Vikings LB Cole makes most of opportunity in start for Greenway
MINNEAPOLIS -- Heading into Sunday's season finale, Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer spoke of the importance of the final game and still making evaluations of his team, learning more about his players heading into the offseason.
Zimmer learned quite a bit about third-year linebacker Audie Cole in Sunday's 13-9 victory.
Making a habit of flashing in late-season opportunities, Cole led Minnesota with 14 tackles Sunday while filling in for Chad Greenway.
"Yeah, I probably did," Zimmer said of learning more about Cole, noting Cole was playing a bit out of position. "Audie played in there in all the sub groups, the nickel packages, the whole bit today. He made all the calls and checks. The more you can do, the longer you get to stay. Then when you get your opportunity, you go out and do it.
"He wasn't mistake free, but his heart was big."
Cole was lamenting a few mistakes after the game too, but he stepped forward in another fill-in role. He had five tackles in the first seven snaps Sunday, helping set a tone for the Vikings' defense, which held the Chicago Bears out of the end zone in the season-ending win.
"I missed a few (tackles) out there," Cole said. "I left a few out on the field, which is going to eat at me a little bit. But it was a good defensive game."
Minnesota recovered from their worst defensive performance of the season in allowing nearly 500 yards to Miami last week, holding Chicago to 264 yards. Cole had a tackle for loss and pass deflection and also had a second-half interception nullified by an offsides penalty.
"He did great," Greenway said of Cole. "It's not really a surprise. He did great last year when he had a chance to play, and it wasn't surprising to any of us. But he made some huge plays in the game, especially early on. He really got to thwart the things we knew they were going to do, especially in the screen game."
Greenway was inactive with a knee injury, the fourth game he missed this season. With rookie linebacker Anthony Barr placed on injured reserve Saturday, the Vikings had four healthy linebackers. Zimmer said he couldn't remember another game in which he had just four linebackers active.
Cole has been a preseason star in his three seasons since being a seventh-round draft pick by Minnesota in 2012, but he's taken a backseat defensively when the regular season started. Much of his experience has been as a special teams player.
Then he got a chance to start five games last season and had double-digit tackles in two of the games before he missed the final game because of injury. Sunday, he flashed again.
"I want to make every tackle I can make," Cole said. "I want 30 every game, but obviously that's not going to happen. It's fun."
And maybe instructive for Zimmer heading into the offseason.
Greenway held out: Greenway couldn't make his way back from a knee injury and ended his season with 93 tackles, snapping a streak of six straight seasons leading Minnesota in tackles.
Greenway couldn't help feeling Sunday could have been his last game with the Vikings. The 31-year-old linebacker has one more season left on his contract, which currently calls for an $8.8 million salary cap hit.
"Yeah, you can't help but think that," Greenway said after the game. "Especially where I'm at in my contract and age, and obviously I want one more year. I'd like to be able to be a decade in a Vikings uniform. That's always been a goal to finish here as a Viking. We'll talk about that in the offseason and what will happen, will happen, and we'll just handle it."
Greenway said he wants to play at least one more season and said he doesn't worry about a fit in Zimmer's defense.
"I don't have a sense of much of anything at this point," Greenway said. "I think it's just a matter of just letting the chips fall. They're going to go back and watch the tape and see what they want to do and make decisions. It's a big-boy business, you have to handle it accordingly.
"I do know there'll be opportunities if there's none here, but I'm a loyal guy and I want to finish with the Vikings."
The Patterson plan: Cordarrelle Patterson's perplexing season ended Sunday with a limited role and even led to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater's lone interception.
In the third quarter, Patterson bobbled a pass, which was eventually intercepted by Chicago cornerback Kyle Fuller and almost returned for a touchdown. Patterson was eventually replaced on offense by Adam Thielen, who caught a 44-yard touchdown pass.
Patterson finished fourth on the team with 33 catches for 384 yards and one touchdown this season. He had 10 carries for 117 and another touchdown. But Patterson only had 50 yards rushing after going for 67 yards and a touchdown in the season-opener.
Zimmer was asked about Patterson after the game. Zimmer paused to collect his thoughts and then said: "I've got a plan for this offseason for him, and hopefully it works. But it's going to be up to Cordarrelle. I'll leave it at that."
Doing the robot: Defensive end Corey Wootton had his first sack of the season Sunday in his first year with Minnesota and celebrated with a unique dance.
Wootton, who previously played for the Bears, did the robot dance.
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