Monday Morning Mailbag

Do you have a comment or question? Send it to the vikings.com Mailbag! Every Monday during the offseason we’ll post several comments and/or questions as part of the vikings.com Monday Morning Mailbag feature. Although we can’t post every comment or question, we will reply to every question submitted.

To submit a comment or question to the mailbag, send an email to Mike Wobschall at wobschallm@vikings.nfl.net. Remember to include your name and town on the email.

Apart from the obvious (Chad Greenway, Adrian Peterson), who impressed you the most during last week's Organized Team Activities (OTAs)?
-- Harry C.
England

On defense I thought defensive end Brian Robison had a good bounce in his step and I also saw defensive tackle Christian Ballard display good effort. In the back end of the defense I made note a few times of cornerback Jacob Lacey making plays in some of the passing drills and then I also thought cornerback Xavier Rhodes continued to look good.

On offense, receiver Jarius Wright looked quick and comfortable and tight end Kyle Rudolph looked like a playmaker. I also thought both Christian Ponder and Matt Cassel had good command of the offense and were sharp in making all the throws asked of them.

It’s early, it’s OTAs and we’re only 3/10s of the way through, but those are a few standouts so far.

How did linebacker Gerald Hodges look last week during OTAs? What is your observation on him? He may be a rookie now, but he may have more potential.
-- Dustin V.
Iowa

My observation on him is that I think he plays bigger than he's listed, yet he still impresses me with his movement skills. To steal and reverse a line from defensive backs coach Joe Woods, Hodges is a big man with little man movement skills. There are times I see him out of position on a play, but for the most part I've liked what I've seen and I think he's a candidate to earn significant playing time even as a rookie.

Do you expect Jarius Wright and Jerome Simpson to have bigger impacts this year?
-- Ahmed A.

With quarterback Christian Ponder entering his second full season as the starter, with the addition of free agent receiver Greg Jennings and first-round pick Cordarrelle Patterson and with returning pass catchers such as Kyle Rudolph, Simpson and Wright having another year under their belts, I think the Vikings passing game will take a significant step forward in 2013. So by definition I think both Simpson and Wright will have bigger impacts this year.

Wright played in the final 10 regular season games and 1 postseason game last year, and in that time he collected 24 receptions for 323 yards and two touchdowns. I expect Wright will be in the mix from the beginning of the season this year and I also think he can increase his per-game production. As for Simpson, he dealt with injury a year ago and that took away some of the burst in his step. A healthy Simpson this season will give the Vikings an elite speed threat on the outside, which will be a great complement to the Vikings power running game and quick strike passing game that will feature Jennings and Wright.

I know we’ve always had the option of purple pants, but very rarely have we used them. I’ve always thought the purple pants were unique and looked great. Do you think we may decide to incorporate the purple pants more often? If not, is there any reasoning as to why we only wear the purple pants on seemingly random games and so rarely?
-- Kyle L.
Minneapolis

I can’t say for certain what the team will decide, but my sense is that the purple pants will make more frequent appearances going forward. The white jersey on top of purple pants is a clean look and would be my choice for the primary road uniform. Again, just my guess at this point but I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw more of the purple pants in the near future.

I love our new uniforms, but the one thing I've noticed is a lot of teams have alternate uniforms, and as far as I can tell, we do not. Do you think the Vikings will sometime in the future bring out an alternate?
-- Kenneth W.
Pass Christian, MS

I wouldn’t rule anything out, but I’m also not in a position to know or disclose what the plans may be in that regard. With the current uniform options, the Vikings have enough options for a primary home uniform, a primary road uniform and then a couple of alternates. In terms of colors outside of purple and white, though, I’m not sure what the NFL’s rules are on that nor do I know what the Vikings have planned. For now we will enjoy the new uniforms as they’ve been presented this offseason, and to this point I’ve received near exclusively positive feedback from fans on that topic.