Terence Newman's leadership, knowledge of the system and competitiveness have been praised by teammates and coaches at Verizon Vikings Training Camp.
It turns out, Newman displayed those traits as a rookie.
Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune interviewed Darren Woodson, Newman's former teammate in Dallas, five-time Pro Bowler and member of three-time Super Bowl champs, about the player who will turn 37 a month from today.
Woodson recalled a botched assignment by a veteran in an early season game of Newman's 2003 rookie season, and the fifth overall pick's reaction.
*"He just went off," Woodson, told Vensel. "As a rookie, man. Most of the time when guys have a little something to say, I'd be like, 'Calm down.' But I just let him go. *
*"We ended up winning that game and I remember saying something to (Mike Zimmer) about it: 'This kid has got the fire in him.' He loved that." *
A dozen years later, the fire inside Terence Newman ****still burns***.*
VIKINGS DEPTH AT WR
Newman has seen competition across the line of scrimmage this season throughout the Vikings roster or receivers, starting with fellow free agent addition Mike Wallace.
Wallace told Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press "I'm a lot more impressed now than when I got here."
"I didn't know much about (Minnesota's receivers) when I got here. But I like (Charles Johnson) more every day. Thielen is a really good football player, and he's like your fifth or sixth guy. That's crazy. He can play."
Tomasson wrote:
*If there's one position at which the Vikings have plenty of depth, it's wide receiver. *
*Although Wallace is the only one on the team who has made a Pro Bowl — he did it with Pittsburgh in 2011 — Johnson, Cordarrelle Patterson and Jarius Wright have had their moments. *
Then there's Thielen, a talented second-year player who has been buried on the depth chart. And now the Vikings have a rookie in fifth-round pick Stefon Diggs, who is turning heads.
QUICK HITTERS
John Holler of Viking Update with an update on the **competition** at long snapper.
Rookie defensive lineman B.J. DuBose told 1500ESPN.com's Andrew Krammer that he **dropped about 20** **pounds** for training camp by running 5 miles daily.
ESPN.com's Ben Goessling on Special Teams Coordinator Mike Priefer **working with his father**.
