Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier
Just finished some of the final pieces for our preparation for the Chicago game. Big game for us, NFC North opponent and then playing at Mall of America Field, something we’re looking forward to and I think our guys are excited about this opportunity.
Q: Is it strange that that was your last practice of the year?
A: It is. We were talking about it this morning in our team meeting. This is our last Friday practice, last practice. It is kind of strange to say that.
Q: Do you do anything different because of that?
A: No, not really. It was some of the same things we have done in the past. Just the emotions and just your mindset is a little bit different knowing that this is your final turn together at practice so a different mindset.
Q: Have you heard any news on 
A: I know the surgery is happening as we speak and hopefully it’ll go well. We should be able to announce something later this afternoon.
Q: What did you like about
A: Some of what we’ve liked has shown up here in these practices we’ve had in the short time we’ve had him, his quickness, his speed, excellent agility, and he’s a very bright kid as well. He was a very good player in college but his burst really separates him from a lot of players. I think he’s like a 4.4, 4.3 40 (yard dash). He’s got some top-end speed.
Q: How would you evaluate
A: I think he’s done a lot of good things. After the bye, he really came on for us. He struggled a little bit earlier in the year, just battling through some injuries but after the bye he came back and has played better and that’s in large part due to his health and part of it was, we did some things to try to take some reps off of him as well. His leadership has helped us to get through a tough season and his play has been very good for us. There have been some things he’d like to do better but overall, I think he’s done a good job.
Q: Does he still have enough to be a starter?
A: I think he does. The thing he is dealing with now is just staying healthy, that’s the biggest thing, just to be able to stay healthy enough to participate in practice and get what he needs from practice and a game standpoint but he definitely can still be a 16-game starter.
Q: Is
A: He sprained his ankle in the first part of practice and we had to take him from practice. He probably won’t play in this game for sure but he sprained his ankle.
Q: In your first year as head coach, what has been the value of the leadership committee and your primary goals of working with them?
A: Those guys have meant a lot to me. As tough as our season has been, just trying to hold things together in the locker room and on the field, in large part, has been due to their efforts in pushing guys to keep competing and fighting every week. I can stand up there and talk about it, but if in the locker room you don’t have leaders that are repeating what you are saying, you are not going to fight back in tough games at Detroit or other places. You’re not going to find a way to continue to play on the road if you go to Washington. The
Q: Has the lineup been mostly the same or have you added guys to the equation?
A: It’s been the same.
Q: Is there any one noteworthy thing that group has successfully lobbied for?
A: Yeah, one thing, we ended up doing at the end of the season is the way we changed our practice structure, it had a lot to do with some of their ideas and thoughts and we came to a happy medium on what is best. Just listening to them and getting a feel for where they thought the team was during the season has helped us to try to remain somewhat fresh and keep a good attitude.
Q: Do you bring someone else in, another young guy up, to take Mickey’s [Shuler] spot?
A: Probably not, I don’t know if he would have been active for this game as it stands, so probably not.
Q: D’Aundre Reed and
A: D’Aundre is a guy who has a high motor, very good quickness, plays hard and practices hard every day that we’re out here. That really gets you excited, watching the way that he practices and prepares. He prepares as if he’s going to play. Although he hasn’t dressed, as you mentioned, you wouldn’t know it. Watching him in the meetings, when you ask him questions about what we’re doing with the game plan, he’s on it. We sat down just a few weeks ago, talking about his future on our team, and he’s a guy, I think, has a chance to really help us down the line. He’s just playing a position where we have some guys that are really pretty good players. But his time is going to come. We’re excited about his future. With DeMarcus, he’s shown some position flexibility that we really like; the fact that he can play both guard and tackle. We think he has a chance to be a pretty good tackle in our league. He’s pretty athletic; he picks up things fairly well. Where he was drafted, he’s actually played and practiced better for us than what we anticipated. We thought we were getting a good pick, but the more we evaluated having him here with us, we’re pretty excited about his future. We’re anxious to get him through an entire offseason and just see where he’s going to fit in the mix. But, his position flexibility and his toughness really sticks out.
Q: Are both of those guys probably not active again on Sunday?
A: More than likely.
Q: In regards to free agency, there are some guys who’ve been here a long time who might or might not be back, how do you come to grips with something like that?
A: It’s a tough deal when you have guys that you think can help you, but in this age in free agency, you know that most guys that can still perform are going to want to explore. We’ll do whatever we can with those guys we really want to keep here, to try to keep them here. But when guys have been contributors to your team and helped you to get through a tough year like we’ve had to go through, you like to find a way to keep those guys around, believing that you’re going to get it turned and they’re going to be a part of that turn. But, you wish nothing but the best for every single player that becomes a free agent. Hopefully it works out that they’re part of what we’re doing, but if not, if they end up somewhere else, you want to see them succeed.
Q: Outside of football, have you thought of any New Year’s resolutions?
A: No. I really haven’t thought about a resolution. I just really want us to go out and play well on Sunday against Chicago. That happens to be New Years, so I guess that’s a resolution.
