Zimmer building a winning culture

MINNEAPOLIS — When the Minnesota Vikings grow up, they want to be just like the Seattle Seahawks.

Wait, maybe they already are.

Time will tell, of course, whether the Vikings can reach the level of dominance the Seahawks set in 2013 and 2014 on their way to the franchise’s first Super Bowl victory and consecutive NFC championships.

Even in first place in the NFC North, the Vikings (8-3) have more improvements to make before they can be in that conversation.

This year, though, they’ve already surpassed the Seahawks (6-5) in the standings. With Adrian Peterson again leading the NFL in rushing and fuelling a low-turnover offence, plus a consistently stingy defence and solid special teams, the Vikings have been using a formula for success that’s similar to the Seahawks even if it’s an imperfect comparison.

“What I’ve tried to do is build an organization and an environment here that constitutes winning. We try to win. We try to play smart football. We try to play understanding the quick situations of the game,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.

“I never go into a season saying we’ll be 8-3 or we’ll be 3-8 or anything like that. I just kind of try to get our team to play the very best they can each Sunday. I think having a culture of winning helps.”

The Seahawks have certainly established that. They started 2-4, but they’ve averaged 33.3 points over their past three games to climb back into the playoff picture. The defence is still stacked, even if it’s been more vulnerable than in recent years.

“Half of their defence are game-wrecker type players. So we’ve got our hands full,” Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil said.

The Seahawks will play their first game without Jimmy Graham after the star tight end was lost for the rest of the season to a torn patellar tendon in his right knee. While questions have been raised about how well the three-time Pro Bowler fits with this offence, there’s no doubt he was a factor defences had to account for.

Graham was on the field for nearly 78 per cent of Seattle’s offensive plays this year since arriving in a trade with New Orleans.