Oops Garrett Bradbury Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , I w Fanshots Sections Vikings 2018 SeasonVikings 2019 OffseasonU.S. Bank StadiumMinnesota Vikings PodcastsMid-Week Open Thread: April 24, 2019New,975commentsOops, I was off by a day yesterday.CDTShareTweetShareShareMid-Week Open Thread: April 24, 2019Merry Wednesday, everyone!Man, I was off by a day yesterday. I’m not sure why my mind decided that the draft was starting on Friday, but it was locked in when I wrote yesterday’s blog. I didn’t get a chance to log on to the thread, but I can only assume that I caught a great deal of crap for it. If I didn’t, well, I would be disappointed in you. You’re much too versed in smart-a**ery to miss an easy target like that. Okay, so we are now just over ONE day away from the opening of the 2019 draft. I loaded up on charcoal last night, the smoker will be getting a workout this week and weekend.Around the DN since our last open thread:Ted shared his final mock of the 2019 mock season.Chris weighed in with TE as his choice for #3 in ‘Minnesota Vikings Top 5 Draft Needs’.In the Daily Norseman FanPulse, fans decided which position they see as the Vikings’ greatest draft need.Great news! Mike Hughes is running again at Vikings’ OTAs, per Chris.The Vikings have announced that LONG time Viking, Scott Studwell, is retiring. Studwell was one of my favorite players back when I started watching football Minnesota Vikings Jerseys Stitched , he and Tommy Kramer. Studwell has been with the team since they drafted him in 1977; as a player until 1990, and continued with the team after retiring, holding various positions in and around the front office.Have a listen to the SB Nation Writers Mock Draft Podcast, from Chris.Ted brought us a bonus edition of Rickspeak, the 2019 Pre-Draft version.Arif posted Norse Code Podcast Episode 274: Revenge is a Dish Best Served Funky as Hell.Vikings and NFL news from other sources, other sports news, and random oddities:ESPN shared some in-depth stories on some of the draft’s top prospects.From NFL.com, the Seahawks traded Frank Clark to the Chiefs. In return for Clark, Chiefs sent Seattle a 2019 first round pick, a 2020 second round pick, and they swapped 2019 third-round picks. Then, the Chiefs immediately signed Clark to a monster deal; a five-year, $105.5 million deal, with $63.5 million guaranteed.ESPN takes a look back at the crazy 1999 NFL draft.CBS Sports ranks the 10 worst picks and draft busts from the past 30 years.We come to today’s media selection:Let’s keep the blues theme going this week. I love blues, and here is one of the greatest of all time, and a guy I had the opportunity to see live at the annual homecoming show he put on in Indianola, Mississippi. This is THE Mr. B.B. King. Enjoy!Again Garrett Bradbury black jersey , we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:No discussion of politics or religionNo feeding of the trollsThis isn’t a male version of The View, so leave the gender hatred at the doorKeep the bad language to a minimum (using the spoiler tags, if you must)Speaking of which, if discussing a newer show or movie, please use spoiler tagsNo pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employerIf you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go awayWhile navigating the open thread, just assume it’s sarcasmWith that, the beer light is on and the bar is open. Belly up and tie one on. Don’t forget to tip your waitress, and try the rabbit. MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When Kirk Cousins and his family moved from Illinois to Michigan, his allegiance to the Bears was well-established.Leaving Chicagoland, Cousins wondered aloud to his dad whether they’d be required to become fans of the Lions and the other Detroit-area teams.“He said, ‘Kirk, you can take the boy out of Chicago. You can’t take Chicago out of the boy,'” Cousins recalled this week.Loyal to the Bears they remained, but inside Michigan’s borders the Lions always received top TV billing. So Cousins moved through his teenage years and on to college at Michigan State with more than adequate coverage of the Lions, a clear familiarity that has only deepened now that Cousins has joined a different team in the NFC North in Minnesota.The Vikings (4-3-1) will host the Lions (3-4) on Sunday Garrett Bradbury Jersey Mens , the first time Cousins, who’s second in the NFL with 2,521 passing yards, will face his home state’s squad as a division rival.“I think with every game we play, I can point to something about the team or an opponent on the team or a coach or whatever it might be that makes you feel like you’re living a dream,” Cousins said, “and certainly going against the Detroit Lions is no different being that I grew up in that state.”With the Bears (4-3) and Green Bay Packers (3-3-1) bunched in, too, this game will be the first of several in the second half of the season to shape a tight race.“Division games count for two,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “You get the win, and they get the loss. They’re big games, and the more you can go and win those, whether on the road or at your place, the better. We have a big stretch of them coming up.”Here are some other key angles to follow with the game:MATCHING MEGATRONAdam Thielen leads the NFL with 74 receptions and 925 yards for the Vikings. With at least 100 yards in each of the first eight games, Thielen has tied Lions legend Calvin Johnson for the longest streak in league history. Johnson’s run was in 2012, when he set the all-time NFL record with 1,964 yards.As a football-loving kid living in Minnesota Football Olisaemeka Udoh Jersey , Thielen naturally tried to emulate Cris Carter and Randy Moss. But Johnson was another star wide receiver he closely watched. Johnson, who retired after the 2015 season, wore No. 21 in college at Georgia Tech. So did Thielen at Detroit Lakes High School, not coincidentally.“He could block, he could run short routes, he could run deep routes, and he’d catch everything,” Thielen said. “When people were draped all over him, he’d still make the plays. I just remember a lot of games where Stafford would just throw the ball up, and there’d be three guys on him and he’d still come down with the ball.”With Stefon Diggs another dangerous option for Cousins, limiting Thielen has been even more of a challenge for opponents.“We’re going to have a hard time trying to handle him,” coach Matt Patricia said. “He runs really good routes. He has great change of direction. He can get vertically very quick. He understands zone coverage — he can sit down and find the open space — and he has great hands. So definitely will be a big issue for us.”GOLDEN’S GONEThough Johnson caused the Vikings secondary plenty of problems over his nine years in the league, Golden Tate did his share of damage, too.In the first four wins by the Lions over the Vikings since Zimmer was hired in 2014, twice in his first year and twice in 2016, Tate totaled 228 yards and two touchdowns on 30 catches while being targeted 38 times. That included his game-winning somersault into the end zone in overtime in Minnesota in 2016, after Vikings standouts Xavier Rhodes and Harrison Smith missed their attempts to tackle him.Last season Youth Garrett Bradbury Jersey , the Vikings limited Tate to just seven receptions for 36 yards over their two matchups. Now he’s gone, having been traded to Philadelphia .“I was surprised about that. He was their main guy on third downs. He was great with yards after the catch,” Rhodes said, adding: “It was one of those situations where you were like, ‘Oh, let me check MY phone.'”GRIFFEN GETTING GOINGVikings defensive end Everson Griffen, who has 7½ sacks in eight games against the Lions since becoming a starter in 2014, made his season debut last week after missing five games to seek mental health treatment. Griffen played 37 of 53 snaps against New Orleans.“My No. 1 goal is just to keep on going out there and knocking the rust off more and more each day, but I’m feeling good,” Griffen said.GAME ON THE GROUNDAfter finishing last, third-to-last and last in the NFL in rushing over the previous three years, the Lions have revived their long-languishing ground game with the arrival of rookie Kerryon Johnson. With an average of nearly 110 yards per game, they’re 16th in the league this week.“It’s mostly what the offensive line’s doing. No matter how good a running back is, he needs the offensive line, period,” Vikings defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson said. “Ain’t too many Barry Sanders in the league.”