– This is the 5th offseason now that I’ve watched QB Tarvaris Jackson practice and his arm strength continues to stand out. He has a zip on the ball that you just don’t see from 90% of the QB population. When receivers or backs come out of their routes, the ball is on them and it’s on them fast.

– There were several impressive plays made by players during the 90-minute practice session, but one that stood out to me was a connection between a pair of rookies – QB R.J. Archer and TE Mickey Shuler. Archer, an undrafted passer out of William & Mary, pump faked to Shuler. The former Penn State TE, drafted in the 7th round last month, then continued his route up the left seam and leaped to catch a floater from Archer. Shuler came down with the ball and sprinted up field.

I can't read this and not get excited for life post-Favre.

– This is the 5th offseason now that I’ve watched QB Tarvaris Jackson practice and his arm strength continues to stand out. He has a zip on the ball that you just don’t see from 90% of the QB population. When receivers or backs come out of their routes, the ball is on them and it’s on them fast.

Only two starters took part in Wednesday's workout -- safeties Madieu Williams and Tyrell Johnson. Veteran cornerback Lito Sheppard also was present as he acclimates himself to a new team and defense. Sheppard likely will begin the season as the starter in place of Cedric Griffin, who is recovering from ACL surgery.

Childress did not express great concern about the fact starting defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams could have to serve four-game suspensions now that a judge has ruled against them in the StarCaps case.

“We’ve always kind of had that,” Childress said of a Plan B that would include Fred Evans, Jimmy Kennedy and Letroy Guion. “It’s not like we are going to come out and defensive tackles are going to drop out of the sky. There’s the guys on our football team and they understand with the number of guys that we have that those will be the first guys to step up. Will we need to go out and grab somebody else? That remains to be seen. Guion is maturing in there. Jimmy Kennedy, obviously, did a great job for us last year. Fred Evans played a little bit more in the system. Those are good players.”

Childress said he has not talked to the NFL about whether the Williamses suspensions could be served separately so they did not end up missing the same four games. “Really, that’s Roger’s deal, how he sees fit,” Childress said, referring to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Other observations: http://blog.vikings.com/2010/05/19/2-ob ... rom-ota-2/

Brian Robison, entering his 4th pro season after being drafted in the 4th round by the Vikings in 2007, was working with the Vikings 4th round pick from this past draft – Everson Griffen. A couple of things struck me about this. From a numbers standpoint, Griffen and Robison are competing for playing time. So it speaks to Robison’s character that he would spend extra time working with a teammate – and rookie – who is also vying for snaps.

Man, if having a lot of success in workouts translated to regular season numbers, T-Jack would be a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. I've never seen another quarterback look as good as T-Jack over his whole career right up to the first game of the season and NOT do real well during the season.

OTA #5 Observations
Posted by mikewobschall on May 24, 2010 – 3:17 pm

A few observations from Monday’s OTA…

– K Rhys Lloyd was one of several veterans who didn’t participate in last week’s OTAs but did participated on Monday. Lloyd was signed by the Vikings this offseason and will be the team’s kickoff specialist in 2010. This will allow K Ryan Longwell to focus exclusively on FGs and PATs. I watched Lloyd work today during the early part of practice and I was impressed with what I saw. He would take about a step and a half and boot the ball off a tee from the 35-yardline to the goal line. Lloyd’s leg strength is obvious and it’ll be interesting to see how his addition impacts the Vikings special teams unit.
– I spent some time during individual drills observing the RB group, which consisted of Ryan D’Imperio, Ian Johnson, James Johnson, Darius Reynaud and Albert Young. The particular drill I watched required the RBs – one at a time – to engage, lift up and shed a heavy blocking sled. The drill is designed to improve blocking technique. As you may or may not know, RBs coach Eric Bieniemy is one of the most vocal position coaches on the staff and he’s also known to let his players hear it if they make a mistake. On Monday the RB group went through 3 full cycles of that drill without coach Bieniemy stopping a player one time. That’s pretty impressive.

– The WR position is one of the most glamorous in football. When fans think of WRs, they think of silky smooth athletes and TDs and TD celebrations. But there’s just as much tedious practice work required of WRs as any other position on the field. And on Monday I watched WRs coach George Stewart work with his group on a drill that required the WRs to run a quick comeback route, catch the ball and then turn up field. Obviously catching the ball is paramount in a WR drill, but coach Stewart was focusing intensely on small details, such as heel placement on the pivot, arm action on the turn and tucking the ball away after securing it. Coach Stewart has been in the league for 22 years now and he’s coached great receivers such as Terrell Owens, Jerry Rice and Roddy White, so it’s no surprise he’s concerned with the details.

– WR Taye Biddle and QB Sage Rosenfels hooked up for the play of the day during offense vs. defense work. Biddle ran a go route down the right sideline and Rosenfels’ pass arched over a pair of defenders and into the hands of Biddle for what would’ve been a TD. The degree of difficulty was high because both players were fighting a strong breeze on the play.

Coach Stewart has been in the league for 22 years now and he’s coached great receivers such as Terrell Owens, Jerry Rice and Roddy White, so it’s no surprise he’s concerned with the details.

highlights from Wednesday’s action at OTAs…

– Speaking of Cook, the 6-2, 212 CB had a great day on the field. During 1 on 1 drills with the WRs, Cook forced a fumble and then on his next turn he registered an INT. On his 3rd go-round, Cook tipped a pass and forced an incompletion.

– Impact plays on defense, such as Cook’s INTs and tipped passes, are emphasized by the Vikings defensive staff during practices. So far during OTAs, and especially the last 2 days, I’ve noticed a lot of tipped passes and forced fumbles. I’ll have more on this with coach Frazier later today, but it’s been good to see the Vikings defense active in attacking the ball and forcing turnovers. CB Asher Allen also had an INT in today’s workout.

– In group installation the offense was working on the 2-minute drill. Tarvaris Jackson looks the most comfortable of the Vikings QBs in this situation and did a nice job in leading the team down the field, both in the group install portion and also in the offense vs. defense portion. During the offense vs. defense portion, Jackson capped the 2-minute drill by hitting a WR in the back corner of the endzone. The WR caught and secured the ball over his head, tapped both feet in bounds and then fell out of bounds as time expired. Sound familiar? It was very similar to the play that won the San Francisco game last year in Week 3. The player on the receiving end of this particular last-second play? Greg Lewis.

– I watched several individual drills during the early part of practice on Wednesday, but the most interesting drill was run by WRs coach George Stewart. I know I’ve raved about Stewart on the blog before this, but he does a great job working with his players and this drill was no exception. The drill is designed to make the WRs react to certain types of coverage on the fly. The QB takes a snap and the WR goes into his route. After a few steps, Stewart yells either “man” or “zone” to indicate the type of coverage the WR is seeing. If it’s man coverage, the WR continues running his route. If it’s zone coverage, the WR makes one more burst and then sits down in an open spot in the zone.

– LB Erin Henderson got in on the INT party, picking off a pass from QB R.J. Archer during 7-on-7 drills; Henderson returned the pick for a score. But on the next play, Archer bounced back and hit WR Jaymar Johnson along the left sideline for what would’ve been a 1st down.

As a 6-2, 212-pound CB, Vikings 2nd round pick Chris Cook sticks out. With 4.46 speed in the 40-yard dash, the 2nd fastest among CBs at the Scouting Combine in February, Cook sticks out. A hard worker who stays on the field after practice to work on his technique, Cook sticks out.

But none of those traits are what make Cook stick out to Vikings assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.
“I really like him a lot. The thing that really sticks out to me is how smart of a player he is,” Frazier said on Wednesday. “It’s hard to trick him twice. Once he sees something, the next time he’ll have it.”

At a time when most of the Vikings rookies and young players are on the field during OTAs trying to make plays and impress coaches, Frazier says it’s important not to forget that making it in the NFL is just as much about mental aptitude as it is physical ability.

“In order to be successful in our league –a lot people think it’s all physical ability – but the mental part of it really plays a major role in whether or not a player is going to survive in our league,” Frazier explained. “Chris has the physical tools and now you put the mental part of that with it and you’ve got a chance to be successful in this league.”

After a rookie minicamp last month and then 7 OTAs in the past couple of weeks, Cook continues to get more comfortable as a member of the Vikings defense. In practice on Wednesday, Cook forced a fumble, grabbed an INT and tipped another pass to force an incompletion.

As much as he stood out at times during on-field activities, Cook has also seen his challenges. Ultimately, though, the 2nd round picks knows it’s about improving every day and continuing to gain comfort in the Vikings defense.

“I feel pretty good,” Cook said walking off the practice field after OTA #7. “It’s a process to try and get better every day. I’m just out here working hard, learning how the veterans work. I feel pretty good being out here around the guys and seeing how their mentality is.”

Although he’s going through on-field work for the first time as an NFL player, Cook already sounds like a sage veteran in talking about dealing with success and adversity.

“Just keep your head on straight,” Cook said. “Out here everyone is good. People are going to make plays. The way to deal with it is to keep your composure and not get down on yourself and just play the next play.”

– Two highlight-caliber plays stuck out to me during practice. One was registered by LB Erin Henderson in the 2nd-to-last play of the inside skeleton drill. He jumped a pass in the middle of the field that was intended for TE Jeff Dugan and thrown by Sage Rosenfels. Henderson caught the pass smoothly and would’ve glided into the endzone for a TD. On the very next play, though, Rosenfels went back to Dugan at the very same spot and the duo completed the pass. The other highlight-caliber play came from QB Tarvaris Jackson and rookie 7th round TE Mickey Shuler. Jackson took a 5-step drop and rifled a pass to Shuler down the right seam. Shuler, who’s made some impressive catches during OTAs, hauled in the pass and continued down the field.

– Players were made available to the media following practice and one of the most popular interviews was WR Logan Payne, a former University of Minnesota Golden Gopher. Payne was signed this offseason after spending time with a few different NFL teams. A few interesting comments from Payne: 1) He said even as a guy whose made an NFL roster in the past, there isn’t much room for error for him and he’s making the most of this opportunity, 2) He had a few other teams interested in bringing him in this offseason but he took a look at the Vikings team and coaching staff and felt comfortable being with the Vikings, and 3) As he comes back from an injury, he feels as fast as he’s ever been during his career.

While we’re on the topic of former Golden Gophers, I spent a few minutes after Tuesday’s practice with DL Cedric McKinley. He joined the Vikings this offseason as an undrafted rookie free agent and he told me that after playing mostly DE in college he’s been playing a lot of 3-technique here with the Vikings. He also went on to explain that he’s been watching a lot of Kevin Williams’ film and he’s also been impressed with the work ethic Williams has. “I’m having a great experience so far,” McKinley said, “and it’s really a blessing to be a part of this team right now.”

– S Husain Abdullah tallied an INT during the first team portion of practice, picking off a Sage Rosenfels pass near the sideline.

– The best offensive play of the day came during 7-on-7 work, when Tarvaris Jackson floated a pass in the back right corner of the endzone for TE Visanthe Shiancoe. LB Heath Farwell was in on the coverage and actually was in a great position, but Shiancoe jumped and got both hands on the ball. My view of the ground was blocked, so I could tell if the TE got both feet in bounds. Farwell came away from the play waving his arms as if to say “incomplete” but Shiancoe had both hands in the air to say “touchdown.”

– Rookie 6th round QB Joe Webb got in on the action with a sharp throw to RB Darius Reynaud on 3rd and goal from the 8.

– The best part of practice came on the final 3 plays, where it was offense vs. defense inside the 10-yardline. Jackson hit Shiancoe on a quick slant for a score and then the QB followed that effort up with another TD on a quick slant to WR Jaymar Johnson. On the final play, though, Leslie Frazier’s defense came with a blitz and forced an incompletion. Jackson called an alert and made an adjustment to the play. S Jamarca Sanford came on the blitz and Jackson’s pass was batted down by a wall of defensive linemen.

Contact is not allowed in Organized Team Activities, but that didn't prevent a major collision at a recent Vikings workout.

Except it didn't happen between two players. Instead it involved second-year running back Ian Johnson and head coach Brad Childress.

Johnson, who spent last season on the practice squad, was running a swing route out of the backfield. Like most coaches do, Childress was standing on the field to get a better look at the play developing.

Johnson recalled what happened:

"I’m just running my route and my eyes are always fixed on the quarterback. So as I’m getting width I don’t know what’s coming. I trust the quarterback that he’s not going to throw me into a headache.

"I got hit by something and go up over my feet, end over end. I did a flip. My first instinct was, ‘Oh, I’m going to hurt whoever this was because someone just cheap-shotted me.’ I look up and I see it’s Coach Childress. He’s on the ground and I’m like, ‘Oh no, that’s my ticket out of here.’ You don’t do that to the head man.

"I sat there for about two seconds and he popped up and said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. That’s my fault.’ I was like, ‘Whew, maybe I’m not out of here.’"

The media was not present that day of OTAs, but witnesses say it was a major collision and that both Childress and Johnson were lucky to escape serious injury.

"We hit hard," Johnson said. "He had a bruise. I had a contusion on my knee for a while. I hit him right on his inner thigh and knee cap."

Like Brett Favre after the NFC Championship game, Childress has pictures of his bruised leg.

In the end, Johnson got to live out the fantasy of Packers fans, Bears fans, and possibly some Vikings players. He got to run over Brad Childress.

I met AP in vegas this wekeend, can someone tell me how to post pics

Vikings starting cornerbacks Cedric Griffin (ACL) and Antoine Winfield (foot) have not participated in Organized Team Activities this spring, although it's expected Winfield will be present for the mandatory minicamp next weekend. (Griffin already is doing rehab work at Winter Park.)

Nonetheless, Griffin and Winfield's absences have given the Vikings' other corners an opportunity to get plenty of work and make a favorable impression. One guy who has done exactly that is Asher Allen, who was selected in the third-round out of Georgia a year ago. Allen was inactive for the Vikings' first six games last season but got on the field after Winfield broke his foot in October against Baltimore.

“The young corners have done well," defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said. "Asher Allen has really stepped up and had a great set of OTAs. Now, you’ve got to get to pads, but he’s done well. Chris Cook has done a good job for us, Benny Sapp has done a good job. All those corners have really come along. Lito Sheppard is still learning the system because there are a few tweaks on what he remembers from Philadelphia. But still there is some carry over from him. But he’s been at the OTAs, he’s helped us a lot. I think we’re going to be all right at corner.”

It appears a long shot Griffin will be ready to start the season, meaning there is a good chance that when the base defense is on the field on Sept. 9 at New Orleans it will be Winfield at the left corner and Sheppard (signed as a free agent this spring after being let go by the Jets) at right corner. Of course, Allen and Sapp could join the battle for that job in training camp.

Because teams so often have to use a third corner in nickel situations that position has become critical as well. The Vikings opened last season with Sapp as the nickel but that changed when Winfield got hurt. Winfield missed six games and when he did return it became clear he wasn't ready to play full time on the outside. That forced the Vikings to move Winfield inside on passing downs.

Frazier said that ideally Winfield will be able to move back to the outside full time in 2010. That leaves Allen and Sapp as the most likely to compete for the inside spot. Frazier said that Cook and Sheppard are both outside guys and won't play against the slot receiver.

Posted by Chip Scoggins

Adrian Peterson was back at Winter Park on Monday as the Vikings get ready for their mandatory minicamp starting Friday.

The Vikings did not have a full OTA workout, but NFL Network shot a video of Peterson and the rest of the running backs going through some drills.

The running backs carried a 14-pound football filled with sand during one drill that the network showed. Reporter Solomon Wilcots described it as the football version of a medicine ball, designed to help the running backs get a better feel for the football and presumably help reduce fumbles.

Wilcots also conducted an interview with Peterson that can be found right here: http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/vide ... 2a8a931315

We have media access starting Friday and Peterson obviously will be the center of attention as he addresses reporters en masse for the first time since the NFC Championship game.

Peterson has not participated in the OTAs this offseason. Instead, he's worked out in Houston.

Vikings coach Brad Childress has said the team did an offseason study on how to help Peterson solve his fumbling problems so we should get a better idea of what that entails this weekend.

NFL Network will air more of the Peterson interview during Total Access at 6 p.m. on Monday.

OTAs are voluntary, but this weekend’s minicamp is mandatory for most players. As expected, DE Ray Edwards, QB Brett Favre and RB Adrian Peterson were non-participants, but aside from those 3 players the Vikings had everyone together.

Here are a few observations from today’s practice…

– Interesting to note that CB Lito Sheppard, who signed with the Vikings this offseason, was taking turns returning punts during the special teams portion of practice. I don’t read too much into this – Sheppard has only 8 career punt returns – but it’s interesting to note. Ray Small, an undrafted rookie WR from Ohio State, was also practicing punt returns.

– Speaking of special teams, K Ryan Longwell looked sharp early in practice. Rotating from left hash to right hash and backing up after each kick, Longwell was 5 of 6 of FG tries – he missed his final attempt.

– Both Harvin and Rice look as if they’ve added solid muscle mass during the offseason. Rice told reporters after practice that he’s planning on working out with Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. again in July.

– It was great to see LB E.J. Henderson participating in individual drills with the rest of his LB teammates. He of course suffered a season-ending leg injury in Week 13 last year and it would be a big boost for the Vikings defense to have him back for training camp.

– The most impressive defensive play I saw came from rookie and former University of Minnesota Golden Gopher CB Marcus Sherels. He was covering Harvin down the middle of the field and stretched to haul in an INT during 1-on-1 drills.

– Minicamp is open to the media and it wouldn’t surprise me to hear/read a lot of analysis/reaction to which QBs are taking snaps with which teams. Tarvaris Jackson spent the 2009 season as the #2 QB and I’m sure he’ll take a lot of snaps with the 1st team during minicamp and training camp, but I’m not reading too much into things at this stage.

– TE Visanthe Shiancoe met with reporters after practice and was in a jovial mood – par for the course for him. He was asked about Favre and Peterson not being at camp and said their absence wasn’t a problem with him because he knows they are professionals who will be ready to play when it’s time to play. I met with Shiancoe after practice and he shared a couple of other interesting thoughts that I’ll explain in a soon-to-be-published blog entry or headline story. Look for that early tomorrow morning.