. I think the league average right now is about 45% touchbacks and probably 75-80% of the balls are going into the end zone. So, yeah, to me, the drive starts been affected. I think the return averages might be even higher on some teams. But the drive start itself might be behind where it was in years past because of that. Because people are going to bring it out. We’ve brought several out to get to the 22 yard line it might be a 28 yard return. Where in days past, a 28 yard return might mean you’re past the 30 depending where you’re kicking from, obviously. I think it’s impacted the game a little bit. I think it’s been positive. I would think, and I don’t know the statistics, I would imagine there would be less injuries on kickoff and kickoff return this year than there’s been in the past. That’s what the NFL wanted to get out of this.

Q: Are coaches going to rethink the old rule “don’t come out if it’s X yards deep”?

A: Absolutely. We already have, throughout the season. That’s something we knew going in that we’d have to rethink it depending on who the returner was, what the situation is. We haven’t always made the right decision, but I’ve learned as a coach that you have to adjust and do different things depending on the situation, because of where the ball is kicked from.

Q: What’s the new rule of thumb?

A: If you’re down seven with three minutes to go and you have Percy Harvin back there, you tell him to bring it out. If you’re up 10 and you have a different returner back there, maybe you tell him to keep it in five deep. Again, it just depends. It’s a play-by-play situation. I think, what I’ve learned as a coach and gotten better at, I tell them before every rep, what to do. Before, in years past, it’s been a game plan deal. Now, because situations are different, you’re going to go ahead and make that decision prior to every kick.

Q: Does the ripple effect of Peterson’s injury take Percy further off the table?

A: It might. It’s Week 17, it’s our last game of the year. I think, if we’re in the playoff hunt, it might be a little bit different. I think, Percy, if you ask him, I’m not going to put words in his mouth, but he’s the type of guy who’s a competitor. He wants to be out there. He wants to return a kick; he wants to make a big play for the team. It that’s the way he can do it, he’ll beg to be on there. I think we’ll have to wait and see what goes on Sunday. We’ll see.

Q: In a game like this, do you treat Hester like it’s a game for the division title?

A: I do. I treat every game like it’s a game for the division title.

Q: Do you stick with the same game plan going into that first game against Chicago?

A: Obviously, that didn’t work out so well for us, so I changed the game plan a little bit. I have an idea this time too, and I hope it works. I think we have a great game plan. I think guys the last two days have had good days at practice. Now we just have to go out and execute what our game plan is.

Q: Is it going to be the same game plan as last time though?

A: Sure. Anytime you get beat for a touchdown you have to adjust what you’re doing. I just hope we do a better job at covering.