General Manager Rick Spielman said Wednesday the 0-3 Vikings are close to getting the season “turned around,” especially on defense where head coach Mike Zimmer’s group is allowing 34 points and 440 yards per loss so far.
Spielman said his optimism is rooted in Zimmer and the coaching staff’s ability to tailor defensive schemes to the player’s skill sets, a process dragging longer into the season as Zimmer “learns what the players can do” after a summer with limited practices and no preseason games. The Vikings haven’t finished a year worse than 11th in points allowed since Zimmer was hired in 2014, and they rank 31st entering Week 4.