In a mid-game update yesterday, I said that today’s post “will be equal parts hilarity and doom-mongering”. Let’s see how the sages are reading the auspices…first, here’s ESPN’s Kevin Seifert with a quick overview of the lowlights:
The evening began with left tackle Matt Kalil getting beat for a sack by Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes, and it didn’t get much better, at least for a Vikings offense that again played without tailback Adrian Peterson. Coaches got quarterback Christian Ponder five series of work, but he took two sacks and was jumpy enough to complete only 5-of-12 passes for 53 yards. He led a 62-yard scoring drive, ending in a Blair Walsh’s 36-yard field goal, but otherwise the Vikings gained a total of 20 yards on his other possessions. (Walsh earlier missed from 49 yards.) The Bills’ rush was active, and center John Sullivan launched an early shotgun snap to scuttle one play, but all quarterbacks face adversity during the season. Ponder needed to react better and at times quicker Friday night. If you were hoping for an anxiety-relieving performance from him, this wasn’t it.
For those of you following at home, Matt Kalil’s training camp has been less than stellar according to the various reports … not terrible, but not on the pace he established in his rookie season. Blair Walsh didn’t miss very many field goal attempts last year, so even a miss at 49 yards is somewhat uncharacteristic for him (possibly he’s still adapting to his new holder Jeff Locke). John Sullivan is widely acknowledged to be one of the best centres in the league, so a bad snap from him is also uncharacteristic.
1500ESPN‘s Andrew Krammer averts his eyes from the struggling offence to find a bit of cheer on defence and special teams play:
The Vikings’ starting secondary didn’t get much of a test against the Bills’ quarterback Kevin Kolb, who threw four passes in the first quarter — the second of which was tipped by cornerback Xavier Rhodes, making his NFL debut, and intercepted by safety Jamarca Sanford.
Playing in both the base and nickel formations, cornerback Josh Robinson saw extended playing time at both outside and the slot after just six snaps in the preseason opener. Robinson jumped a route and deflected Kolb’s pass in the second quarter and if he had another step on the ball, could have turned it into a pick-six.
[…]
The Vikings only had three penalties, which puts the total at four across the first two preseason games — the fewest in the NFL so far.
No penalty was [as] inopportune as linebacker Tyrone McKenzie’s holding call after receiver Stephen Burton returned a kickoff for a touchdown.
Although he didn’t have a catch Friday, Burton has made a strong case for the 53-man roster this preseason by demonstrating his value as a run blocker, special teams man and solid fifth option at receiver.
Rookie punter Jeff Locke saw extended work with an inept offense — booting seven punts for an average of 40 yards, pinning three inside the 20-yard line with the help of cornerback Bobby Felder.
Felder played a big role in the field position game on Friday, downing two of Locke’s punts inside the 20 and taking a punt return back for 37 yards.
The Daily Norseman‘s Ted Glover wants to put in a couple of sell orders on the NFL stock market:
The first team offense, minus Rudolph: If I could use a WWII analogy, Ponder was France, the Bills were the German Wehrmacht, and the Vikings big uglies were the Maginot Line. Rudolph was the French Resistance, but everyone else? Yeah, pretty much got blitzkrieged. Ponder was running for his life, Matt Kalil perfected the “lookout block” technique, and John Sullivan demonstrated his otherworldly strength by snapping a football 30 yards behind him.
Matt Cassel: The second team offense wasn’t much better, but again, I think a lot of this goes to the Vikings and their decision to concentrate on what they waned to do as opposed to try and counter what Buffalo was doing. But yeah, Cassel threw a pick and was running around so much it looked like he was auditioning for Dancing With The Stars. Pre-season football fever, catch it!
Buy/Sell:
Buy: The new road uniforms. I like them. If I have a beef on anything about the new uniforms, it’s the weird edges on the numbers. But I like the look. Very nice balance between retro and a new look.
Sell: Not wearing the purple pants: One of the reasons I liked the uniform changes in 2006 was because they added the purple pants. I think I’m one of the few fans that actually like them, and with the new striping down the side of the leg, I think they look cool. Hope we see them from time to time.
Buy: Not game planning in the pre season. Look, this is the time where you try and get game reps and continuity with your first team, and not get anyone hurt. It wasn’t pretty to watch, but I understand the philosophy of what the Vikings did.
Sell: Not running at least one screen pass or draw play. I mean, it’s not like the Vikings don’t have screen passes or draws in the playbook, and really, how much valuable information can you glean from the Vikings first team offensive line playing Olly Olly Oxen free the whole time they were out there? Ponder’s lateral running ability, or maybe his backpedal? At least no one was hurt, so we’ll call it a night and get ready for the next game.
Buy: Rodney Smith’s nice TD catch. It was a nice outside shoulder throw by Thompson that Smith had to adjust for by doing a 180. He went up, got the ball at the highest point, and boom, our lone highlight of the evening, for the most part. Nice effort.
Sell: Joe Webb making the team. I didn’t see a noticeable drop in Joe Webb’s play, but I didn’t see any improvement, either. When you combine that with the fact that Stephen Burton has picked it up as a receiver and a special teams guy (had a TD called back on a kickoff return), and guys at the bottom of the roster coming on (Smith and Chris Summers looked good, for the most part), I’m finding it harder and harder for Webb to find a seat at the table when the music stops.
