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Vikings Training Camp: Day 4 Roundup

Everson Griffen and Brandon Burton
Everson Griffen and Brandon Burton

Not a lot of media coverage today. Not much excitement, either. Player of the Day is Bobby Felder, while the Player of Yesterday, Reggie Jones, was quiet. That should probably tell you something about players of the day. You know the drill. Quick hits, injury report, media overview, and then some 2nd and 3rd team coverage. For more in-depth coverage of camp with mine and Eric's observations, be sure to check out the afternoon and morning roundups.

  • Defense dominated all day. General offensive/defensive scrums, goal line situations, kill the clocks, etc.
  • Adrian Peterson is fine after suffering an allergy attack that put him in the hospital. Steamrolling through rehab.
  • Ponder was 3 for 8, bringing his total in contact 11s to 10/20, 1 TD.
  • Some worries about John Carlson (details below), but the offense is committed to a two tight end set.
  • No changes in the depth chart, as far as we could tell.
  • The defensive line, first and second teams, both look good.
  • The tight ends all have the ability to beat rough coverage, but Ellison, Carlson and Rudolph (as expected) shine.

The injury list is as expected, but there are causes for concern:

  • John Carlson underwent an MRI for a knee injury. He has an MCL sprain and will be out for about two-three weeks
  • Josh Robinson is still recovering from his hamstring injury. May have been a setback because he's not running smoothly yet.
  • Robert Blanton was sidelined for the day with a hamstring injury.
  • DeMarcus Love is out with a shoulder injury.
  • Mickey Shuler was able to participate fully for the first time.
  • Stephen Burton should return to full participation today or tomorrow.
  • Adrian Peterson seems no worse for the wear after the allergy scare, and is rehabbing at full force.

The media didn't do a whole lot with the practices today. Pelissero still has a great notebook, however. The highlight is that Matt Kalil blanked Jared Allen in one on ones, although Allen did get the better of him in 11-on-11s. He notes that there was some tension when Frazier tells Erin Henderson that he had 'too much' contact on Ponder during drills today, but it amounted to nothing. Peliserro narrates the last drill well, and it alone is worth the read.

He covers a number of other things, but they've already been covered by this site. In particular, Eric did a stellar job with the Zygi Wilf presser. Further, Eric cut Pelissero off at the pass by producing a piece on Alan Williams. One interesting takeaway is that only 20% of the defense is installed, and we'll see more as the season goes on.

They produced a video to round out the day and cover a few other things:

In the video, you should expect:

  • Defense is way ahead of the offense; and you'll see that from time to time. Despite the good day for the defense, Zulgad and Peliserro are still more concerned about the state of the defense.
  • Frazier clearly has a heavy hand in the defense.
  • Some coaching insight about Pagac, Frazier and Williams.
  • Injury updates
  • Carlson may be out for three weeks, but slowed down for several more. Should mean opportunities for Ellison, Reisner, and Shuler.
  • Ponder looked nervous when the pocket started collapsing. Don't worry about it, though. It's a process.
  • Some karate by Judd.

ESPN1500 also has their own take on the Wilf conference, mostly that Frazier might be under pressure because of a statement that Wilf expects the Vikings to be division champs. Eric and I don't buy that, though.

Pelissero also produced a good piece on waived DB Nick Taylor, who expects to make IR for the Vikings after clearing waivers. He should make about 90,000 per CBA rules about injury settlements in the event he goes on IR.

Antoine Winfield is fine with restricted snaps, which is referred to as a "pitch count" plan.

The Star Tribune was on hand as well, and have their own video. To summarize:

  • Some Adrian Peterson news, it's a bit old given that the presser covers most of their questions
  • Also some old Percy Harvin news about the jammed finger
  • Mark Craig likes Matt Kalil
  • Harrison will likely end up starting when the regular season opens, but is running with the twos
  • A lot of nickel snaps, so even if Winfield is restricted to slot work, he'll see quite a few snaps

There's not much else from the Strib; that may be because they were covering the Adrian Peterson nonstory pretty intensely.

The Pioneer Press has two stories in their paper about players, and not much coverage on the team overall.

The first story, by Jeremy Fowler, covers Blair Walsh and his kick under "pressure" at practice.

The second one is a bit more serious; it's about Chris Cook and how he's changed. It's a pretty good piece.


2nd and 3rd team news:
  • Webb is 11 for 15, Rosenfels is 14 for 20 and a touchdown, and McLeod Bethel-Thompson 4 for 9.
  • Todman appeared in all phases of the game: blocking, running, pass-catching and special teams.
  • Everson Griffen is looking good against the run and as a pass-rusher. Leaves a lot to be desired at coverage
  • Bobby Felder had a big day. Beautiful interceptions, great kick returns, pass deflections, OK blocking.
  • Corey Gatewood and Corey Paredes are on the outside looking in, They have not seen too many snaps and have made several mistakes, so things are tense for rookies.
Remember, the best and most in-depth coverage of training camp is through our practice roundups, where you'll see many more notes.

Enjoy!