Stretch out, drink some water. Practice a drill, wipe the sweat. Run a play, drink more water.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
The never-ending pattern that plagued summer air in Mankato, MN. where the MInnesota Vikings took the field for day two of what will be 14 practices during their training camp process.
While day one was dominated by the defense and a few surprising first-team starters, day two saw the offense take a step forward showing a shade of cohesiveness during the dog days of summer.
The play-of-the-day came in 7-on-7 drills when Teddy Bridgewater kept his eyes towards the flats (where he targeted the pervious two of three plays) freezing the underneath safety Robert Blanton, before climbing the pocket and rifling the ball 55 yards down field hitting Charles Johnson in stride, who had out ran cornerback Terence Newman and safety Harrison Smith by a full stride for the eventual touchdown.
Bridgewater found Johnson numerous times during the nearly three-hour long practice consistently finding him in tight coverage over linebackers and underneath safeties. Johnson, who has worked vigorously in the offseason on his route running and technique, has been Bridgewater's clear go-to target through just two days and it's easy to see why.
The third-year wide out from D-2Grand Valley State has climbed a steep hill to get where he is now, being cut by the team that drafted him the Green Bay Packers, to growing a relationship with his now current offensive coordinator Norv Turner in Cleveland with the Browns, to now growing into one of the team's biggest and efficient weapons through the air.
When the team parted ways with Greg Jennings there was a giant void in the receiving core as the former wide receiver led the unit in receptions, yards, and touchdowns in 2014.
However, with Johnson flourishing and emerging into a legitimate number one wide-out, the team trading for speedster Mike Wallace, plus Jarius Wright and former first-round pick Cordarrelle Patterson waiting in the wings, it seems for now the offense has more weapons than it knows what to do with.
Monday Practice Notes and News
Windy conditions kicked an already struggling offense down even further for the first portion of practice as all three quarterback had a difficult time finding any rhythm in the early goings. However, once the weather started to corporate, for the first time in camp, the defense had moments where it looked vulnerable and susceptible to Norv Turner’s offense design and play calling as his quarterbacks spread the ball all over the field to multiple targets.
Offensive lineman from Oklahoma Tyrus Thompson had his “rookie” moment for the day during goal-line work. While I can say for certain do to the nature of the play it did seem like Thompson missed his assignment causing the offense to lose the play. Moments later, team captain center John Sullivan and veteran leader Joe Berger were seen laying the heat on Thompson behind the scenes. Thompson seemed to take his lumps and learn from the play and moments later the three were all smiles after the tense confrontation.
While he told me in an interview he was “feeling great” linebacker Anthony Barr didn't practice with the team today, but instead was found on the other side of the field where he was put through multiple and vigourous workouts by team trainer Eric Sugarman. Barr did look fluid and explosive in the few drills I saw, but the team likely will continue to bring him along slowly leading up to the regular season. Barr missed the last four weeks of the season with a knee injury however, he would not specify if his current injury was related.
While coaches implied the first four days of the training camp depth chart would be somewhat conservative until they go back and reassess the roster, one move did stand out for me which was defensive Scott Crichton hitting the field with the first team. Crichton, who was a highly regarded third-round pick last year, was held on a leash and basically had his rookie season redshirted. This offseason though, Crichton received high praise by coaches and general manager Rick Spielman for his improvement from then to now. Crichton shuffled his way in as the teams left defensive-end during the team's nickel package subbing in for veteran Brian Robison. It remains to be seen just exactly what the coaches plans are for him, but seeing time with the starters is a positive step towards the right direction.
In that same nickel formation it was Chad Greenway and Eric Kendricks at the linebacker position early on. Later on, Audie Cole was plugged in for Greenway which comes at some surprise as Cole is known for his run defensive prowess while lacking the quicks to keep up in the pass game. Its worth noting Cole looked smooth enough to cover the flats and shallow underneath routes. With coaches early in their evaluation process it's common to see an “Arby's Mix and Match” and heavy rotation of players in multiple spots. Its also worth repeating that once healthy, Anthony Barr will be on the field during both run and passing situations.
Both Mike Zimmer and Norv Turner brought an overload of energy and enthusiasm into day two of practice being loud and vocal throughout the day. Zimmer, who is still new to his head coaching position, seems to enjoy giving his two-cents in on the offensive-side of the ball. During individual drills, the wideouts were running a “stutter and go” route. Zimmer apparently didn't like the depth of MIke Wallace’s route and let him and George Stewart know about it, calling both out for their lack of detail. A quick jab from the stern and respected coach, and just like that he was back on the other side of the field to his defensive babies.
With temperatures in the high eighties, combined with a humidity that catapulted the heat index to nearly triple digits, tempers flared up easily and often as players were quick to lose their cool, so to speak. After storming the edge on him in 11-on-11 drills for the third time in a row, Matt Kalil got a little too unorthodox with his technique causing Everson Griffen helmet to be ripped off his head and roll towards the sideline. Griffin was furious with the play and let Kalil know about it with more than a moment of barking and air punching until finally he confronted him at the exact spot his would be sack would have occurred. Kalil didn't flinch and ended the altercation with what seemed to be light shove which caused teammates to quickly break the two up. Neither player was available for comment after practice.