The Vikings lost their opening regular season game to the Super Bowl champion Saints in New Orleans. Then Sunday at home the Vikings lost to a Miami team that before the season was judged average by NFL standards. The 0-2 start for a Vikings team with a Super Bowl goal in its business plan has upset the players.
All-Pro Vikings defensive end Jared Allen didn’t hold back earlier this week when he talked to Sports Headliners about the team’s disappointing start. “It’s early in the season,” he said. “There’s 14 games (remaining), but it’s gut check time. It really is. You can say what if about the Super Bowl champs. You lose to them. You can justify that in some way, but we don’t. But people will justify it.
“This one (Miami) is hard because I feel like Miami is a good team. They do some things, but we were ready for them. We had a hell of a week of practice. …This is a game at home we gotta win. …
“So I think everybody kind of needs to take a little look in the mirror and realize we have an opportunity here. We have a good team, and even when we’re not playing our best we’re still in every ball game. (When) we’re firing on all cylinders I really think we have a chance to do some great things, and hopefully no one will remember this.”
Allen said the Vikings’ veteran roster is an asset during difficult times. On a team with younger players, adversity can cause things to “spiral fast” in the wrong way.
Allen also said that “to a man” everyone needs to consider what he can do better to team performance. “It’s plain and simple as that,” he said. “And when you get everyone working like that, the wins will start coming, and then they will start coming in bunches.”
The first opportunity comes Sunday at home against the 0-2 Lions, a franchise that has lost 21 straight road games.