Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner has had his hands full with ever-changing personnel so far this season, but one things remains constant, his players and fellow coaches have full trust in the veteran coach.
View images from the Thursday, October 16 practice at Winter Park.
Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune writes about the Vikings cure to their recent offensive woes:
Having called offensive plays in the NFL since before some of his players, including his starting quarterback and running back, were born, Norv Turner knows the drill.
Some weeks — throughout Turner's career, more often than not — seemingly every "go route" you scribble onto the chalkboard is seen as a stroke of genius.* *
Other weeks, when things aren't going well, every talk radio caller or die-hard with a Twitter account thinks they can draw up better plays from their sofas.
"Anyone who has coached a limited time or a long time in this league knows this is a week-to-week league, and every week presents a whole new set of circumstances, a whole new challenge," Turner said Thursday. "That's why from my standpoint you never get too high or too low, and that's why you try to teach that to your football team."
Pretty much anything is possible in this league, including losing four offensive starters and a key reserve before the fourth game of the season. But it's hard to imagine the Vikings offense getting much lower right now as it awaits another tough test against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
In their past two games, the Vikings have scored only 13 points. Their quarterbacks have been sacked 14 times and thrown five interceptions. Their top two wide receivers have been nonfactors. They are not getting much production from their tight ends. And they decided to make a change at running back after another week of 3-yard gains and a cloud of punts.
As a result, the Vikings have plummeted to tied for 28th in the league in scoring (17.3) and now rank 27th in total offense (314.7 yards per game) through Week 6 — and that's including a 41-point, 558-yard performance against the Atlanta Falcons only three weeks ago.
The offense's decline prompted coach Mike Zimmer to defend Turner earlier this week.
"I have 100 percent confidence in Norv Turner and the offensive staff," Zimmer said.
With 100 percent trust across the board, look for Turner and the offense to bounce back from a marginal performance last week.
Quick Hitters
-* *Via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press: Chuck Foreman still struck by '75 snowball fiasco.
- Teddy Bridgewater, Mike Zimmer among NFL's leaders in camera time from ESPN's Ben Goessling.
- Craig Peters: Timeout with Chase Ford.
