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Winter Park Rewind: June 3-7

Posted Jun 7, 2013

vikings.com looks back on the week what was at Winter Park via a new feature appropriately titled "Winter Park Rewind."

Monday, June 3

As is the case every Monday, Mike Wobschall answered fan questions via the Monday Morning Mailbag, including looking at who stood out during the first week of OTAs.

Also on Monday, we posted a unique look back at the Vikings eighth annual playground build via footage shot by rookie WR Cordarrelle Patterson, who commandeered a Vikings Entertainment Network camera and filmed the event from his point of view.

Tuesday, June 4

The day of OTA #4 for the Vikings started on a somber note as Pro Football Hall of Famer Deacon Jones passed away at the age of 74.  Wobschall looks back on his legendary career which made him arguable the most feared defensive end in the history of the NFL.  Vikings Hall of Fame QB Fran Tarkenton phoned into our friends at NFL Network to discuss his battles with Jones as well.

We posted an Associated Press story on one of the longest tenured Vikings, DT Kevin Williams, dealing with the restructuring of his contract this past offseason and how he feels like he’s still the top dog on the Vikings defensive line.

Rain shockingly forced the Vikings inside for OTA #4 but despite the bad weather outside, the team – and specifically QB Christian Ponder – had a great day inside.

OTA No. 4 Photo Gallery >>

The Vikings Entertainment Network took advantage of this exclusive day of access for us and cranked out three videos including the always popular slow-mo highlights.

On the community side of things, John Sullivan donated a whopping $150,000 for a new playground to be build at the University of Minnesota’s Amplatz Children’s Hospital.  Read about that here.

Wednesday, June 5

The Vikings were again forced inside thanks to the rain for OTA #5.  Head Coach Leslie Frazier addressed the media afterwards:

You can also read the transcript (rather than watch) of Frazier’s presser here.

One player Frazier went out of his way to praise is Pro Bowl TE Kyle Rudolph, who was the subject of part of Wobschall’s daily recap of the day’s activities.  We also did a one-on-one interview with Rudolph which includes highlights form his day on the field.

We posted another AP article, this one on Jared Allen, who is entering the final year of his contract with the Vikings.

OTA No. 5 Photo Gallery >>

After practice the Vikings hosted Special Olympics Minnesota athletes at Winter Park. The athletes got to watch practice and then took to the field with Vikings players to do drills and collect autographs.

Thursday, June 6

Vikings Director of Corporate Communications Jeff Anderson penned his second new stadium question and answer piece, with this one focusing on the gameday experience in regards to the clear roof.

Wobschall emptied out the notebook from OTA No. 5 and touched on Brian Robison potentially being a double-digit sack guy, according to Leslie Frazier.

Fortunately the team was able to get outside for OTA No. 6.  There were several big plays made during the course of the day, which Wobschall outlines via this blog entry.

OTA No. 6 Photo Gallery >>

We captured two of the plays on camera: Christian Ponder connecting with Greg Jennings for a touchdown during a 4th & goal, eight seconds left in the game scenario, and then John Carlson hauling in a sweet over-the-shoulder touchdown catch.

Wobschall chatted with Pro Bowl FB Jerome Felton as well, who laments the fact he can’t crush linebackers until training camp.

Speaking of Pro Bowlers, we also chatted with second-year kicker Blair Walsh, mainly about the addition of rookie Jeff Locke to the specialists group.

We posted a pair of photo galleries from earlier in the week from aforementioned community events as well: Sullivan’s playground’s ribbon cutting and Wednesday’s visit from Special Olympics Minnesota athletes.

Friday, June 7

Our final interview of the week was with QB Matt Cassel.  He talks about learning the new playbook / system here in Minnesota and also discussed the potential the Vikings offense has.

What's Next?

The Vikings regroup a day early next week -- Monday -- for the final week of OTAs with four of them, No.'s 7-10.  We'll have exclusive coverage here on vikings.com for three of those four days so make sure to check back early and often next week.

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