Revenge? What Adam Thielen is saying ahead of facing Vikings
Adam Thielen had to correct himself from referring to the Vikings defense as "our defense" several times in his Wednesday press availability. After nine years in Minnesota, Thielen is three weeks into his first regular season with the Panthers and gearing up to play the Vikings Sunday.
"It's going to be interesting. It's already been a little bit weird," Thielen said. "Starting the game plan, seeing the defense and then seeing them on tape. I've never, obviously, game-planned for our defense. Or the Vikings defense, I should say. It's definitely different but obviously it's just football. Before the game it will be a lot of catching up but as soon the game starts it's football and I'm excited to go and compete."
Thielen spent the first nine years of his career in Minnesota.
"Yeah, there's not a whole lot of tips I can give on our, the Vikings defense just because it's a new staff on defense," Thielen said. "There are some, obviously I know a lot of players, but it's a different scheme than I had seen in the past there. There's some stuff on offense but from what I've seen on tape they're doing a lot of different stuff and they are trying to evolve as an offense as well. But yeah, every week you try to give your input of, you know, if there's a team that you played a lot or some of those old division teams that I played against in Minnesota. You try to give that insight and no different here."
The 33-year-old is fourth in receiving yards in Vikings history behind Cris Carter, Randy Moss and Anthony Carter. Thielen's 55 career touchdowns and 534 receptions rank third all-time in team history.
On his emotions heading into a game against a team he spent so much of his career with, Theilen said, "Yeah, I've been thinking about that since the schedule came out."
"Was I excited I get to play against Minnesota? Yeah but I'm trying to treat it like it's another football game," Thielen continued. "I know that's very cliché to say but like I said I'm going to try and take advantage of pre-game to be able to go say 'what's up' to everybody throughout the organization. Shoot, I was there for ten years so a lot of relationships that I built, that are strong relationships, I'm excited to go see those people and say hello and thank them and tell them how much I appreciate them. Then, when that whistle blows, and when I get between those lines, I'm playing football like I do every week."
With the game in Carolina this weekend, there's a little less pressure.
"That would be really difficult to walk into U.S. Bank Stadium," Thielen said. "It's definitely going to be an emotional day but I'm excited to just go out and play football."
On whether there will be thoughts of getting revenge against the Vikings after the team cut him after nine seasons, Thielen responded: "Is there a little bit? Yeah, maybe but I'm not the type of person to hold grudges."
"It's really hard to explain the emotions of everything," Thielen said. "I just think that it is what it is. I'm happy where I'm at. I can't look at the past. I'm just focusing on the now. There's a lot of emotions. We're emotional beings. You're going to have emotions. I'm just trying to be the same person every single day and focus on where I'm at and that's what I'm doing."
