Minnesota Vikings News and Links, December 27th, 2018

Good Morning!

Hard to believe it’s Thorsday already for most of you, the holiday in the middle of the week is throwing me off even though today is my Tuesday. I don’t know about you but I’m getting ramped up with excitement about the upcoming game vs. the Bears. My reason for optimism is simple, I think the team will finally start putting all the moving parts together for the first time this year. If not, it’s mock draft time with set aside time to complain. While we’re waiting for the next Vikings game to start we’ll continue with our news and links full of beer recommendations, nap strategies, crock pot and smoker recipes. Put those IKEA instructions away, have another cup of Irish coffee and drop by for some fan wisdom, snark and a virtual biscuit. With that, let’s do this, beat the Bears!

Around the DN since our last thread:

Wludford and Skelly10 have a spot where you can keep up with all the Vikings-Bears news.

Chris has the initial injury report for the Vikings with Eric Kendricks, Xavier Rhodes not practicing, their availability for Sunday is uncertain.

Which College Players Are Future Vikings - Bowl Week 2 Primer by Marksp18.

Since SB Nation doesn’t provide automatic comment counts anymore, we geeks have a fanpost you can comment your total on for the year to see how many comments you’ll have in 2019, plus if you commented your total last year you can figure it out....math is required.

Vikings news from other sources:

From Vikings.com Head Coach Mike Zimmer addressed the media from the TCO Performance Center on Wednesday, “the playoffs have already started for us.”

NOTEBOOK: Vikings defense now well aware of Trubisky’s elusiveness.

Playoff scenarios for Week 17.

Presser Points: Zimmer expects ‘heightened sense of energy and focus’

Matthew Coller at 1500espn ponders will the Vikings’ tough road pay dividends in win-and-in situation?

A Season in the Heartland from Sports Illustrated. These are the highs and lows of Minnesota’s journey, with an ending yet to come.

League News:

From NFL.com the Packers have interviewed Jim Caldwell, Chuck Pagano for HC.

NFL head coach candidates: Names to know for this hiring cycle.

Tom Brady: ‘I absolutely believe I will’ play in 2019.

NFL playoff-clinching scenarios for Week 17 of season.

We come to today’s media selection: Iron Maiden - Wasted Years

Again, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:
-No discussion of politics or religion
-No feeding of the trolls
-This isn’t a male version of The View, so leave the gender hatred at the door
-Keep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)
-Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tags
-No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer
-If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away
-While navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasm.
With that, the beer light is on and the bar is open. Belly up & tie one on. Don’t forget to tip your waitress, try the country ham and as always, Welcome Aboard and Skol Vikings!