Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer met the media on Tuesday and said that the team has “moved on from last year” when asked if he would be using their disappointing 2018 campaign as a motivational tool this year.
As much as Zimmer might like to turn the page, there’s one aspect of last year that’s likely to linger into this season. Quarterback Kirk Cousins signed a three-year deal with the team last year in a move that was seen as giving them their missing piece after a trip to the NFC Championship Game and any early stumbles will make it hard for people to turn the page.
Whether Cousins will avoid those or not is one of the leading storylines for this season and General Manager Rick Spielman told reporters that he believes Cousins is in a better place this time around.
“I know just watching him from an evaluation standpoint through [spring drills] and stuff, it was totally different than him coming in last year and trying to learn a whole new system and his comfort level and him understanding what’s being asked of him to do,” Spielman said, via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
Kevin Stefanski is back as the offensive coordinator, so, as Spielman said, it’s not an entirely new system for Cousins this year. The Vikings did add Gary Kubiak to the staff to bring some new things into the offense and the hope is that matching those tweaks with a more comfortable Cousins does the trick in Minnesota.
