Training Camp Master Thread

[dead_poet]

Thanks for posting!

Obviously news coming from the Vikings beat reporters are going to be slanted toward positive, but it really sounds like this could be a great year for us if Kalil can keep it halfway together.

He's currently my biggest concern. I keep having to remind myself that even the best tackles in the league are going to get beat on occasion and Griffen is pretty good. Barring injury, it's still Kalil or bust at LT with no legit competition (I know people are excited with Clemmings but he's not the short-term answer and has reportedly struggled some in camp at right tackle thus far). Unless Kalil turns it around in a big way this season (which I'm not expecting) I would think Rick would have to bring in some competition during the offseason and the draft in the form of a guy like Okung, Whitworth or Solder (Whitworth being a guy to watch that will be a bit older but has familiarity with Zimmer and unlikely to be back with Cincy in '16).

[DK Sweets]

He's currently my biggest concern. I keep having to remind myself that even the best tackles in the league are going to get beat on occasion and Griffen is pretty good. Barring injury, it's still Kalil or bust at LT with no legit competition (I know people are excited with Clemmings but he's not the short-term answer and has reportedly struggled some in camp at right tackle thus far). Unless Kalil turns it around in a big way this season (which I'm not expecting) I would think Rick would have to bring in some competition during the offseason and the draft in the form of a guy like Okung, Whitworth or Solder (Whitworth being a guy to watch that will be a bit older but has familiarity with Zimmer and unlikely to be back with Cincy in '16).

I agree completely. Although, I would be surprised if Seattle lets Okung walk. Dude is solid.

[Dirtyswabby]

Word out of Camp is that Teddy is throwing darts, arm strength is much better this year. I can't remember which analyst said it but Teddy Threw a ball so hard Johnson could hang on to it.

[soflavike]

He's currently my biggest concern. I keep having to remind myself that even the best tackles in the league are going to get beat on occasion and Griffen is pretty good. Barring injury, it's still Kalil or bust at LT with no legit competition (I know people are excited with Clemmings but he's not the short-term answer and has reportedly struggled some in camp at right tackle thus far). Unless Kalil turns it around in a big way this season (which I'm not expecting) I would think Rick would have to bring in some competition during the offseason and the draft in the form of a guy like Okung, Whitworth or Solder (Whitworth being a guy to watch that will be a bit older but has familiarity with Zimmer and unlikely to be back with Cincy in '16).

I wonder if we could deal Cordarrelle Patterson for a competent OT. The Vikes need a backup plan if Kalil continues to head towards Bustville.

[jackal]

Yeah, I don't want to lose games or get Teddy hurt.. I hope Kalil is better; however, it sounds
like he is still an issue..

If its time to move on.. they should do it now to give someone time to get up to speed ...

[dead_poet]

If its time to move on.. they should do it now to give someone time to get up to speed ...

Problem is there's no one really better on the roster right now. It's Kalil or bust this year until more (better) competition is found.

[Purple bruise]

Going in the right direction

http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/vide ... 0b96fe9c99

[S197]

So who are the early Mr. Mankato front runners? Diggs? 5th rounder is a bit high for that distinction but maybe if he continues to improve. Thompson maybe?

Also, in terms of the QBs I'm not overly worried just yet as the offense is always behind the defense early in camp.

[dead_poet]

So who are the early Mr. Mankato front runners? Diggs? 5th rounder is a bit high for that distinction but maybe if he continues to improve. Thompson maybe?

I think Diggs, Pruitt and Thompson are probably the best contenders at this point. I'd also say Hunter, if only because the notion everyone (including the coaches) had was that he's a raw "project" that was expected to get the Crichton treatment and he's already mixing in with the ones, with some success. According to Zulgad, to be eligible you have to be drafted after the second round (or undrafted). Thielen, 2014's "Mr. Mankato" also threw in his early nomination for Diggs.

Thielen glanced over the sheet of paper, meant to handicap our tongue-in-cheek award that goes to an under-the-radar player at training camp, and stopped at the favorite. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs, a fifth-round pick last spring, had been given 3-1 odds by KSTP's Chris Long.

"I have to stay in the wide receiver room," Thielen said. "(Diggs is) a hard working kid, he's always trying to learn, he's always asking questions. ... I think he's the man."

Keep an eye on Crichton, Exum, Hodges and Cole too. Crichton has apparently been consistent(ly good).

Also, in terms of the QBs I'm not overly worried just yet as the offense is always behind the defense early in camp.

There's apparently a pretty significant dropoff in talent from Teddy, though, which is worrisome.

[DK Sweets]

There's apparently a pretty significant dropoff in talent from Teddy, though, which is worrisome.

Well, put on your purple shades and you'll realize that there is always a drop off between the best QBs in the league and their back ups.

See? Isn't that better?

[PsyDanny]

Well, put on your purple shades and you'll realize that there is always a drop off between the best QBs in the league and their back ups.

See? Isn't that better?

There are drop offs and there are continental shelfs. I hope our favorite team does not have the latter.

[808vikingsfan]

Hasan's training camp notebook

His take on the OL so far.

Offensive Linemen

Padded drills! This is good news, because I love noting these. In one-on-ones and in scrimmage, we've been able to see how the offensive and defensive linemen have done more than the first few days and that's a lot of fun. Let's go through the list.

Matt Kalil: He started out camp strong and has been worse every day since. Seeing him get clowned by Everson Griffen wasn't fun, even if I like Griffen and am optimistic about him. Seeing him lose to Danielle Hunter more often than a starting tackle should—even if Hunter is everything Zimmer says he is—is depressing. We haven't had many days in pads, so he can improve. But the context of his recent history of play is not providing optimism. Here's to hoping.

Phil Loadholt: This dude is really good! He's adjusting well to different kinds of rushes and knows how the angles of the pass-rush will change how he uses his body. Rookie year Loadholt would throw his weight around. Veteran Phil is having none of your ####. He had some good days in camp, and though one could say that Brian Robison might simply be fading against Phil (FWIW, I don't think he is—he ruined the second team when lined up against them), Loadholt did a good job with whoever lined up against him, including Hunter who should be said to have had a good showing regardless.

John Sullivan: His star may be fading, but he still does a good job against younger players. All the centers did a meh job in one-on-ones, which makes sense if you think about it, but it would have been nice to see Sully do better against first-tier talent. He didn't do poorly against second-teamers if I recall correctly. He did very well in the scrimmagess.

Brandon Fusco: A rock. He's been great so far and though I didn't get to see too much of him in one-on-ones, he did well there and in scrimmages, including high-level awareness that had occasionally been an issue for him.

Joe Berger: Fairly average results. He won the majority of his battles, as offensive linemen are wont to do, but not enough that I'd stay excited about him. He is a starting-quality guard, which is why I'm not going to be all that worried if he takes over the position. I prefer him to Mike Harris.

Mike Harris: Not too happy with the results there. Perhaps I'm asking for too much because he didn't do anything particularly egregious in the last two days with regards to scimmages and his one-on-ones weren't bad, just not great. Linval Joseph eviscerated him, but as you'll see below he did that to everybody.

Tyrus Thompson: What an incredible day for him! He was astounding in the one-on-ones, did a fantastic job in the run game in scrimmages, I hardly have a bad thing to say about him. I expected a longer development curve from him, but his issue at Oklahoma wasn't necessarily that he was raw, it was that he would run hot and cold. Maybe today was a hot day (it was very good). Other days could be cold. We'll see. For now, I expect to see him take the spot at right guard.

David Yankey: The other possible right guard candidate, the folks who were on the left side of the field didn't get a lot of attention from me (see: Fusco) because the one-on-ones were further away. Curse my human limitations! I have no notes on him, but Eric pointed out that that fits—he has been OK, but he hasn't done anything to stand out. Still, the very first rep I saw of him was him shutting down Sharrif Floyd. That's really great news—he didn't lose any reps I saw, but that is mostly because I saw one rep.

T.J. Clemmings: Nope. He got burned by everybody, though it doesn't help that most of the time, he lined up against Brian Robison. Give him a year, though. While Thompson ran hot and cold from game to game at OU, Clemmings ran hot and cold from play to play at Pitt. His footwork was a mess coming out and that probably had a lot to do with his day yesterday.

...
more at the link

2015 Minnesota Vikings Training Camp Notebook: Day Three and Four

[jackal]

http://www.vikings.com/media-vault/vide ... 769ffdbfdf

Loadholt likes Harris and wants him next to him this season. About the last forty seconds of video, Loadholt spends about ten fifteen seconds
explaining why Harris is strarting with the ones ...Hasan's view, was very opposite of Loadholt, so far.

[DK Sweets]

The write-up on Yankey made me chuckle. This is probably our weakest group heading into the season, but I'm hopeful that between Fusco, Loadholt, and Sully we can get enough out of somebody at RG and mask Kalil's limitations enough to have a decent unit.

[jackal]

The write-up on Yankey made me chuckle. This is probably our weakest group heading into the season, but I'm hopeful that between Fusco, Loadholt, and Sully we can get enough out of somebody at RG and mask Kalil's limitations enough to have a decent unit.

I read somewhere that Thompson has been as impressive as any of the tackles, maybe let him start spilting time with the ones and see what happens.
Kalil, from it sounds like is still, an issue.