Thank you for submitting questions for the Vikings mailbag. Listen for answers to more reader questions on the weekly Access Vikings podcast or find them here.
Q: Where can I send a box of Stickum? —@MikeDigitalink
BG: We'll start here, with a tongue-in-cheek question that actually gets to one of the Vikings' biggest issues. They lead the league in lost fumbles, with eight, and the Chiefs game highlighted their struggles with drops, on both sides of the ball. Alexander Mattison, who dropped a key screen pass in the fourth quarter, has three drops this season, as does T.J. Hockenson and K.J. Osborn. The three players are tied for fifth in the league, according to Pro Football Focus.
On defense, Mekhi Blackmon couldn't come down with a possible interception on Sunday, two weeks after Akayleb Evans' dropped interception caromed to Joshua Palmer for a touchdown in the Chargers' win. It's been a point of frustration for Vikings coaches, and coach Kevin O'Connell stressed it as forcefully as we've heard this season in his Monday news conference.
"There is nothing more important than when a Minnesota Viking has the football in their hands right now, in any phase," O'Connell said. "If we can get our hands on it defensively, the same thing goes for them as well. That has got to be the starting point for us leaving the locker room on game day till the time we get back on the plane to go home after our game this week. That mentality is there is nothing more important than that."
As for the Stickum? You might be interested in this piece from the NFL's 100th anniversary celebration a few years ago. Essentially, players' gloves have improved to the point where the sticky substance that players like Raiders cornerback Lester Hayes used in the 1970s should no longer be necessary. The emphasis there, given the Vikings' recent results, is on "should."
Q: What role does Kene Nwangwu have on this team after missing so much time? Is he limited to kickoff returns or will they try to work him into the rotation? —@c_haberman
BG: The Vikings designated Nwangwu to return to practice on Wednesday, after a low back injury that's kept him out the first five weeks of the season. Nwangwu has a 21-day window to practice before the Vikings have to make a decision about adding him back to the active roster, so they can take their time with him. Special teams coordinator Matt Daniels said Thursday, "it's important for us to see how Kene progresses with his injury," adding, "We'll kind of ramp him up and progress him as needed, as he kind of works his way back into playing football again. He hasn't done it in a long time, so it'll take a bit of time to get his conditioning and feet under him." With Cam Akers taking on a bigger role in the offense, I'd expect Nwangwu will be primarily a kick returner when he does get back, though injuries and player progress can always change things.