Kirk Cousins talks candidly about upcoming clash with Mike Zimmer

Before the Minnesota Vikings hit the field for their Week 9 matchup on Sunday night, many members of the fan base will be paying attention to the contest taking place earlier in the day that has Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons taking on Mike Zimmer and the Dallas Cowboys.

For four years, Cousins and Zimmer attempted to lead the Vikings to success. But the relationship between the veteran quarterback and the former head coach always seemed like it was doomed from the start and success wasn't something the duo experienced frequently during their time together in Minnesota.

Now, both are in the middle of continuing their NFL careers with new franchises and hoping they can help their current teams achieve more than what they did during those four seasons with the Vikings.

Will Atlanta Falcons QB Kirk Cousins or Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer emerge victorious in the battle of former Minnesota Vikings?

Heading into Week 9, Cousins and the Falcons are sitting in first place in the NFC South with a 5-3 record, while Zimmer and the Cowboys are only 3-4 after their first seven games of the season.

With Cousins and Zimmer spending four years in Minnesota together, some believe one might have the advantage over the other on Sunday. The veteran signal-caller was asked about this on Wednesday, and he didn't really seem to buy into that idea.

"I think [that's] kind of overrated. I think his scheme is so sound and I don't think there's much you can extract there. He's been around the league for so long and is so respected, and [he's] had a scheme that gives people problems for so long that I don't think there's too much that by having worked together would make much difference."

Earlier this week, Zimmer was asked to assess Cousins and answer whether or not the knowledge he gained about the former Vikings quarterback from their time together in the past could help Dallas this weekend.

"Well, Kirk's got a pretty good knowledge of me too. He used to go against us every day [in practice]. But he's very, very accurate, takes good care of the football, [and he's] very smart being able to get in and out of plays.

I know he had that Achilles [injury] last year, so they're using him a little bit more from the pistol [formation] than they were before. He's always had a really good long ball. He's always been very accurate. He's not going to move around as much as guys last night. But he's a good player.

So, both don't seem to think their past together will have much of an impact on Sunday's game, or at least that's what they want the public to think.

When the contest eventually kicks off this weekend, Cousins and Zimmer won't be the only former Vikings on the field inside Atlanta's home stadium. Dallas's roster alone currently features several former Minnesota players, including linebacker Eric Kendricks, defensive tackle Linval Joseph, running back Dalvin Cook, cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., and linebacker Nick Vigil.

There will certainly be plenty of Vikings nostalgia in the air on Sunday, but this time, Minnesota fans can actually watch a game involving Cousins and Zimmer without feeling their blood pressure rise to an abnormal level.

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