Thursday, August 23, 2012
More Vikes
So you might be sick of the Vikings posts already, but hey, fans need to be excited about something. Who knows how this season will turn out. My observations from the last pre-season game against the Bills were that we improved tremendously, especially Christian Ponder and our defensive secondary. I'm becoming more of a fan of cornerback Josh Robinson after a quiet training camp. He's finally starting to show his high draft potential. Rookie Harrison Smith showed that he deserves the starting spot at the safety position. Ponder showed poise and good pocket awareness, but he needs to continue that trend and not regress next game.
I'm absolutely in favor of sitting Adrian Peterson the rest of the pre-season. In fact I would limit his snaps as much as possible during the first part of the regular season, especially the first two games against the Jaguars, and the Colts. If we can't beat those two teams without AP, than this season is lost anyways. I'm of the firm belief that the life of a running back in the NFL is all about the number of hits they take and not necessarily how old they get. Let's face it, odds are the Vikings won't make the playoffs this year, so why put AP out there if there's even a chance he could re-injure the knee? I'm not a medical expert so it will be up to the Vikings medical and coaching staff to determine when that is, but why not prolong AP's career as much as possible by reducing the number of hits he takes this year?
Now for my bold prediction #2. Harrison Smith will be the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year. I love how the kid plays…. Hard and fast. He will be a good player for the Vikings for a long time. For the third pre-season game against the Chargers Friday night, I look for Ponder to continue to improve and I'd like to see him go deep a few more times to stretch the field. Since Jerome Simpson is out the first three games, I'd like to see Ponder develop a good chemistry with Percy Harvin and/or another WR that we can develop into a starter. With Philip Rivers quarterbacking the Chargers passing attack, this will be a good test for our secondary and line backers. I'll look for them to give a "bend but don't break" attempt at stopping Rivers, and hopefully an interception or two.
There you have it. See you after the next game.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Vikes, Vikes, and Vikes
It's that time of year and we're set to kick off another year of Vikings football. After the Stadium drama is now behind us, we can all relax and know that the Vikings will still be here next year and the year after, and so on. This is also the fun part of the season because there's no expectations. All we can do now is HOPE that everything turns out ok.
The Mrs. and I got the privilege of attending our first Vikings Training Camp down in Fankato (as we like to call it). It was fun to get a way for the weekend, but we missed our daughter so it was bitter sweet. Since I'm such a great football mind (LOL), here are a few thoughts on what I observed and what I've read so far about our favorite football team. I'll be posting more as we go (no really I will) and provide 3-4 bold predictions for the year so stay tuned.
First of all, it was easier to observe the QB's, WR's, TE's, and Defensive Secondary because of the practice-type structure. No one even touches the QB so they have all day to throw the ball, and the WR's and TE's are going pretty much full speed against the D-Back's. It was hard to judge the Lineman, RB and LB. That being said, Christian Ponder in my opinion is clearly the best QB in camp. Click here for a good write up from Tom Pelissero about Ponder.
He looks more confident, and is making better decisions. He and Jerome Simpson are going to be great together. Simpson absolutely burned our D-backs a few times and Ponder lead him for a perfect catch for six. It's a bummer Simpson will be out for the first three games. Joe Webb has struggled to remain consistent so far. He makes a great throw on one drill, but an absolute terrible throw on another. He still has a the mentality of a "tuck-and-run" QB, which will not last long in the NFL, and he's not as good as Mick Vick. I was actually really impressed with our current 4th stringer McLeod Bethel-Thompson. He has a strong arm and has been extremely accurate for a young guy. He needs to work on his footwork and mechanics, but if we ever could have a QB controversy, this would be it. With 4 QB's on the roster right now, I'm curious to see what Speilman will do. I do not think they want to, nor can afford to lose McLeod off the practice squad. (If we cut him, he can get picked up by another team off waivers, he does not automatically go to our practice squad). Remember Tyler Thigpen?
Our D-Backs will be 10 times better this year. We've added depth and skill to that position. Winfield and Chris Cook look good, but I was impressed with Harrison Smith, one of our 1st round draft picks this year. His hit on Percy Harvin shows he likes to hit, and that killer instinct is not something we've had in the safety position for a long time.
Our Offensive line will also be 10 times better this year. Matt Kalil is a beast. I stood down by where the players walk into the field and I was in awe of how huge this guy was. Not fat either, just built like an ox. (All the players are huge, we just don’t realize how big they are watching them on TV). One of my favorite things to watch at TC was the matchup between Jared Allen and Kalil. Kalil was getting the best of Allen more often the not, which goes to show the Kalil is the real deal. (My best attempt at being a rapper).
Oh yes, and our new rookie kicker was booming field goals past 50 yards with plenty of leg left. It seams the Blair Walsh Project could turn into a success. We'll see how he does during real games.
Overall, I'm hopeful for significant improvement this year. It's training camp so it's hard to know until the actual season starts. Now for my first bold prediction. The Mrs. said her bold prediction was that the Vikings would go 8-8. "That's not that bold" I said. I'm not going to predict a record, just yet…. However, my prediction is that Christian Ponder will pass for over 3,500 yards, 28 TD, and 15 INT. What say you sports fans? What are you most looking forward to this season?
It's that time of year and we're set to kick off another year of Vikings football. After the Stadium drama is now behind us, we can all relax and know that the Vikings will still be here next year and the year after, and so on. This is also the fun part of the season because there's no expectations. All we can do now is HOPE that everything turns out ok.
The Mrs. and I got the privilege of attending our first Vikings Training Camp down in Fankato (as we like to call it). It was fun to get a way for the weekend, but we missed our daughter so it was bitter sweet. Since I'm such a great football mind (LOL), here are a few thoughts on what I observed and what I've read so far about our favorite football team. I'll be posting more as we go (no really I will) and provide 3-4 bold predictions for the year so stay tuned.
First of all, it was easier to observe the QB's, WR's, TE's, and Defensive Secondary because of the practice-type structure. No one even touches the QB so they have all day to throw the ball, and the WR's and TE's are going pretty much full speed against the D-Back's. It was hard to judge the Lineman, RB and LB. That being said, Christian Ponder in my opinion is clearly the best QB in camp. Click here for a good write up from Tom Pelissero about Ponder.
He looks more confident, and is making better decisions. He and Jerome Simpson are going to be great together. Simpson absolutely burned our D-backs a few times and Ponder lead him for a perfect catch for six. It's a bummer Simpson will be out for the first three games. Joe Webb has struggled to remain consistent so far. He makes a great throw on one drill, but an absolute terrible throw on another. He still has a the mentality of a "tuck-and-run" QB, which will not last long in the NFL, and he's not as good as Mick Vick. I was actually really impressed with our current 4th stringer McLeod Bethel-Thompson. He has a strong arm and has been extremely accurate for a young guy. He needs to work on his footwork and mechanics, but if we ever could have a QB controversy, this would be it. With 4 QB's on the roster right now, I'm curious to see what Speilman will do. I do not think they want to, nor can afford to lose McLeod off the practice squad. (If we cut him, he can get picked up by another team off waivers, he does not automatically go to our practice squad). Remember Tyler Thigpen?
Our D-Backs will be 10 times better this year. We've added depth and skill to that position. Winfield and Chris Cook look good, but I was impressed with Harrison Smith, one of our 1st round draft picks this year. His hit on Percy Harvin shows he likes to hit, and that killer instinct is not something we've had in the safety position for a long time.
Our Offensive line will also be 10 times better this year. Matt Kalil is a beast. I stood down by where the players walk into the field and I was in awe of how huge this guy was. Not fat either, just built like an ox. (All the players are huge, we just don’t realize how big they are watching them on TV). One of my favorite things to watch at TC was the matchup between Jared Allen and Kalil. Kalil was getting the best of Allen more often the not, which goes to show the Kalil is the real deal. (My best attempt at being a rapper).
Oh yes, and our new rookie kicker was booming field goals past 50 yards with plenty of leg left. It seams the Blair Walsh Project could turn into a success. We'll see how he does during real games.
Overall, I'm hopeful for significant improvement this year. It's training camp so it's hard to know until the actual season starts. Now for my first bold prediction. The Mrs. said her bold prediction was that the Vikings would go 8-8. "That's not that bold" I said. I'm not going to predict a record, just yet…. However, my prediction is that Christian Ponder will pass for over 3,500 yards, 28 TD, and 15 INT. What say you sports fans? What are you most looking forward to this season?
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