The first preseason game is out of the way and it wasn’t pretty. Both the Vikings and 49ers rested some of their starters, and the starters who played generally only stayed in the game for a series or two.
Most accounts agree that the Vikings’ offensive starters did well except for a rash of drops that cut short the first couple of drives. Christian Ponder’s decision-making was better than last year, not trying to force the ball into coverage and being willing to throw the ball away when nothing developed. The offensive line apparently held up well, giving Ponder time to get past his first read and making the most of what opportunities were offered. Blair Walsh scored all the Vikings points (two field goals), and got the ball deep enough on kickoff to keep San Francisco from any big returns.
The defence, however, didn’t look good at all, allowing the 49ers to gain lots of yards on the ground and passing pretty much at will. Former BC Lion linebacker Solomon Elmimian came up with the only interception of the night, on a deflection. Other than that, the defence created more questions than they solved.
ESPN1500‘s Tom Pelissero explains why the Vikings need to make some defensive changes:
The Minnesota Vikings shouldn’t waste any more time.
When practice resumes on Sunday in Mankato, Harrison Smith should be a starting safety.
That’s not a knee-jerk reaction to the stomping taken by what passed for the starting defense in Friday’s 17-6 loss to open the preseason at San Francisco.
Inserting Smith, the rookie first-round draft pick from Notre Dame, wouldn’t fix fundamental breakdowns in the front seven anyway.
But as the Vikings try to push the dysfunction of their 2011 defense out of mind, they need all the discipline and attitude they can get.
A 12-play, 89-yard drive that barely even forced the 49ers to consider throwing the ball on their opening possession was just another reminder of how ugly things got last fall.
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By halftime, the 49ers already had 198 rushing yards on 22 carries (9.0 average).
“We’ve got some work to do with our run defense, for sure,” Frazier said. “We struggled in that area. We’ll go back and look at the tape and do the things that are necessary to try to get better each week in this preseason so that when we do open up the season, we’re heading in the right direction.”
Already resting two starting linemen (Jared Allen and Kevin Williams) and one of the NFL’s best tackling cornerbacks (Antoine Winfield), the Vikings lost starting nose tackle Letroy Guion to a knee injury on that opening drive.
