The most electrifying play of Sunday's preseason victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers was rookie Stefon Diggs' 62-yard punt return. Speaking to reporters for the first time since the game, Vikings Special Teams Coordinator Mike Priefer broke down how it happened.
And he even found room for improvement on the play.
"It was a very well blocked play. We did a great job on the gunners," Priefer explained. "I thought we slowed up the interior enough early on and then we had some really nice finishes at the point of attack but he made a great move right at the point of attack. The cut he made around the 10, 15-yard line, you don't coach that. That's all God-given talent.
"I thought he did a really nice job on that return as well as the rest of the guys and if we finish, the back side gunner, he actually made that play. So, we continually emphasize finishing blocks down field. We did a great job on him early and then he slides off just to get him at the one-yard line, so it was a good coaching point for us this morning in our meeting." WOBSCHALL: Zimmer "not worried" about Waynes' preseason penalties
Coaches hate penalties. But they don't always hate it when players commit penalties. It's a weird idea to reconcile, but Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer can explain.
Zimmer was asked how he thought rookie CB Trae Waynes was doing after a preseason debut in which he was flagged three times.
"He's fine. There's no issues. He's a good, competitive kid. I liked what I saw in a lot of things," Zimmer said. "Obviously the penalties weren't good, but he got into a couple of situations where he started reverting back to some of the college things. I am not worried about it at all and he was fine after the game.
"The whole time when I have been talking to him out here a lot I said, 'You can't do that, that's a penalty.' So it was good for him. He would say, 'Huh?' and I was like, 'Yeah'. They call it different in this league than they do in college football. The guy gave him a little lean outside and he bit hard on it and that does not bother me at all. I'd rather have him bite on it than be scared. He has a chance to be a very, very good player."
WOBSCHALL: Sen. Franken says U.S. Bank Stadium is going to be "gorgeous"
The Vikings are preparing to play their first home game of the season, which will take place on Saturday on the campus of the University of Minnesota. A year from now, though, the Vikings will be preparing for their first game in their new stadium – U.S. Bank Stadium.
A special guest at 2015 Verizon Vikings Training Camp on Tuesday spent the morning touring the construction site of the new stadium before making the trek south to Mankato to take in practice. That special guest was U.S. Senator Al Franken, an annual visitor to Vikings training camps.
Here's what he had to say about U.S. Bank Stadium:
"I went on a tour this (Tuesday) morning, and it's going to be gorgeous. It's an amazing operation. I think there are 1,200 people working there right now. The logistics of putting that place together are mind-boggling. It's looking like a stadium now."
