Everson Griffen: Vikings have a ‘real close locker room’

To win seven games in a row, the Minnesota Vikings are doing more than playing well in all phases.

They also have tremendous cohesion.

‘We can take the constructive criticism from one another’

For instance, defensive end Everson Griffen has had teammates over his house to watch Monday Night Football.

“I had a chef cook,” he told Bob Papa and Torry Holt on The Opening Drive. “Guys are always getting together. We’ve got a real close locker room. We can take the constructive criticism from one another. When we’re yelling at one another, it’s coming from a good place and not a bad place. We can get on one another, like, ‘Come on, man! You’ve got to get that.’

‘We stick together, no matter what it is’

“They’re going to get frustrated, but they take it and they don’t get it personal. When you have a team like that that you can yell at one another, and you don’t take it personal and it lights that fire underneath the player, then that’s a good sign and that’s what we have. We stick together, no matter what it is. We stay composed, no matter what it is. And we fight together and we get the job done.”

The Vikings’ defense also has a great deal of respect for what quarterback Case Keenum has done to effectively lead their offense.

‘We’ve got a special group of guys that have one common goal and it’s doing it for each other’

“He’s doing it at a high level, too,” Griffen said. “He’s throwing the ball in the right spots. He’s not turning over the ball. First and foremost, he’s doing a good job with that. But things do happen when they do turn over the ball. It’s the National Football League, things happen. He’s getting the ball to receivers, the playmakers on our team.

“He’s using his feet when he needs to be using his feet; he’s sneaky fast. He’s a great scrambler and he’s doing his job at a high level. I love the guy. He’s our quarterback and he’s leading us. And I feel like the whole team’s just clicking. We’ve got a special group of guys that have one common goal and it’s doing it for each other and not for the name on the back of the jersey. We’ve got our eyes on the prize and the prize is winning this next game against the Atlanta Falcons to get us where we want to go.”