You cant take much from the first preseason game but there are flashes of things I liked and disliked about the Vikings victory in Denver in their first preseason game.
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE AND DEFENSE.... Both units played very little at the beginning but what they did show was impressive.. 3 and outs by the defense and a TD drive by the offense... DeFlippo knows how to shield weaknesses and accent strengths well.. Minnesota's o-line is piece meal at this point but those back-to-back runs by Murray were nice and that sideline ball from Cousins to Diggs towards the Denver goal line was very nice... When Cook gets back at RB and Thielen at WR, we have a good bunch of weapons... Gotta get the o-line to play well and that will be my question mark. DeFlippo had the QBs throw quick passes to keep from putting a lot of pressure on pass protection.
UNSUNG NAMES THAT YOU MAY HEAR ABOUT IN THE FUTURE FOR THE VIKINGS.... I know that Chad Beebe has no measurable that teams want but he has heart and the ability to get open.. A small guy who is the son of former Bills special team ace and WR Don Beebe.. A Northern Illinois WR with the odds stacked against him??? Hmm. I think I have heard that before.. OH THATS RIGHT!! Coach Fleck was that guy for the 49ers!! Beebe relaxes his hands well at the time the ball arrives at his body and is good at picking up the ball and running routes.. Never mind his size and speed, he is a gamer and I hope he sticks around,
At 3rd string RB, Mike Boone is an extraordinary athlete but just does not have the intangibles to be a great back. A workout warrior at the combine-type events. Great speed but not a lot of vision... I like the ROC THOMAS kid for the Vikes.. Thomas was Mr. Football in the state of Alabama over Bo Scarborough of University of Alabama.. He transferred from Auburn to Jacksonville State.. Has the patience and vision and can finish off runs.. Can catch the ball and could provide a change of pace guy and 3rd down back.. MACK BROWN is solid as well but I like the Thomas kid after the first preseason game, so far.
At WR, it will be interesting to see who they keep after Thielen, Diggs, and Treadwell...Kendyll Wright will be there as well.. Beebe could be on a practice squad or get cut but he could make a roster as well..Stacey Coley showed some potential..The kid from South Dakota had a catch and is a big body... Did not see Zylstra play.
Conklin, the rookie TE could be a very good backup, IMO.. Asiante Collins played a good game on the o-line, IMO... Holton Hill could be the steal of this UDFA class at DB... Jack Tocho had an INT but I think he could have changed his name to Jack TORCH-O.. He was burned repeatedly.. Tayshawn Bower was a nice backup DE.
DANIEL CARLSON WILL BE THE KICKER.. Kai Forbath has no shot at beating him out unless there is an injury, IMO... Carlson has a huge leg and was accurate in this game.
QB was interesting after Cousins.. I actually thought Sloter played better than Simien... Simien's stats look good because of the 78 yard TD on a screen pass. Otherwise his stats would have been 10-16 for 87 yards(besides the TD pass).. I just thought Sloter had better command of the huddle over Simien.
Speaking of QBs, Denver's backup Chad Kelly was WAY MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN Paxton Lynch... Lynch has the physical tools but has no commanding presence in the huddle or at the line..Chad Kelly seemed to give the Broncos spark and I think a year or 2 from now, Lynch will have a hard time making the Broncos roster, at this pace.
Overall, a good win for the first preseason and I like what the new offensive coordinator is trying to do for Minnesota.. We will see how that translates when the games really count.
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE AND DEFENSE.... Both units played very little at the beginning but what they did show was impressive.. 3 and outs by the defense and a TD drive by the offense... DeFlippo knows how to shield weaknesses and accent strengths well.. Minnesota's o-line is piece meal at this point but those back-to-back runs by Murray were nice and that sideline ball from Cousins to Diggs towards the Denver goal line was very nice... When Cook gets back at RB and Thielen at WR, we have a good bunch of weapons... Gotta get the o-line to play well and that will be my question mark. DeFlippo had the QBs throw quick passes to keep from putting a lot of pressure on pass protection.
UNSUNG NAMES THAT YOU MAY HEAR ABOUT IN THE FUTURE FOR THE VIKINGS.... I know that Chad Beebe has no measurable that teams want but he has heart and the ability to get open.. A small guy who is the son of former Bills special team ace and WR Don Beebe.. A Northern Illinois WR with the odds stacked against him??? Hmm. I think I have heard that before.. OH THATS RIGHT!! Coach Fleck was that guy for the 49ers!! Beebe relaxes his hands well at the time the ball arrives at his body and is good at picking up the ball and running routes.. Never mind his size and speed, he is a gamer and I hope he sticks around,
At 3rd string RB, Mike Boone is an extraordinary athlete but just does not have the intangibles to be a great back. A workout warrior at the combine-type events. Great speed but not a lot of vision... I like the ROC THOMAS kid for the Vikes.. Thomas was Mr. Football in the state of Alabama over Bo Scarborough of University of Alabama.. He transferred from Auburn to Jacksonville State.. Has the patience and vision and can finish off runs.. Can catch the ball and could provide a change of pace guy and 3rd down back.. MACK BROWN is solid as well but I like the Thomas kid after the first preseason game, so far.
At WR, it will be interesting to see who they keep after Thielen, Diggs, and Treadwell...Kendyll Wright will be there as well.. Beebe could be on a practice squad or get cut but he could make a roster as well..Stacey Coley showed some potential..The kid from South Dakota had a catch and is a big body... Did not see Zylstra play.
Conklin, the rookie TE could be a very good backup, IMO.. Asiante Collins played a good game on the o-line, IMO... Holton Hill could be the steal of this UDFA class at DB... Jack Tocho had an INT but I think he could have changed his name to Jack TORCH-O.. He was burned repeatedly.. Tayshawn Bower was a nice backup DE.
DANIEL CARLSON WILL BE THE KICKER.. Kai Forbath has no shot at beating him out unless there is an injury, IMO... Carlson has a huge leg and was accurate in this game.
QB was interesting after Cousins.. I actually thought Sloter played better than Simien... Simien's stats look good because of the 78 yard TD on a screen pass. Otherwise his stats would have been 10-16 for 87 yards(besides the TD pass).. I just thought Sloter had better command of the huddle over Simien.
Speaking of QBs, Denver's backup Chad Kelly was WAY MORE IMPRESSIVE THAN Paxton Lynch... Lynch has the physical tools but has no commanding presence in the huddle or at the line..Chad Kelly seemed to give the Broncos spark and I think a year or 2 from now, Lynch will have a hard time making the Broncos roster, at this pace.
Overall, a good win for the first preseason and I like what the new offensive coordinator is trying to do for Minnesota.. We will see how that translates when the games really count.
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