I was all set to watch last Friday’s preseason game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Seattle Seahawks, only to discover that my local cable provider had, at some point since last season, changed out the NFL Network channel for something like “Memories of NFL Network” instead. Where the real NFL Network channel was showing the Seahawks and Vikings, my local “equivalent” was showing endless episodes of something like “A Football Life”. I’d tell you more, but I turned it off quite quickly.
This is why, among other reasons, I didn’t do any kind of post about the game over the weekend. To make up for that, I’ll just roundup the winners and losers in the race for the 53-man roster from game in Seattle.
In game 1 against Buffalo, the Vikings’ expensively remodelled offensive line did not show to good effect (but the top free agent signing wasn’t able to play). In game 2, the OL turned in what sounds like a creditable performance … even though two of the presumed starters were held out of the game:
Unlike Week 1 of the preseason, the Vikings’ offensive line was very good. They kept Sam Bradford from getting sacked and gave him time to throw down the field on multiple occasions. The Vikings’ run blocking was also solid, opening holes for Dalvin Cook in the first quarter.
Minnesota was missing two starters on the left side and filled in with Rashod Hill at tackle and Nick Easton at guard. Rookie Pat Elflein got the start at center, which might indicate that he’s ahead in the competition for the starting gig in the middle. Elflein, Easton and Rashod Hill stayed in for the entire first half. In the second quarter, Joe Berger and Mike Remmers gave way to Danny Isidora and Willie Beavers took played on the right side. TJ Clemmings did not play, making the likelihood of him getting cut very high.
I’d be surprised if Clemmings made the team at this point. He may be the poster child for “rookie thrown into the game way too soon” and his second year was, if anything worse than his rookie season. Willie Beavers, on the other hand, is an encouraging development. Last year, he was the highest-drafted player in the league to be cut at the end of preseason, so for him to be getting second-team reps (and doing well) is quite promising.
This year’s highest-drafted rookie Dalvin Cook is continuing to do well, and clearly earning his first-team reps:
After rushing for 13 yards on five carries against Buffalo, the Vikings’ second-round running back flashed some explosiveness, picking up a 15-yard run and back-to-back 9-yard carries on the team’s third series of the game. Not only did he break several big plays, it was also notable that Cook took most of the starting reps and Jerick McKinnon came in later in the half. Cook finished with seven runs for 40 yards.
His usage sets up for the third preseason game to be intriguing if Latavius Murray is ready to play. Will Cook still play with the first team? All indicators are that the team is extremely happy with the former Florida State runner’s performance during camp, so all the signs are leaning toward him being RB1 this year.
At that rate, it’s going to be even more difficult for free agent pickup Latavius Murray to make an impact on the team (he missed most of training camp as he recovered from off-season surgery and hasn’t yet played a down for the Vikings).
On the defensive line, two rookies got good reviews:
For the second straight game, [Tashawn] Bower was one of the most impressive players on the field. He made an immediate impact as soon as he entered the game in the second quarter, then picked up a sack on the first drive of the third quarter. Bower is making more and more of a case for a roster spot despite the Vikings’ depth at the position. Stephen Weatherly also had several successful rushes.
The Vikings’ fourth-round pick [Jaleel Johnson] had a coming-out party on Friday night, picking up five tackles and two for loss. Johnson is battling for a job as a backup interior defensive lineman and may have taken the lead for a backup spot over Will Sutton with his performance.
The Daily Norseman‘s Ted Glover provides his buy/sell recommendations in this week’s “Stock Market Report”:
Buy: The first team offense looked much better. I would hope that we all feel better with what we saw against Seattle than we did against the Bills. Everything on offense looked and operated a lot better, and when they came off the field I took a big sigh of relief.
Sell: The first team offense fixed all their problems. That said, the maddening penalties once they got into the red zone were frustrating to watch. A false start and a delay of game (delay of game, really?) killed the rhythm and momentum the offense had going, and what looked like a good-looking TD drive became a field goal.
Buy: The Vikings have serious depth on the defensive line. We’ve talked about Johnson and Bower, and when you add them to Tom Johnson, Linval Joseph, Danielle Hunter, Everson Griffen, and Brian Robison, you have a level of depth that might be tough to match by anyone else in the NFL.
Sell: The Vikings have serious depth in the secondary. But the secondary is a much different story, much like a literary classic such as A Tale of Two Cities or Of Mice and Men differs from Rick Speak or promotional literature from the Westboro Baptist Church. I thought the Vikings first team secondary was a little shaky, but okay. But after that, there wasn’t one guy in the 2 deep or 3 deep that gave me any confidence Friday night that if someone goes down, someone else could step in and play at just an okay level.
Buy: Letting Cordarrelle Patterson leave via free agency wasn’t a bad decision. Patterson had been a disappointment as a receiver as a first round pick, and letting him leave via free agency wasn’t necessarily a bad decision. The Vikings look like they have a few guys that can step in a replace his stats as a receiver.
Sell: The Vikings have seamlessly replaced Cordarrelle Patterson as a kick returner. But it was as a kick returner that Patterson brought the fans to their feet. And right now, the guys trying to replace Patterson have not been up to the job. [Rodney] Adams has had two fumbles in two games, Stacy Coley tried to return a kick that was five yards deep in the end zone and made it ALL THE WAY TO HIS OWN 10 YARD LINE…and everyone else has been just as underwhelming. They need to find somebody, fast.
Players who did not impress included rookie wide receivers Rodney Adams and Stacey Coley, who are competing to replace Cordarrelle Patterson at the kick returner spot: Adams suffered a morale-crushing “krumble” (a kick-return fumble), which may have moved Coley ahead of him, except Coley didn’t do much better. Neither player has secured a roster spot yet, and long-term punt returner Marcus Sherels may be able to handle kick returns in addition to his normal duties. Another receiver who had a rough outing was Isaac Fruechte, who gave up an interception on a dropped pass late in the game.
