Odin
Purp1eOne
Winning
Jarl (15,602)
Feb 3, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Purp1eOne on Aug 19, 2020 16:43:47 GMT -6
Still though, I really like guys who really shine when given the opportunity. With Adam's comment he made about Dantzler he seems to like what he has seen as well.
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OkieDokie
Surviving
Jarl (22,857)
Feb 5, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by OkieDokie on Aug 19, 2020 19:05:30 GMT -6
I don’t trust Zimmer with the oline after what we saw with QB situation last year pre season.
Samia looked great in actual game play vs Bears 1 unit last year. I don’t trust Elf and I don’t trust Zimmer he likes to go with vets too often.
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Norseman
Thegn (3,074)
Apr 21, 2018
Valhalla
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Post by Norseman on Aug 19, 2020 19:56:25 GMT -6
Thanks for all the updates!! It's nice to have some Viking football to discuss again.
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Post by Viking Horn on Aug 20, 2020 7:20:03 GMT -6
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Uncle
Berserker (7,565)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Uncle on Aug 20, 2020 8:47:15 GMT -6
This is a good podcast to listen to if anyone has an hour or so. I know everyone here who views this thread sees me post stuff from Sam Ekstrom of Zone Coverage and Arif Hasan from The Athletic but these guys give you honest, no-nonsense takes of what they see from the Vikes and to me, that's what you want as a fan. Don't give me the sugar-coating; just tell me who looks good and who doesn't look good. This podcast also has Luke Braun from Zone Coverage, too, who's also no-nonsense. Anyway, for those that don't want to or don't have time, here were my takeaways: - DL and OL are concerns, and not many Day 3 / UDFA rookies are standing out. They aren't that concerned quite yet, but if we start getting into practices 10/11/12 and the Day 3 rookies haven't pushed up to 2nd unit reps, then it's Ok to start getting anxious. Probably the best Day 3 / UDFA guy so far has been CB Nevelle Clarke. - Guys who look the most improved over last year? All agreed that WR Alexander Hollins could be a guy that makes the 53-man roster and has looked good more than just the 1 highlight catch. They also agree WR Bisi Johnson has looked just as good as last season and has been one of the few guys to come into TC that doesn't appear to have any rust (it should be noted that Bisi did work out with QB Drew Lock & WR Courtland Sutton of the Broncos in the offseason). - Speaking of Hollins (who's nickname is "bones" because he's so thin, although they did say he's bulked up a bit more this year), they did say that the one guy Dantzler can't cover well is Hollins, potentially because Hollins is that quick/twitchy-type of WR. Dantzler has been having raving success on the outside, but like Xavier Rhodes, he's probably not ideal for playing slot/nickel WR's against the Hollins/Beebe types. Dantzler will probably have trouble if he's out there on the outside and the offense motions his WR to the inside and he doesn't follow and is forced to cover a Tyreek Hill type WR - smart opposing offensive coordinators will recognize this and try to exploit it. - WR depth goes like this: WR1-Thielen, WR2-Bisi Johnson, WR3-Justin Jefferson, WR4-Beebe, WR5-Tajae Sharpe - but they agree Sharpe is only there until Hollins leapfrogs him. KJ Osborn has not stood out and his only path to make the team is as a returner and it's hard to evaluate that in TC. Mitchell and Quarterly Davis have not stood out. The UDFA from Penn St - Dan Chisena has good ball skills (catches with hands), but is as raw a route-runner as can be - they mention they're not sure if he beats out someone like Mortiz Bohringer. - They thought the offense would look better than defense due to continuity and so many new faces on defense, esp in the secondary, but defense is ahead of offense. Arif states this is due to the rust of the QB's (even Cousins) - nobody is in-sync. They ran a 2-min drill 1/ just over a min left in their own territory and the could only get it to midfield for a desperate Hail Mary attempt. I'm going to guess that most NFL games in Wk 1 and Wk 2 will be sloppy like a preseason game because they just haven't had any game action and these guys are seeing alot of rust out there. - Dantzler has been "Mr. Mankato" so far...I could see that because I'm not sure many saw him excelling this early, but this award is typically given to a Day 3 or UDFA who really pushes during Camp/preseason and makes a serious case for making the roster, and Dantzler was always going to make it. - Ezra Cleveland has sort just been there at LG2, not giving up a ton of plays (apparently not as much as Brett Jones and the backup RG have been in the 2nd unit) but also not standing out, either. They did bring up a fair point: with Hunter, Pierce and Watts all "out" at various times, the OL 2nd team has been working against 3rd/4th string DL players who probably won't make the roster and they should be winning more and they really haven't.
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Uncle
Berserker (7,565)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Uncle on Aug 20, 2020 17:19:28 GMT -6
8/20/20 - Day 6 - the pads come off...from Sam Ekstrom at Zone Coverage ( link) - Veterans sat out for most of today and 11-on-11 drills were run at slow rate; Reiff, Harrison, Thielen and Hunter were all out for significant portions of practice (Hunter out completely again). This opened the door for 2's, 3's, and 4's to take some valuable reps and earn some depth spots (and in some cases, a starting spot). - Steven Parker actually moved all the way to take snaps w/ the 1's, and Tajae Sharpe/Justin Jefferson were rotated in w/ the 1's on offense. - From Ekstrom's writeup today concerning the LG1 battle: "On the offensive line, Dakota Dozier appears to be outperforming Aviante Collins at this juncture for the left guard spot, earning praise from Gary Kubiak today."
- On yesterday's Zone Coverage podcast featuring Ekstrom, Arif Hasan and Luke Braun, they mentioned WR Alexander Hollins really stepping up his game to make a push for a roster spot and then Ekstrom wrote this today on Hollins: "Alexander Hollins made a great sideline catch during a defensive blitz session. He’s been one of the strongest receivers in camp and seems to be putting himself on the roster bubble."It's not just Zone Coverage and Arif Hasan at The Athletic praising Hollins - Will Ragatz at the Vikings SI Insider site wrote about Hollins today during his daily writeup ( link): - Hollins has made several impressive plays over the course of camp, and added a couple more to that reel on Thursday. The most notable one was a 50-50 ball from Sean Mannion that he was able to secure despite tight coverage from Kris Boyd.- We haven't heard much about ST at all but Ragatz writes this today: A bunch of player caught punts from the JUGS machine: Osborn, Beebe, Davis, Johnson, Hughes, and Ameer Abdullah. All of those players also did some kickoff return drills, and were joined by Mike Boone, Tony Brooks-James, and Hollins. I think Osborn is still the obvious favorite to win the punt returner job, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him double-up at kick returner, even though Maalouf and the Vikings have several options there.
- Ragatz confirms Dozier appears to be leading at the LG1 battle. - Still no sign of Gedeon...I'd venture to wager he'll be released at this point.
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Norseman
Thegn (3,074)
Apr 21, 2018
Valhalla
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Post by Norseman on Aug 21, 2020 11:10:52 GMT -6
Uncle, thanks for the updates/summaries.
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Uncle
Berserker (7,565)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Uncle on Aug 21, 2020 14:37:41 GMT -6
The Athletic's Chad Graff reports Vikings rookie WR Justin Jefferson is "the clear No. 3 option" behind Adam Thielen and Bisi Johnson at practice.
Initial expectations were Jefferson would open the year across from Thielen as the team's No. 2 receiver, but the No. 22 overall pick reportedly "hasn’t shined against the second-team defense quite as much as you’d expect." That's obviously notable since the Vikings utilized the second-highest rate of 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends) as their base offense last year and are fully expected to continue that approach with Gary Kubiak engineering play-calling duties. Jefferson is clearly being overvalued at his current ADP as the WR53 if he opens the year as Minnesota's third receiver.
SOURCE: Chad Graff on Twitter Aug 21, 2020, 9:51 AM ETlink
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Uncle
Berserker (7,565)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Uncle on Aug 21, 2020 14:59:14 GMT -6
Well, I guess Steven Parker just isn't getting the job done at the 4th safety spot behind Harry, Harris & Metellus... It should be noted that Iloka didn't play at all in 2019 after logging 116 snaps in a rotational role in 2018 where he was mainly invisible...
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Uncle
Berserker (7,565)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Uncle on Aug 21, 2020 16:41:12 GMT -6
Training Camp Day 7 Writeup from Sam Ekstrom at Zone Coverage ( link) As always, if you don't want to click on the link, I'll provide the cliff-notes below: - Ekstrom on the offense today: "The Vikings offense has steadily progressed throughout the week and had a relatively clean day on Friday, though many of their best connections came during 7-on-7 drills, which don’t allow quarterback pressure. Justin Jefferson shook off an early ankle twist to string together some nice grabs, and third-string running back Mike Boone was as involved as he’s been in camp."- Ekstrom on the defense: "The defensive front four remained short-handed as Danielle Hunter missed a sixth straight practice with what has been described as a “tweak.” If he doesn’t return after Saturday’s off day, it may be time for a higher level of alarm."- Steven Parker and Nate Meadors took second-team safety reps, which doesn’t bode well for rookies Josh Metellus, Brian Cole II or Myles Dorn. Funny; Ekstrom and others were singing the praises of Metellus just earlier this week and now it's doom and gloom. Here's some quick hits from Will Ragatz at the Vikings SI Insider site ( link): - Ragatz posted an article earlier today on the OG concern the Vikings have (I posted a link to that in the 53-man roster thread I think) and then he wrote this on today's practice: "Dozier had a couple ugly reps, including one where Shamar Stephen – who is notorious for struggling to create pressure as a pass-rusher – blew by him into the backfield. Dozier and Aviante Collins also struggled with Jaleel Johnson, who is having an impressive camp thus far. Of course, it's a zero-sum game with these things. It's difficult to tell on a given rep if the result was because of a great play by one guy or a bad rep from the other.Elflein didn't exactly have a bad day, but Hercules Mata'afa got the best of him on at least one rep. In better news, Garrett Bradbury looked good, which is a positive sign for his chances of taking a major leap in his second year." I have one word for the Vikings 2020 interior OL: Yikes.... - Hollins apparently impressed Ragatz yet again and beat Dantzler again today in 1-on-1's (Dantzler's length doesn't allow him to stay w/ the smaller/shiftier Holilns) - Ragatz on Mark Fields II: "Mark Fields II is a name to keep an eye on at cornerback. He plays with some impressive physicality as a slot corner and made a couple nice breakups on Friday. He's got an outside shot at cracking the 53-man roster."- On the LB5 job: "UDFA play of the day: linebacker Jordan Fehr forced a fumble after a catch, causing the defense to go wild. He might have a chance to make the team as the fifth linebacker over Hardy Nickerson Jr. and Blake Lynch." The LB5 job was a combination of Gedeon/Brothers the last couple of years but Brothers is gone and Gedeon is on the PUP. No practice on Saturday, 8/22/20, with the Vikings doing a 10-minute game simulation on Sunday - which is as close as they'll get to actual game situations at Camp. They will head to US Bank Stadium next week to practice which will be better, but Sunday's "situational" practice will be at their TC facility.
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OkieDokie
Surviving
Jarl (22,857)
Feb 5, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by OkieDokie on Aug 22, 2020 11:25:28 GMT -6
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Uncle
Berserker (7,565)
Feb 8, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Uncle on Aug 22, 2020 15:53:22 GMT -6
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Odin
Purp1eOne
Winning
Jarl (15,602)
Feb 3, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by Purp1eOne on Aug 22, 2020 20:58:40 GMT -6
Again against the Vikings Oline .... big deal. If does it consistently when the lights are on then I might get excited.
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OkieDokie
Surviving
Jarl (22,857)
Feb 5, 2017
Valhalla
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Post by OkieDokie on Aug 22, 2020 21:13:49 GMT -6
Again against the Vikings Oline .... big deal. If does it consistently when the lights are on then I might get excited. And completely opposite Dru played great vs Bears 1’s and not yet promoted. I don’t trust Zimmer with young players.
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IceRatz16
Fri-hals (669)
Aug 4, 2019
Valhalla
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Post by IceRatz16 on Aug 22, 2020 22:13:50 GMT -6
With this off-season being what it is and I have not really been following things like I usually would that explains part of the reason why the "Needle" looks to have jumped him on the depth chart. Yep, and what's better is Needle took advantage of the opportunity and is still cashing-in on it. Some guys get an opportunity and Camp or the regular season to get snaps they didn't think they'd get and don't take advantage...and some other guys take advantage... It's still only Day 5 of practice in an unprecedented offseason with not OTA's or preseason games and we haven't seen many of these guys in NFL-level action.... Still though, I really like guys who really shine when given the opportunity. I just love that players are getting opportunities to compete. That's what a lot of us have been asking for. It sounds like there are some great battles between the WR, CB groups, and others.
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