Sometimes players take their time off during the offseason and need time to adjust to football again, but the Minnesota Vikings came back in prime condition.
One of the biggest concerns for teams all around the NFL is their player conditioning. While the season is going on, coaches and trainers have full access to their players and can ensure that they are putting in the hard work necessary to be in peak form. That kind of attention isn’t possible during the offseason, when coaches can’t be around to watch them.
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Thankfully, that doesn’t seem like an issue for the Minnesota Vikings. According to a recent article by Sid Hartman on the StarTribune website, veteran pass rusher Brian Robison was very impressed with how the players handled their offseason, including the young individuals who hadn’t experienced an NFL offseason before.
Robison says this isn’t something new to the franchise. In fact, the last two years have seen Minnesota Vikings players return from the offseason in good condition, but the defensive end hasn’t seen anything like what he saw this year.
"“I think the thing I’m most impressed with is the fact that really the last two years, but especially this year, guys have come back in shape,” said Robison. “It looks like we never skipped a beat from the end of the season. Guys have come back in shape, they’re working hard, and that’s what you want to see out of a young football team like we have. That everyone is working hard and they’re doing everything they possibly can to help the team win.”"
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With the team in good condition, the stage is set for the Minnesota to make another run at a playoff appearance. Last year’s season ended in heartbreak, as a missed field goal among other squandered opportunities led to a crushing loss in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
However, that won’t stop Brian Robison and other members of the Minnesota Vikings from taking the steps the team made last year and turning them into strides to help the team succeed going forward.
"“I think there’s ways we can improve,” Robison said. “I think if you look at it there were some big jumps we made in a lot of areas. I think two things that we can really work on this year that will help us improve a lot is our two-minute defense at the end of the half. We allowed too many points throughout the year on that end on our part. We have to work on that. Then we just need to create more turnovers. A lot of that comes down to guys making the extra effort.”"
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The Minnesota Vikings will call U.S. Bank Stadium their home for the first season during 2016, where they will raise their 2016 NFC North championship banner in hopes of replicating the feat and learning from their mistakes during last year’s playoff appearance.