The Vikings just concluded Day 4 of practices at training camp with a practice that around 90 minute. The team was in shells today after practicing in full pads earlier this morning. A nice cloud cover insulated everyone from the sun for about the last 30 minutes of practice; a break I’m sure the players thoroughly enjoyed.
As promised, we have the transcriptions from today's press conferences (Frazier and Ferraro). Also included on the page is an Adrian Peterson interview.
A few more observations from today’s practices…
-- Defensive end Ray Edwards, tight end Garrett Mills and fullback Thomas Tapeh all sat out this afternoon’s practice.
-- Running backs Maurice Hicks and Albert Young joined the kick return rotation this afternoon. They, along with several others, took turns fielding kicks before practice began. Good kick returners position themselves to be moving forward as they receive the kick, and Aundrae Allison, Bernard Berrian and Maurice Hicks are clearly the best at executing that maneuver. It’s similar to an outfielder in baseball who wants his momentum going forward when the catch is made; this will create a better opportunity to throw out a runner. For kick returners, receiving the kick as they’re moving forward allows them more mobility and gives them more momentum as they prepare to take on a charging squad of defenders. You can bet that the Vikings coaches will look to see who can best execute that fundamental when they choose the team’s kick returners.
-- You would assume every player on an NFL roster is competitive, but some players demonstrate that competitiveness more overtly than others. Defensive end Brian Robison is one of those players, and I’ve noticed a bit of frustration from him so far during camp. He’s not having a bad training camp, but he’s clearly working on his inside move. Robison’s best move is to the outside, where he can take advantage of his quickness against opposing offensive tackles. Today during one-on-one drills, he attempted to bull rush the offensive line. He got into the backfield but lost his footing and fell to the ground, only to slam his hand on the ground in frustration. “He’s an Olympic-caliber shot putter and he has a great spin move, so we’re trying to incorporate an inside move in his game,” Vikings defensive line coach Karl Dunbar told me. “I think it’s a source of frustration right now because he’s seeing the success Jared Allen is having. He’s a young guy going into his second year, and he’s going to be just fine.”
-- Rookie center John Sullivan has been working primarily with the second-team offense. This is a good sign for the Vikings because they drafted Sullivan this past April and he apparently impresses the coaches enough to be playing with the second unit. He performed well today in one-on-ones against defensive tackle Fred Evans. He locked Evans up a couple of times during the drill.
-- Another rookie, Martail Burnett, had a good showing in practice today. Burnett stands at 6-3 and weighs 262 pounds and today he had a good battle during one-on-ones with offensive tackle Drew Radovich, another rookie. Burnett is trying to make the team at a position that already includes Jared Allen, Ray Edwards, Jayme Mitchell and Brian Robison, but he could create some tough decisions if he keeps playing well.
Part 1
Just getting in from the Vikings morning practice; it lasted roughly two hours and included plenty of contact and full-team work. One can really start to get a feel for the progression of players and the team once the heavy hitting begins.
The team was in pads today and aside from their regular work, the team’s main focus was short-yardage and goal line situations. This afternoon’s practice might be a bit more special teams-heavy, and I don’t expect the team to be in full pads again.
There was plenty of action today, so let’s get right to some observations…
-- Aundrae Allison, Bernard Berrian, Daniel Davis, Charles Gordon, Jaymar Johnson and Darius Reynaud took most of the kick return reps today. Again, the kick return rotation is a fluid situation in training camp and we’ll continue to monitor it.
-- A lot of you have been wondering about Jared Allen and how his camp has been going. He’s having a good camp to this point, but I’m interested to see how he and offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie fare against one another now that heavier contact is beginning. I specifically watched these two today, and they both win and lose their fair share of snaps. One aspect of Allen’s game I have noticed is how much he works on his inside move. Everyone knows he has great speed from the edge, but in watching him at practice one can tell he also takes pride in his ability to disrupt plays with an inside move. Second-team left tackle Chase Johnson has a tough time handling Allen; that could be because he’s so focused on cutting Allen off from the edge that the powerful defensive end has an advantage on the inside with his quick move.
-- Speaking of Allen, his defensive line teammates are all having solid camps as well. In full-team drills today, both Kevin and Pat Williams were able to penetrate the backfield to disrupt plays. Pat Williams weighs in at about 317 pounds, but he is as quick as a cat in the trenches. He’s a master at gauging the snap count and gaining a half step on the offensive line; that’s what allows him to slash into the backfield and cause so much disruption. Kevin Williams showed his power during 11-on-11 work today when he bull-rushed reserve offensive guard Brian Daniels and pushed him into quarterback Gus Frerotte; that play didn’t last long.
-- Pat Williams has sat out a few full-team drills during camp, and that can likely be attributed to a couple of different issues. This is speculation on my part, but he is wearing an elbow brace so perhaps the coaching staff is spotting him to give that elbow a rest and prevent it from flaring up. Also, let’s remember, this is Williams’ 12th training camp…he deserves a break every now and then.
-- One more note on the defensive line: the second team defensive line features Otis Grigsby (DE) and Kendrick Allen (DT) on the left side and Ellis Wyms (DT) and Brian Robison (DE) on the right side. The third-team unit features Leger Douzable (DE) and draft pick Letroy Guion (DT) on the left side, with Fred Evans (DT) and Martail Burnett (DE) on the right side.
-- The 9-on-7 drill pits nine offensive players against seven defensive players in a running-plays only scrimmage between the two units. The exercise highlights the importance of the line of scrimmage and the battle for it; whichever unit can push it forward will have the upper-hand. This drill, as you can imagine, is typically very physical and it’s a good gauge to see the progression of each side. Today’s 9-on-7 drill featured solid plays from both sides of the ball, but Adrian Peterson was able to break through the middle on one play for what would have been a long touchdown run. Also, rookie running back Albert Young showed some nimbleness with a few shifty moves and extended runs.
-- According to my count, Ryan Longwell was eight-of-eight on field goal tries this morning.
-- I mentioned earlier that the Vikings worked a bunch on short-yardage and goal line work this morning. One period of practice was devoted to second-and-goal situations from the three-yardline. The Vikings first-team offense ran one play against the second-team defense, and it resulted in a touchdown. The second-team offense was stopped twice by the first-team defense and then scored once and was stopped once against the second-team defense. One play between the third-team offense and third-team defense resulted in a fumble and a stop by the defense. Second-round pick safety Tyrell Johnson stuck out the most to me in the drill; he made a play against the second-team offense where he knifed through a string of pulling offensive lineman to make a hit on Chester Taylor. Taylor didn’t go down, but he was slowed and Johnson eventually got up on his feet and tackled Taylor behind the line of scrimmage.
-- Speaking of Taylor, he has had a nice camp so far. He and Adrian Peterson have been splitting time with the first unit. The one thing with Taylor is that he rarely goes down on first contact and he always seems to be able to gain that extra two or three yards after a group of tacklers wrap him up.
-- The highlight of this morning’s practice was the 11-on-11 exercise, which was held on field #1 (closest to the bleachers). There was a pretty full crowd today, so they loved the live action and it really added to the atmosphere of practice. The second team offense drove down on the first-team defense and eventually kicked a field goal to salvage their drive. The series began at the offense’s own 20-yardline. The highlight play of the drive was registered by Taylor, who took a carry and ran off tackle only to be met by Allen. Taylor stiff-armed Allen and shed him, then took on safety Madieu Williams. A violent collision ensued (I don’t know who got the better of it) that resulted in Williams’ helmet flying off, Taylor plunging forward for an extra yard, and the two players getting up and embracing each other. It was a great play by Taylor and a great hit by Williams.
--After being stiff-armed on the previous play, Allen made up for it by batting down Frerotte’s pass, which looked like it was going to be a clean completion for a first down.
-- Defensive back Cedric Griffin is one of my favorite Vikings players to watch during practice. He is extremely physical, especially during 11-on-11 work and one-on-one drills. During this morning’s practice, Griffin broke up two completions to both Robert Ferguson and Martin Nance. On each occasion, the receiver got his hands on the ball; Griffin instantly grabbed the receivers, jarred the ball out of their arms and finished the play by taking the receivers to the ground.
-- The Vikings finished practice with the third-team offense and third-team defense going against each other in 11-on-11 work. The offense seemed to be driving down the field, behind impressive catches from both Jaymar Johnson and Reynaud. But Benny Sapp ended the drill by jumping a short slant route and intercepting Brooks Bollinger’s pass. It was an impressive play turned in by Sapp, who was the subject of the first vikings.com “Inside the Helmet” feature.
-- Don’t forget to submit your training camp questions to vikings.com. Mail them to mailbag@vikings.nfl.net, and we’ll answer your questions in a weekly feature.
That’s it for now, be sure to check back later for more updates. We’ll have the transcriptions from assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier’s press conference as well from special teams coordinator Paul Ferraro’s press conference.