10 Questions That Won’t Be Answered by Vikings Minicamp

Minicamp kicks off today at Winter Park and there are sure to be lots of minor developments that some people will obsess over for weird reasons I can’t understand. Hey, it’s football news in June. If you stretch the definition of “news” to its breaking point. Here are ten questions that will almost certainly still be questions after minicamp ends:

1. Does Joe Webb have a legitimate chance to challenge Christian Ponder for the starting QB spot? Some would say “yes” to this already by virtue of the flashes Webb has shown in the past. But what we don’t know is how serious the coaching staff is about giving Webb a shot. My guess is not very serious. Unless Ponder struggles in real training camp.

2. Can Harrison Smith be a starting NFL safety? The talent says “yes.” The performance as a member of the shaky Notre Dame secondary says “I don’t know, get back to me.” Same question applies to Robert Blanton, but the doubt is even greater.

3. Does Antoine Winfield have enough left to be a starting corner? I suspect he does. Scrappy little bugger that he is.

4. Is Matt Kalil the real deal? Much is going to be made about the Jared Allen vs. Matt Kalil showdown from here till the end of real training camp. I don’t know how much they’ll square off in minicamp but I assume there will be at least one “Jared owned Kalil in practice today” story. Remember poor Charlie Johnson last year? Let’s hope Matt doesn’t end up like that.

5. Can Jasper Brinkley be a starting middle linebacker? A better question might be, can Jasper Brinkley stay healthy enough to actually practice? Alternate question: Letroy Guion? Legitimate starting nose tackle or guy Leslie Frazier just hopes can be a starting nose tackle cause he doesn’t have anyone else but Fred Evans and Fred Evans sucks?

6. Is Blair Walsh going to make it as Ryan Longwell’s replacement? I don’t know. Maybe they should keep Paul Edinger’s number handy just in case.

7. Who is going to play right guard for this team? The propaganda coming from Winter Park says Brandon Fusco is the man to watch. Common sense says Geoff Schwartz should have a leg up. I’m pretty sure Terry Tausch is out of the running.

8. Will Tom Pelissero’s man-crush on Stephen Burton lead to bigger things? Wait, didn’t Tom just get married? Okay stupid question.

9. Is Josh Robinson the next Cedric Griffin or the next Asher Allen? Let’s hope it’s the first and not the second.

10. Is Jerome Simpson really the next Cris Carter? Actually that question has already been answered. For Sid Hartman the answer is “yes.” For the rest of humanity the answer is “Are you on crack?”

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