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on theright foot with family Minnesota Vikings T-Shirt , food, fun and bacon!I’m in the middle of a four day stretch so words and links will be limited for the next couple of days. In the meantime, while we’re waiting for the next Vikings game to start we’ll continue with our Open Thread full of beer and rib recommendations, nap strategies, crock pot and smoker recipes. Have another cup of coffee and drop by for some fan wisdom and snark. With that, let’s do this.Around the DN since our last thread:Chris and Eric have a spot where you can keep up with all Vikings - Jets news.Your final injury report: Vikings at Jets from Jdog.Five Good Questions with Gang Green Nation from Chris with GGN’s Michael Nania, Welcome Aboard Michael!Over at Gang Green Nation Michael hosts Chris for Jets-Vikings: 6 Questions with Daily Norseman.Dan has the Vikings 2018 Season, Week 7: Jets News and Notes, he reads up on our opponents so we don’t have to!Saxyprince hosts Climbing the Pocket: Episode 115-Salty Jets, Football Machine: HOUR 1 – Winning Streaks & Questionable Touchdown Dances and HOUR 2 – Open Phone Lines, Listener questions and New York NEW YORK.Finally Norse Code Podcast Episode 253: Live from Bar None NYCVikings news from other sources:From Vikings.com HC Mike Zimmer on Darnold’s strengths, chance for big plays on offense, Barr “playing with a fire.”Vikings hire Lara Juras as vice president of people and culture.From their notebook: Winning in the red zone key in Vikings wins so far this season.From their lunch break series: Mackensie Alexander having more fun in his third NFL season.At 1500espn Vikings rely on full supporting cast to protect Kirk Cousins and Vikings off season decision to keep Murray is paying off.League news: Consistent with the weekend thread I’ll post league news in the comments, will probably be delayed as I’m late getting off work. We come to today’s media selection: Billy Idol - Dancing With MyselfAgain, we all know the rules, but in case someone is new:-No discussion of politics or religion-No feeding of the trolls-This isn’t a male version of The View, so leave the gender hatred at the door-Keep 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 tags-No pictures that could get someone fired or in serious trouble with their employer-If you can’t disagree in a civil manner, feel free to go away-While navigating the open thread Minnesota Vikings Hats , 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, try the venison chili and as always, Welcome Aboard and Skol Vikings! 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, 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 Minnesota Vikings Hoodie , 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, 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 Youth Customized Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , 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, 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 7陆 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."