There are a lot of good things to say coming out of the Vikings‘ second preseason game. First off, they won it 37-20 – only an exhibition, but still, winning is never a bad habit to get into. More importantly, they won the first-half 24-13, scoring 14 points on defense, finishing off an offensive drive by scoring a touchdown with Tarvaris Jackson in at QB and Adrian Peterson making a big contribution, and booting a 54-yard field goal with time running out in the half and no timeouts left. And perhaps most importantly, they made it through with no significant injuries. CB Mike Hawkins suffered bruised ribs and TE Richard Owens sprained his ankle and knee, but Brad Childress said neither situation was serious.
So here’s my assessment of the team after two preseason games:
Quarterback: Inconclusive.
Tarvaris Jackson and Brooks Bollinger combined for a whopping 4-8 and 39 yards last night, 18 of those on one screen from Bollinger to Chester Taylor. Jackson has, at least, looked calm and efficient; Bollinger however has been shaky at times, fumbling last night and overall not running the offense as crisply as Tarvaris. The third-string situation is still way up in the air – Drew Henson finally got to play last night, and did okay; while Tyler Thigpen managed to go 0-1 in garbage time.
Running back: Encouraging
Adrian Peterson displayed his wares last night, gaining 70 yards on 8 carries including an eye-opening 43-yarder that featured a sick spin-move and a helmet planted in a tackler’s chest. And he scored a touchdown to cap the drive. Chester Taylor didn’t do much running – 16 yards on 4 carries – but he did gain 18 on a nicely-executed screen. Both guys have a lot to offer – now it’s up to Brad Childress and Darrell Bevell to figure out how to use them.
Wide receiver: Inconclusive
Our top receivers didn’t get to show much last night – mostly because the offense barely got to play in the first half, what with the defense turning the Jets over and scoring. Rookie Sidney Rice did catch two balls for 14 yards, but Bobby Wade only got one while dropping another sure first-down catch, and Troy Williamson was completely shut-out.
Tight end: We have those?
The most disturbing offensive story this preseason is that our tight ends seem completely excluded from the offense again. This was a problem last year, especially given how harried our QBs were, and how badly we needed that safety valve. Are the QBs just not looking for those guys? Do they need to be integrated more into the game-plan? Do Childress and Bevell have so little confidence in Shiancoe, Kleinsasser and the rest that they’re reticent to even toss a bone their way? I don’t see this offense working well without tight ends being a fairly big part of it.
Offensive line: Inconclusive
Adrian Peterson’s big run last night came to the right – of course, AP made almost the whole thing happen himself with speed and moves and strength, but still, there had to be some cracks there for him to get free. Unfortunately, our QBs, especially Bollinger, seemed to be under a fair amount of pressure again. If the line doesn’t pass-block better, we’re going to be looking at a lot of quick slants and timing plays designed to get the ball out. Which means a lot of fan griping about the lack of deep-balls.
Defensive line: Look out
The big guys in the middle are still stuffing the run. But now the edge guys are getting in on the act by actually putting pressure on the QB. They were all over Chad Pennington last night; Ray Edwards got all up in his face, and he made a dumb-ass throw that got picked off by Chad Greenway for a TD, and the scene on the sideline between Pennington and Mangenius evoked memories of Ditka and Harbaugh. Ray Edwards looks like a beast – now if we can just get something out of the guys on the other side. If the D-line continues being disruptive of passing games, while still playing the run brilliantly, we could have a top-five defense on our hands.
Linebackers: Good and bad
Chad Greenway looks like a player. Ben Leber continues to be impressive. And E.J. Henderson…he’s still on the team, right? Okay, maybe that’s not fair – he did have two tackles last night including a solo. Still, I feel like the middle linebacker needs to be the spark-plug of the defense, and E.J. just has too much tendency to fade into the woodwork. Everyone keeps saying he’s not vocal enough. At what point does talent – and E.J. obviously has it – get trumped by that lack of some intangible something a player needs to be really good? I’m starting to think E.J. is never going to be the player we want him to be.
Secondary: Good and bad again
I’ll say this about Cedric Griffin – he makes news. He made it last year by out-playing Fred Smoot, and chasing him right the heck off the team (good riddance too). He made it in a bad way earlier this year by not pulling his pants up enough at a club. And he made it last night – by seeming to forget everything he ever learned about tackling, and getting man-handled at the line of scrimmage, and just flat-out stinking on a couple of plays. We know what we have at three of the four starting positions in the defensive backfield – solid veteran players who will always be where they’re supposed to be, and will make the play if they’re physically able to. But Cedric has caused a big fat question mark to pop up at that second corner position – and may have opened the door for rookie Marcus McCauley to eventually steal a starting spot.
Special teams: Bad to ugly with a sprinkling of tolerable
Alex Reyes does not boom kick-offs as he’s supposed to, so I honestly can’t see him being an up-grade over Chris Kluwe. Ryan Longwell is steady and he hit a 54-yarder last night which means he still has leg. We still don’t have a kick returner, after trying Troy Williamson, Aundrae Allison and Marcus McCauley at the spot the last couple of weeks. Jason Carter was tried at punt returner last night but I think we all know Mewelde Moore is the guy there. Our kick coverage is still awful.
Our next game is next Saturday at Seattle. Let’s see if Chilly decides to really open up the passing game and get those quarterbacks and receivers some work. And let’s see if Cedric Griffin has worked on his tackling. Seriously, he was miserable last night. Almost Smoot-bad.