Vikes fans

[powerchord86]

He was the guy that did a flip over a guy into the endzone last year right?

That was the play of the year!

 

[JohnRandle]

Yeah, that's him..
The Bengals fans are saying that he doesn't produce every week though. We'll have to wait and see on that.
The coaches and Ponder really like him though.

 

[powerchord86]

Sounds like he will be a good target for Ponder.

 

[JohnRandle]

I sure hope so..
Ponder and Rudolph are pretty good buds it sounds like. That should make for some good chemistry between them on the field.

 

[JohnRandle]

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July 31, 2012


Genevieve Ross/Associated Press
Vikings training camp. VIEW GALLERY »

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE
Meet the new Vikings. VIEW GALLERY »
Find out what the FOX Sports North Girls are up to.MANKATO, Minn. — Quarterbacks, receivers, explosive playmakers such as Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin; those are players that usually draw the eyeballs of fans in the early going at training camp. Fans also want to see how first-round picks look in their first training camp, but when that first-rounder is an offensive lineman, the attention is often elsewhere.

But Matt Kalil is hard to miss in his first camp with the Minnesota Vikings, standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 308 pounds. His matchups with All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen are must-see events, especially Monday when the Vikings had their first practice in pads and helmets. Other than quarterback Christian Ponder assuming the role as starter and Peterson working his way back from knee surgery, the training camp battles between Allen, the defensive end who missed the league record for sacks last season by just a half-sack, and the No. 4 overall pick Kalil offer a bit of intrigue in training camp for Minnesota.

Ponder, who's backside is being protected by Kalil, is certainly keeping an eye on the matchup.

"First day in pads against Jared Allen I thought went really well," Ponder said. "Coach (Leslie) Frazier called a questionable sack there at the end that Jared had, but (Kalil) looks good and he looks good in helmets without shoulder pads. But when we put on shoulder pads today, he's a specimen."

Which is one reason eyes are drawn to the hulking Kalil and the popular Allen.

Allen, who had 22 sacks last season, is the veteran in his ninth training camp. Kalil, while a top pick and immediately penciled in as the starter at left tackle, is the rookie still trying to prove his worth. When the pads are on in the warm weather of training camp, intensity can be ratcheted up a notch. Allen joked while speaking with NBC SportsTalk before training camp opened, saying, "Keep your hands out of my face, don't grab my jersey and we won't have to fistfight."

Allen's early warning was more in jest. He isn't here to get into a personal battle. He understands Kalil's development is important to getting him his eventual goal of winning a championship.

"I don't know why everybody thinks it's an internal competition," Allen said. "I need him to be the best player that he can be so I can win a championship. Everybody on this team has to play at the highest level. I wish we could have 22 All-Pros. Our chance of winning a championship will go up. That's why I said for him the competition doesn't come from who's beating who. It's a working competition. It's a working partnership to where I'm going to help him get better and he's going to help me get better."

And aside from the "questionable" sack on Monday, Kalil has held his own against perhaps the top pass rusher in the league, demonstrating exactly why the Vikings made him their top focus in the draft. Minnesota allowed 49 sacks last season, the fifth-most in the NFL. The Vikings believe they've upgraded two spots on the offensive line by picking the big tackle out of USC. Charlie Johnson slid to left guard to make room for Kalil, who was an All-American in his two years as a starter for the Trojans.

For his part, Kalil isn't getting into personal competitions either. He knows he has the perfect training partner in Allen.

"He's a great player," Kalil said. "I'm going to learn a lot from him. It's exciting to keep going up against him every day…He's definitely going to help me out, maybe give me a glimpse of what I'm going to face in games. Maybe not as good a talent, because when it comes to Jared Allen, he's as good as it gets. But I'll feel more at ease going into games and be more prepared."

So, the two engage in a daily show for the fans, with the intent on making each other better. Allen knows the two can help each other, especially if Kalil is as good as advertised.

"Again, my goal isn't to beat Matt Kalil," Allen said. "Me beating him and touching Christian on the butt 16 times doesn't do anything for us, you know what I mean? I approach training camp the same way. Each day I have something fundamentally that I want to get better at that I have to prepare myself for the season. If I can help him with tips, like ‘Hey, man, don't do this or don't do that.' That's what it's all about, trying to get each other better. I don't have a direct competition with him.

"As long as he doesn't punch me in the face and grab my jersey when I'm coming around the edge I'll be fine."

Just a word of warning to the rookie.

 

[Remember Met Stadium]

Went to Mankato yesterday. Here is my take on what I saw:

Kalil v JA. Jarrad wasnt going 100%. He beat the kid a couple of times. He is going to shatter that sack record this year. Expect 25 sacks out of him. Hes a man on a mission. That being said, the rookie is surprisingly good. They threw a few stunts at him and he picked them up like a seasoned old vet. And he will only get better.

TEs. All 5 of these guys looked rock solid, both receiving and blocking. No worries here.

WRs. Only Jenkins, Simpson, and Harvin really impressed. None really made huge efforts to keep their feet inbounds on sideline patterns though which bothered me.

QBs. Timing was generally good on the routes. There were some mistakes on timing with that rookie they got (number 4, not sure the name). On the 2 minute drill Webb made a couple of mistakes in that instead of checking off his receivers 1-2-3-4 and dumping the ball to save time, he checked 1-2 and ran. HUGE mistake in the 2 minute drill IMHO. He also tossed a few long range wounded ducks. Sage looked much better than him frankly.

Secondary. Much improved over last year, but still nothing to write home about. Although Winfield wasnt involved in many of the coverage drills. They did good for a bunch of kids, but they have a lot to learn. They were right on top of the coverage most of the time, but not in a position to break up the play. Jenkins and Simpson both put a couple of moves on them that left them wide open.

Kickers. Kluwe is Kluwe. Solid. That rook hit all the field goals he tried, but the furthest one was 40 yards.

 

[MISKO]

here ya go JR

 

[JohnRandle]

[email protected] it.

 

[JohnRandle]

I was down there Saturday Met, for a family reunion.
I was trying to talk some of the inlaws into going to the 7pm practice. But no go.
I drove by the field on Sunday but nothing was going on.

 

[Remember Met Stadium]

You shoulda gone a day early and met me and "the wife".

 

[powerchord86]

I heard someone got hurt. Season a lost cause now? lol

 

[Remember Met Stadium]

Naaa, just a 4th round rookie. Probably would have been on the practice squad. The only receivers (other than the TEs) that looked good were Percy, Simpson, and Jenkins. All the TEs looked good. Both blocking and receiving, and seemingly we are going to run 2 TE sets a lot, so we can get by with 3 receivers.

 

[powerchord86]

Sounds cool RMS. Gotta admit, I am starting to get a little excited for the season to start.

 

[anythingispossible]

Oh boy that game reminded me of last year.
I sure hope we have a different offensive approach than was showin last night.

Although I don't read much into preseason that game left me wondering.

 

[Snyder]

Whats up Viking Fans? Havent been on here for awhile

 

[JohnRandle]

Hey Girly,
I was on last night, but computer froze up so I couldn't respond to you.
How ya been?
Ready for some football??!!

 

[JohnRandle]

AP,
I wouldn't put too much stock into the way the first pre-season game went.
I can't log into the other site for some reason, I'll keep trying.

 

[JohnRandle]

You shoulda gone a day early and met me and "the wife".

We were supposed to go down on Friday for my wife's Uncles b-day party, but I ended up working later than I thought I would.

 

[JohnRandle]

Anyone else going to any games this season?

I'll be at the Titans-Oct 7th
Cards-Oct 21st

Hoping to hang out with BVP, Lady Titan, SDPB and can't remember who else at the Titans games

 

[Snyder]

JR- Ive been okay. What about you? And heck yes Im so excited for football