October 24, 2016
We know that the Eagles were able to hand the Minnesota Vikings their first loss of the season on Sunday in South Philly, mostly thanks to a dominant performance by Brandon Graham, Connor Barwin, and the rest of the defensive line.
But we weren’t aware of the conditions (and possible emotional stress) that the Vikings were dealing with back in Minnesota. Get a load of Mike Zimmer’s motivational techniques from Matt Vensel’s story in the Star-Tribune:
A couple of bloody plush toys still littered the locker room Friday as a reminder of the danger in the Vikings feeling too fat and happy.
Before dismissing his 5-0 team for the bye week, coach Mike Zimmer scattered stuffed animals of the feline variety throughout Winter Park. Their throats were slashed, with some of the white stuffing within seeping out, and were then splattered with red paint.
Hanging on the larger cat in the locker room was a sign that read “Fat Cats Get Slaughtered.”
An early candidate for coach of the year, Zimmer apparently decided to go the extra mile to warn his team against overconfidence. He does risk catching the ire of various stuffed animal rights organizations, though.
You do have to wonder if those poor guys were destroyed for no reason. The Vikes were 5-0 before Zimmer decided to sacrifice the stuffed animals, and after, they’re 0-1.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
