There continues to be ACTUAL football news – like how players, units, and coaches are screwing things up! – coming out of Winter Park this week, as the Vikings returned for … What … Their third round of OTAs? Boy, when do these guys EVER get a BREAK! I think next week. Whatever. Anyway, there are a couple of interesting nibbles and moobs that can always be found in the Vikings.com blog written by Mike Wobschall. He’s got some observations from practice number 7 that we’ve selectively highlighted here, with our own “thoughts.” I put thoughts in quotes because they are less thoughts and more just bitchings like a trust fund baby that missed his allowance.
Real football talk?! Let’s do it!
They begin talking about how windy it was in Minnesota on Monday. Boo hoo! Conditions aren’t perfect! Here:
| The first phase to deal with the wind was the Vikings special teams group, specifically the punt returners. Catching punts is difficult enough, but add in winds that gusted from 15-20 mph and the task becomes increasingly difficult. It didn’t faze the Vikings returners, though, as CB Josh Robinson, CB Marcus Sherels, WR Bryan Walters and WR Jarius Wright fielded kicks gracefully. |
First, I am sick with how dumpy our punt returning unit has been the past … decade? How do we not have a dynamic punt returner despite knowing the league is electric with them ever since Devin Hester was drafted? It’s stupid. What, Josh Robinson? Marcus Sherels? Bryan Walters? I forgot we even signed that guy, and I’ll poop in my pants in Sherels makes the team. Is Jarius our best option? Christ.
| It was a good day of practice for CB Marcus Sherels, the former University of Minnesota Golden Gopher who made last year’s Vikings squad as an undrafted free agent. If Sherels has more days like he had on Monday, he’ll once again be on the Vikings roster and in position to make an impact. |
Oh. Well I look like an asshole, don’t I?
| Sherels tallied a pair of pass breakups (PBUs) against what’s been one of the best QB-WR combinations during OTAs – Christian Ponder and Jerome Simpson. The first PBU came during a team offense vs. team defense period when Sherels jumped in front of Simpson on a short curl route, and the second PBU came during a 7-on-7 period of practice on a deep pass down the left sideline. On each play, Ponder placed the ball well and Simpson ran a good route, but Sherels was just able to make a great play on the ball. |
OK. Let’s not get too excited here. Ponder and Smoking-Jay Simpson? They’ve been playing together for like, two weeks. Breaking up their pass connections is like breaking up a Nebraska quarterback’s throws. Big deal. Frankly, with Sherels having his balls tased against Aaron Rodgers last season, I’d expect him to be seasoned enough to knock a shirt-covered Ponder down a peg or two. And I’m POSITIVE Simpson was too high to care one way or another. That’s why I’m growing to like him, though.
| DE Brian Robison was chasing Ponder, and the QB was able to buy just enough time to find WR Stephen Burton along the right sideline for a tip-toe completion before falling out of bounds. Moments later, Webb executed a similar play, sprinting right to avoid DE Eric Lattimore and completing a pass to TE Kyle Rudolph. |
The take away here is either we have two skill position players playing at quarterback (Or Fran Tarkenton’s effeminate old body), or our defensive ends don’t know how to contain when playing against mobile quarterbacks. Either way, probably bad news, and something that should make you SUPER excited for the upcoming season! 2-14, here we come!
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