Dead Man Walking
Mike Zimmer subtly body-bagged one of his own QBs after getting blown out in Green Bay
Following his team's 37-10 thumping at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was in one of the most unenviable positions there is in NFL coaching -- standing at the podium as a lame-duck head coach, his team officially eliminated from playoff contention.
At least, that's what most who cover and/or watch the Vikings closely believe, that the Zimmer era is coming to an unfortunate end after eight seasons, a handful very good but the majority medicore. Such is life when you're stuck in the same division as Aaron Rodgers.
Of course, it didn't help that Zimmer was without starting quarterback Kirk Cousins, who missed the game after testing positive for COVID-19. The Vikings still likely lose, but Cousins would have given them a puncher's chance, something that Sean Mannion did NOT give them in any way, shape or form.
Late in the game, SKOL fans got a look at rookie quarterback Kellen Mond, who the organization drafted with the 66th pick in the third round of the NFL Draft last April. If you saw any of Mond in college, you knew he had a huge arm but simply wasn't very good at playing quarterback. We could go deeper, but all you need to know is the Vikings opted to start Mannion, who hadn't taken a snap in the NFL since 2019, over Mond in a must-win game.
Zimmer all but confirmed that Mond may not be the answer in Minnesota in the postgame presser with one of the more subtle body-bags we've ever seen. When asked if he "wanted to get a look at Mond" next week in the season finale against the Chicago Bears, Zimmer coldly responded with "Not particularly." When asked to clarify why, he stated "I see him every day." Good GRIEF.
Yes, it's far more brutal in video form, for those looking for context:
If we put our sensible caps on, we might argue that Zimmer is simply implying that Mond is not yet ready to be a starter in the NFL. But there seems to be a little bit more to this comment. It's not like Mond played a full half and threw three picks on four attempts. The dude got one drive, then ONE play of the next drive and went 2-for-3 for five yards. There was nothing he did against the Packers to warrant this answer from Zimmer, which means it's all related to what he's seen in practice from Mond, which is clearly nothing great.
Or, Zimmer just don't give a F---. He knows he's gone, he may have never wanted Mond in the first place, and he's just going down swinging. If that's the case, we respect the hell out of it, though it won't be nearly as memorable as Antonio Brown's exit at MetLife. Then again, nothing ever will.