Quotes of Note: What Vikings Players, Coaches Said About the Titans

Minnesota is well aware that Tennessee has a running back who is 'kind of hard to take down.'

At the end of training camp, the Minnesota Vikings had slightly better odds than the Tennessee Titans to win the Super Bowl.

Two weeks into the season, Minnesota is winless and looks like a longshot – at best – to even make the postseason. Tennessee is undefeated and has shown it can find ways to stay in games and win them late.

Sunday, those teams will come together in matchup that unexpectedly looks more like a mismatch.

Here is a roundup of some of what Vikings players and coaches said this week about the Titans:

• Coach Mike Zimmer, on Derrick Henry: “He's a good back. He’s a big, physical guy. What makes it even more difficult with Henry is – he does have the speed to hit the perimeter – but he’s got the good slide-step to be able to get through the hole as well. We’re going to have to get more than one hat on him, obviously, and that will be a big key.”

• Wide receiver Tajaé Sharpe, on his advice to the Vikings’ defense for dealing with Henry: “While I was there, I was able to see the type of impact that he’s able to have on games. So, it was fun being a part of that. I just told these guys that you’ve got to gang tackle him. You’ve got to wrap him up. Everybody knows how powerful of a back he is, how big and strong he is.”

• Co-Defensive coordinator Andre Patterson, on game-planning for Henry: “He’s big. He’s powerful. He’s strong. And then when he gets in the open field, he does have a second gear in speed. So. It’s going to take all 11 of us to do our job and to get him under control.”

• Defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo, on the Titans’ offense: “They’re a physical group. They don’t do a lot of different variations of runs. They keep it simple and they want to play fast. So, for us it’s about us holding the fort down. It’s going to be a battle in the trenches because, obviously, they have a pretty good running back and when he gets a full set of steam, he’s kind of hard to take down.”

• Quarterback Kirk Cousins, on Jadeveon Clowney: “I think they’re doing a great job of getting him involved and being creative with his rush lanes and his gaps. … They will play a lot of different fronts, a variety of coverages. They had a great team, a great season last year. They’re off to a great start this year. So, I have a lot of respect for what they’re doing on both sides of the ball.”

• Wide receiver Adam Thielen, on the Titans’ secondary: “It’s a veteran group. All those guys have played a lot of football on the back end, and then [they have] a defensive scheme that does a lot of different things and makes it really tough on offenses to get a rhythm just because they do so many different things. … When you play against a veteran group, they’re not going to have bust coverages. They’re not going to make a whole lot of mistakes. So, … you’ve got to make some extraordinary plays. You can’t expect to have it given to you.”

• Special teams coordinator Marwan Maalouf, on the Titans’ special teams: “They’re really known as a gadget team. They do a lot of trick plays. So, we have to be ready for that.”

• Zimmer, on Ryan Tannehill: “He’s playing with a lot of confidence. He’s got a running game with him. I feel like he’s seeing coverages and getting the ball out quick. He’s understanding where to go with the football right away. He’s been really good on the play-actions. He’s been extremely accurate. Then he can also move in the pocket and scramble. … I think they’re doing a great job with him with the scheme. I also think that he’s been making a lot of very good decisions.”