MINNEAPOLIS _ Mike Zimmer has tools in his Winter Park office to thwart the ghosts of Vikings' playoff past _ a "crystal ball" and a "wood spirit" gifted by good Samaritans.
He makes nothing of a so-called Vikings' "curse," but if there is one, it has rested on the foot of kickers.
Kai Forbath sports designer shoe brands like Saint Laurent and Davinci by day. But when he puts on his Nike cleats before Sunday's NFC divisional round playoff against the Saints, he'll do so with little thought toward the superstitions and blown kicks that vex Vikings fans.
"If I trust my swing and watch my foot hit the ball," Forbath said, "typically good things happen."
That's the best-case scenario for the Vikings' championship hopes.
A pair of infamous kicks will have fans fighting visions of wide-left attempts from All-Pros Gary Anderson and Blair Walsh in the 1998 and 2015 playoffs, respectively. But within the organization, there is less fretting.
Coaches and teammates are confident in Forbath because of his consistent leg and an even-keeled demeanor befitting a 30-year-old who grew up surfing on southern California beaches between Santa Monica and Malibu.
"Unlike a lot of specialists, if something goes wrong _ he doesn't freak out," special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said. "He doesn't lose his mind. He doesn't lose his composure. He learns from whatever mistake he might have made on that particular kick or kickoff or whatever it is. He comes back stronger than ever."
Still, there is a wait-and-see mode that follows Forbath and the kicking operation ranked 18th in the NFL in field goal percentage, is 31st in extra-point percentage and is still settling in with a new long snapper, Jeff Overbaugh, who signed Dec. 26.
