The Vikings are directly in the heart of training camp practices and preseason games start this week. Daniel House has all of the takeaways from the tenth afternoon session at TCO Performance Center!
The Vikings are continuing to get ready for their first
preseason game on Friday night in New Orleans. It was one of the first days
where the coaches were on the sidelines and offensive coordinator Kevin
Stefanski called plays by using the helmet system. During one portion of team
drills, the team was pumping in crowd noise to simulate hostile environments.
The coaches continue to test players in a variety of different ways as they
install new aspects of the system.
Situational period
goes to the defense
On Tuesday, the defense won the final situational period of
practice. This is the second consecutive day where the unit has prevailed.
During Tuesday's session, the offense trailed 16-13 with 1:37 left.
The ball was on their own 25-yard-line. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was 2-for-6
for 15 yards during the drill. On fourth down, he tried to find Stefon Diggs up
the sideline, but the pass was beautifully knocked away by cornerback Trae
Waynes. Cousins had two high throws, but had a clean pocket for all but two of
his pass attempts.
Overall, the Vikings' quarterbacks struggled during portions
of practice. Jake Browning tried to find Dillon Mitchell near the sideline, but
overshot him. Safety Marcus Epps was there for an easy interception. It was a
tough day for Browning, who had numerous high throws and missed targets.
A little earlier in practice, Stephen Weatherly created
pressure and tipped a Sean Mannion pass at the line of scrimmage. The ball
deflected into the hands of linebacker Reshard Cliett. There were several
batted passes and passes that went off the hands of receivers. Jordan Taylor
had one drop on an out route and couldn’t get position for a deep completion
against Mack Alexander.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins also was intercepted when a quick
pass went through the hands of wide receiver Brandon Zylstra. It was one of two
notable drops by Zylstra during various portions of practice. The pass was
tipped to Trae Waynes, who came away with an interception. Outside of that,
Cousins' play of the day came when he aired the ball out to Stefon Diggs. Diggs
got open off a deep crosser against Xavier Rhodes and Cousins hit him in
stride. Diggs sprinted into the end zone and got the crowd fired up.
Hill and James stand
out on the depth chart
After a strong Monday afternoon practice, cornerback Holton
Hill had two more highlight plays in coverage. The most notable was against a
Brandon Zylstra fade. He ran step-for-step with him and rotated his hips to
stay tight to Zylstra. Cornerback Craig James also had one of the top plays of
the day when he dove for an interception. Quarterback Jake Browning aired it
out to wide receiver Jeff Badet up the seam, but James used his speed to run
right with him. He turned on the jets when he saw the pass sailing wide and
made the diving play. He also had a great rep in a team drill against Dillon
Mitchell. James opened his hips and won a physical battle at the top of
Mitchell’s deep comeback. He hasn’t flashed much in this camp, but James was a
developmental player who intrigued me last season.
Linebackers heavily
rotating
There were several linebackers who stood out during
Tuesday’s session. The coaches were rotating more players with the second-team
unit. In one team drill, Cam Smith and Reshard Cliett worked together out of
the nickel package. Smith blitzed downhill and blew up running back Mike Boone
in pass protection. The young linebacker continues to work near the top of
special teams depth charts and is making plays against the run. Cliett has been
flashing in similar drills and blew up a D’Angelo Henderson inside run. Smith
and Cliett will be two players to closely monitor during preseason games. The
coaches had Cliett and Smith rotating into the second-team group, next to Devante
Downs. During portions of practice, the main core of Downs, Kentrell Brothers
and Eric Wilson worked together. The final couple spots in this position group
are up for grabs and live exhibition games will help separate a few candidates
from the pack.
Hunter dominating
1-on-1 drills in camp
The team did a small amount of 1-on-1 OL/DL work on Tuesday.
Defensive end Danielle Hunter has been destroying this drill and utilized a
filthy inside spin move to beat Rashod Hill. There hasn’t been anyone who can
consistently block him in these situations. The only player who has slowed him
slightly is starting right tackle Brian O’Neill. O’Neill didn’t practice on
Tuesday, so Hunter was winning even more against Rashod Hill. Center Garrett
Bradbury had two great reps against Jaleel Johnson and has been standing out
when he’s in space.
Hercules Mata’afa used his speed to split reps against Pat
Elflein. For the second consecutive day, Mata’afa worked with the second-team.
Jalyn Holmes has been receiving the majority of starting three-technique reps
alongside defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson. This preseason will give us a chance
to see how Mata’afa handles physicality, especially against the run.
No live field goals
on Tuesday
There were no live field goal sessions and the special teams
units continued to work in small groups. During Tuesday’s session, one of the
specific areas of emphasis was punt return contain. They also held a large
session focusing on kickoff return. Ameer Abdullah appeared to be taking the starting
reps, but a heavy rotation among the punt returners continued.
Injury Report
In addition to players on the physically unable to perform
and non-football injury lists, Brian O'Neill wasn't in pads. Defensive end Ade
Aruna and offensive tackle Tyler Catalina were not spotted. Aviante Collins
wasn't in pads, but watched practice. Tight end Kyle Rudolph returned after not
participating in the past three sessions.
Great info, thanks. I never hear about Griffen in 1-on-1 drills. How's he looking?
ReplyDeleteThanks for these write ups. Very fun to read, and you topically bring up different points then other sites
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