Vikings' Case Keenum playing with big ... fortitude, Mike Zimmer says
Mike Zimmer has had some recently interesting comments describing the play of his current quarterback, Case Keenum, who will start his ninth game for the Vikings on Thursday in Detroit.
“He’s got a horseshoe right now,” Zimmer said after Sunday’s 24-7 win over the Rams.
Then there’s the latest: “The thing I like the most about Case is he’s got big balls,” Zimmer said Tuesday. “He’s not afraid. He’s going to pull the trigger and he is going to play like that. That’s a good thing.”
Well.
The, uh, fortitude certainly helped Keenum stand in the pocket against the Rams on Sunday, when he was pressured about 40 percent of his dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. Yet Los Angeles couldn’t take him down.
Perhaps the best example of Zimmer’s description was a 12-yard completion to receiver Adam Thielen, for which Keenum stood in the pocket for about 5.5 seconds and dodged two Rams defenders.
“We’re doing a good job of protecting,” Zimmer said. “We’re changing protections. He is doing a good job of moving in the pocket. He’s getting the ball to the right place.”
Keenum, taken down just five times this season, is the least-sacked quarterback in the NFL.