Vikings' Zimmer Talks Winning Streak: 'We Are Building What I Envisioned'
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- From looking bleak to a winning streak, what a difference a couple weeks have made for the Minnesota Vikings.
Now, as players head into their bye week, they feel a lot better about things than they did a couple weeks ago. It is, in fact, the first time this season they are on a winning streak.
"There was some times earlier in the year when things were going bad and we didn't muster up what we needed to do," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. "This ballgame (against Washington), there was a lot of fight going on, a lot of heart."
It will be a couple more weeks until the Vikings play again, which means a break in their momentum, but also a break from the weekly grind of the season.
"I think it's a good time for us, being a little past the halfway point in the season," Zimmer said. "(To) kind of get refreshed, get our legs back."
In a lot of ways, a bye week is like a vacation in the middle of the season and allows players to get away from football entirely. But there's one thing Zimmer wants his players to do other than just rest: Stay focused. So they don't lose their momentum.
"I guess the one thing that I've noticed a little bit about this team sometimes," Zimmer said, "is when they have a little bit of time off, they seem to forget quicker than I would like for them -- some of the things."
But what Zimmer believes -- and frankly, what he's banking on -- is that the progress they've made these last couple weeks is permanent.
"I do believe that we are building what I envisioned this football team to look like," he said.