The Minnesota Vikings‘ 2021 season has yet to live up to its building.
A “refortified” defense that saw over $46 million in veteran free-agent signings shored into it has given up the sixth-most points (61) and fifth-most yards (840) in the league.
Poor decision-making and a pair of backbreaking plays — Dalvin Cook’s fumble in Week 1 and Greg Joseph’s missed field goal as time expired in Week 2 — were punctuations of an 0-2 start to the season.
Vikings Hall of Famer Carl Eller spoke out on the team’s troubling start, offering a message of optimism.
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Eller Believes Vikings are a Playoff Team
Eller took to Twitter this past week approaching a crucial Week 3 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. He spoke in a minute-long video on his prospects for the winless Vikings moving forward.
“Well, the Vikings have gotten off to a rough start. Just a few things differently and they would have been 2-0 instead of 0-2,” Eller said. “When the pressure is on you like this. It really puts the pressure on the Vikings. They have a hard way to go. It takes a long time to make up those two games… but they can make it up.”
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The @Vikings have dug a hole but still feel we’re a playoff team
Eller added: “It’s only the first two games of the season. They have to go win all those ones in the midseason before you really know what kind of team they have.
“In the earlier part of the season, everybody’s trying to find position. By midseason, they want to know if they’re a playoff team. I think (the Vikings) still are a playoff team, but boy, they made it hard on themselves. Hopefully, they make it.”
Eller’s Purple People Eaters Ready to Be Immortalized
A member of the infamous Purple People Eaters, the Vikings’ defensive line through the late ’60s and ’70s, Eller’s platoon has inspired a group of former players to call on the Vikings to erect a statue outside U.S. Bank Stadium.
Hall of Famer John Randle has led the charge.
“I would love to see a statue in front (of U.S. Bank Stadium) of the Purple People Eaters, because when you talk about the Minnesota Vikings, you talk about the Purple People Eaters,” Randle told Pioneer Press reporter Chris Tomasson. “That’s where it started, Minnesota Vikings football.”
The Purple People Eaters primarily consisted of defensive tackles Alan Page (1967-78) and Gary Larsen (1965-74) and Jim Marshall (1961-79) and Eller (164-78) at defensive end.
“I think that’s a good idea and probably one that should be carried out,” Eller said about erecting the statue, per Tomasson. “When I travel around the country, a lot of people mention (the Purple People Eaters). It’s a part of Vikings history, and part of the legacy. I think (a statue) would be not just for us but for all (Vikings fans). I think people would really appreciate something like that.”
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Carl Eller Delivers Bold Statement on Vikings’ Future