Vikings’ lesson from beatdown: ‘Do your job’

By John Shipley
St. Paul Pioneer Press
MINNEAPOLIS - By all accounts, the film session for the Vikings’ 42-10 loss last Thursday at Green Bay was an unpleasant one.
“Somber,” veteran defensive end Brian Robison offered. “Disgruntled.”
And while none of the players shared the exact words coach Mike Zimmer used while rubbing his team’s nose in its nationally televised mess, it wasn’t difficult to determine the message he had for his defense.
The players went straight from the film room to reporter access in the locker room at Winter Park the day after the game, and it didn’t take a PhD. to suss out what they had just heard.
“Do your job,” Robison said.
Over and over.
“We don’t need to sit here and worry about statistics; we don’t need to sit here and worry about who’s getting sacks, who’s getting interceptions,” Robison said. “None of that stuff matters if we’re doing our jobs. So every person has to do their job and do it at the best of their ability.”
The Vikings already had lost games to the Patriots and Saints, but those had come in the immediate aftermath of (twice) losing star running back Adrian Peterson, first on a deactivation, then on a suspension, in the wake of his Sept. 12 indictment on a felony charge of injuring a child.
But a week out from being the center of attention of national coverage of the NFL’s domestic abuse problem, the Vikings seemed to have weathered not only that storm, but the loss of quarterback Matt Cassel (foot) and tight end Kyle Rudolph (groin) in an impressive 41-28 victory over Atlanta on Sept. 28.
Teddy Bridgewater took over for Cassel and had the best starting debut of any Vikings rookie quarterback, passing for 317 yards and running for a touchdown. The running game, a mess without Peterson previously, got untracked behind rookie Jerick McKinnon (135 yards in his first start) and Matt Asiata (78 yards, three touchdowns). And the defense was able to contain, if not stop, what had been the NFL’s top-rated offense behind quarterback Matt Ryan.
So getting absolutely smoked by Green Bay - and giving up season highs in points and rushing yards (156) - was a bracer. Before the third quarter was over, the Vikings trailed 42-0.
“We didn’t do what we’re supposed to do,” defensive tackle Linval Joseph said, “and it hurt us.”
Packers running back Eddie Lacy ran for 105 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 8.1 yards a carry. Worse, he contributed visual emblems of the Vikings’ failure by twice running over safety Robert Blanton, once knocking off Blanton’s helmet while dragging him across the goal line.
Blanton’s takeaway?
“Do your job and be consistent,” he said.
The Vikings (2-3) are fortunate to be playing in the NFC North, where they’re a game behind Green Bay and Detroit, each 3-2, and tied with Chicago. And with the Lions here Sunday for a noon kickoff at TCF Bank Stadium, they have an immediate chance to gain ground while rinsing the taste of last week’s loss out of their mouths.
Zimmer said he and his staff were using their long weekend - players were off Saturday, Sunday and Monday - to critique their own standards and practices. Asked if he were considering personnel changes, he told reporters, “I’d consider everything right now.”
The offense should get a boost from Bridgewater’s expected to return from a sprained left ankle this week.
In his stead, Christian Ponder made his first start since Dec. 1, 2013, and completed 22 of 44 passes with two interceptions that allowed the Packers to blow the game open.
Julius Peppers returned the first 49 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 lead; the other set up an 11-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Devonte Adams for a 28-0 lead.
But the defense forced consecutive punts only twice (three straight midway through the first half), and not until the Vikings were down 14-0.
“There was a lot of freelancing, a lot of guys in the wrong place,” Zimmer said. “That’s what frustrates me the most. It’s disappointing.”
The message was not lost on his players.
“Our coaches are there to keep us on the ball, and keep us sharp, but as a team, it’s the players who play the game, and we have to rely on each other,” end Everson Griffen said. “We have to trust the guy next to us. We prep all week, but when it comes to game day, it’s up to us to play as a team and not individuals.”