Preseason Preview: Vikings vs Bengals

Preseason Game #1 Vikings vs Bengals

Here we are.. how quick it went… we arrive at our first preseason game.  The Vikings take on the Cincinnati Bengals and it could be called a home coming for Mike Zimmer.  Zimmer was the denfensive cordinator for the Bengals from 2008-2013. Zimmer stated in his last press conference in Mankato that he won’t call this a sentimental reunion though.

Right out of the gate – it sounds as if Terrance Newman will not be making the trip back to Cincinnati. It’s being reported as an injury, but Newman deserves the rest. Newman played for the Bengals in the 2012-2014 seasons. The Vikings did come out of Mankato relatively healthy.

The Bengals, who had a 12-4 record in 2015, won the AFC North.  A Wild Card loss to the Steelers ended the Bengals post season as quickly as it started.  Head Coach Marvin Lewis has been with the Bengals since 2003 (112-99-2 record all with the Bengals).

The Vikings and Bengals will have joint practices all throughout the week leading up to the game, which shortened the Vikings stay in Mankato this year. The competition leading up to the game should make the game even more interesting.

For the Vikings, Tackle Andre Smith (Bengals took Smith 6^th in the 1^st round of the 2009 NFL draft) and Linebacker Emmanuel Lamur (signed with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2012) will also make their return to Cincinnati after playing with the Bengals prior to signing with the Vikings this past off season.

I think many Viking fans, as well as NFL fans, want to see wide receiver Moritz Bohringer (MoBo), the 6^th round draft pick by the Minnesota Vikings. The NFL  seemed to fall in love with this kid out of Germany after he was the first player in history to ever be drafted by an NFL team directly from Europe. I’m rooting for him to succeed.

My main focus will be on the offensive line to see how new line coach Tony Sparano has fired this group up and if it can gel together with the additions of guard Alex Boone and Tackle Andre Smith.  Don’t forget the competition at center with John Sullivan and Joe Berger.  I did see that Matt Kalil did miss the final training camp practice with an apparent knee injury.  Let’s hope that this is more of a precaution than anything that would keep Matt out for the start of the season.

I’m truly not looking for a lot of production right out of the gate in this first preseason game. With this being a very young team, just getting in the correct formation,s might be a win.

BUT it has been a long off season after the unforgettable loss to the Seahawks in the wild card game this past January, so let’s get a win to start off the 2016 campaign!