Vikings Season Ends , Highlights and Interview

by poohty_t | 8 years ago | 0 Comments

 

 

Week 17 came , with the Vikings needing to win to finally make it in the playoffs under coach Tizel. However, the Broncos came out on top of them in a hard fought match to end their season and comeback . Above is just a few highlights from some of their games this season. We sat down with coach Tizel now the dust on the season has settled and they look forward.

 

 

Coach Tizel, your team started off the year 2-5 , things looked really bad at that point, but your team turned it around with a 6-3 record to end out the season. Did losing that week 17 game , make it feel like it was a pointless turn around ?

 

Tizel: No , sure it was really disappointing to miss the playoffs by that one last game . Our guys fought as hard as they could but could not overcome a few mistakes.Thats all it takes to lose in the NFL, just a few mistakes. We had a rough start to the year. After starting 2-5 , we had a team meeting.I asked the guys is this how they want to be remembered, as the worst team in the NFL this season? And if not, it was time to strap on their big boy pants and start showing it on the field if not.

 

Despite not making the playoffs, your team had a few big wins this year, does that make the season a success for you?

 

Tizel: Well , i wouldnt call it a success, because we didnt make the playoffs. However we did finally beat our division leader ( every year) the Bears, which is like a once in a lifetime thing for us, so that was a big win and started our push to finish the season with a winning record over the last 9 games. We also beat the Chiefs , who has hardly lost all year, also another big win for our team. We are happy for any upsets we can get, but at the end of the day , its no a game or two that determines a season success , its an accumalitive of all the games played that season , and there we fell just short.

 

What personel changes do you plan to make going forward for next season?

 

Tizel: Well honestly i dont know. I feel we have good players in place, we have worked hard each week to build and improve our players, we have made moves in the past and we feel our team is in a good place roster wise. Now its more about execution. Our defense ( despite the view they use),finished 6th best overall defense in the league in total yards allowed. 3rd in league against the pass, and one of the highest sacks by our defense.We feel our defense is pretty solid. We just have to cut down on turnovers, which in that 9 game span we did a better job of , but week 17 , we didnt and it cost us the game. If we can cut down on turnovers, i think we can make the playoffs. As for moves in the offseason we do have a 1st and a 3rd round pick we are willing to trade for a few players, or possible future 1st and 2nd round picks. 

 

Your special teams had some big plays this year, have you all been working harder on special teams?

 

Tizel: Yes our special teams has done us well this year, one blocked fg, one blocked extra point that was ran back for 2 point conversion, and a blocked fg. Our special teams is just really good at timing their jumps and trying to get at the ball. They have for sure helped us out alot.Also our punter and kicker have done us well to try to keep us in games as best they could and rather reliable.

 

Going foward, outside of cutting down on turnovers, what would you like to see your team do better next year?

 

Tizel: Win more! Alot of our loses come down to 1 score games, we have got to find a way to win those. Cutting down turnovers , i honestly feel would do that, but even then , when we have the ball in our hands or our defense is out there trying to get a stop, we have to find ways to finish the games strong and turn these loses into wins at the end. Looking forward to what next season holds for this team!