NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Giants, Vikings

Buccaneers

• Jenna Laine of ESPN notes that WR Chris Godwin got off to a slow start in 2017 due to the depth chart, but he also had some stamina/breathing issues because of his mouth guard.
• The good news for Godwin is that Laine says the Buccaneers have figured out how to correct the mouth guard issues.

Giants

New Giants LT Nate Solder mentioned during an interview with WFAN that the team’s offensive line unit is trying to “find our identity” and are facing a “tremendous amount of pressure” to get things fixed.

“There’s a tremendous amount of pressure and I’ve been under a tremendous amount of pressure for years now,” Solder said. “You can only take it one bite at a time. You go one day better. It’s not going to be one person that is going to fix everything. It’s going to be a group effort. We got to win as a team and do the best we can every single day.”

Vikings

Vikings new OC John DeFilippo said he’s been a fan of QB Kirk Cousins since he entered the NFL and he’s already been impressed with what he’s shown up to this point on OTAs.

“I’ve always been a fan of Kirk’s,” DeFilippo said, via the Star-Tribune. “I don’t know the exact grade I gave him when he was coming out of college, but I know I liked him a lot. I’ll never forget that speech he gave at Michigan State. That was part of the evaluation process, just being like, ‘Wow, this guy’s really impressive.’ … Seeing the way he moves, the way he throws, I’ve always admired him from afar.”

Cousins admits that there has been a learning curve now that he’s in a new system, but he likes working with DeFilippo.

“I have a lot of reps banked in doing things a certain way, so if there’s a lot of change, it’s going to change the way I can play,” Cousins said. “I love his intensity, how committed he is to being the best he can be and being on the best team possible.”