Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings Preseason Week 2: First Team Rapid Reaction
Without the benefit of replay or film review, a rapid reaction of the first team below:
The Minnesota Vikings first team offenses and defenses were on the field against the Cardinals ones and twos, which makes evaluating them somewhat of a mixed bag. Regardless, there are a few quick takeaways based on only half a game that, with the context of small sample size and preseason play, will give us further clue on the 2014 Minnesota Vikings.
Offense
The Vikings offensive line looks improved from last year if only because Matt Kalil is no longer off to his sluggish start and John Sullivan is playing at a high level right away. Brandon Fusco is doing well, but hasn’t hit the highs of the past season. The best performing member of the line is probably John Sullivan, as both tackles have been beaten for pressure and Kalil has missed a block or two in the run game. A mistake from Brandon Fusco takes him out of the running as well, and Charlie Johnson has given up multiple pressures and has missed at least one block in the run game.
Despite all that, I think it’s safe to say the offensive line will continue to be one of the best in the country given what we saw.
Matt Cassel is showing more signs of being a league-average quarterback, which will be more than the Vikings saw last year from any of the three quarterbacks on a consistent basis. He’s reacting well to pressure and making quick decisions, identifying blitzes and checking to hot routes like a veteran should. His decisionmaking is not elite and he’s made some mistakes, particularly on that stalled first drive, but all in all has been fine. A few badly placed balls (including at least two overthrows and an underthrow) hurt his showing overall, but his runs have been efficient and on-point, allowing the Vikings to get within scoring distance. That said, he still could not consistently beat the second-team defense the Cardinals put forth.
Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon both have arrows pointing up. Asiata is a little hesitant to check out of protection and into his routes, but otherwise has been solid on his pass protection decisions, and in the actual act of stopping a blitzer. Asiata’s running decisions haven’t been up to his usual standard, which is critical for a runner who doesn’t have the explosion of other running backs. Jerick McKinnon was exciting as a returner, shedding a tackle impressively and dragging a second tackler in his second return. McKinnon also threw a phenomenal block to allow Kyle Rudolph the catch-and-run yardage necessary to get the first down.
Rhett Ellison has been only OK, with an issue or two in blocking. He hasn’t released much in route. Kyle Rudolph has had two or three issues in run blocking as well, but has been more impressive as a route-runner and pass-catcher, shedding coverage off-screen more than once and making a few impressive catches. His drop in the end zone shouldn’t happen, but we shouldn’t project it as a consistent problem going forward.
The receivers have been what you expect, with Patterson an improved route-runner and Greg Jennings nearly always open. Jerome Simpson is being used exactly how his skill set demands, as a deep-runner against man coverage and an intuitive zone receiver who can find space. He gets less YAC than you’d hope, but that’s always been the case.
Defense
The defense more resembled last year’s defense than this year’s.
The defensive line is perhaps the most obviously improved unit, however, with consistent pressure from Sharrif Floyd despite missing linemate Linval Joseph. Brian Robison and Everson Griffen got more pressure this game than last game, but Floyd is the one who really stood out. Unfortunately, any real analysis of the line stops well short of complete because the Cardinals offensive line is neither good nor healthy, with both Lyle Sendlein (center) and Johnathan Cooper (guard) out. Still, it’s good to see good play. All that said, I kind of hoped for more from Everson Griffen and Brian Robison, knowing how weak at tackle Arizona is.
Shamar Stephen is the only defensive linemen on the second team that caught my eye when rolling with the ones, and he shot the gap well. When at nose, he did a great job holding up against double teams.
Of the linebackers, the most impactful was probably Anthony Barr, largely because he was used to create pressure more often. He lined up at defensive end, with Robison kicking inside, in a few packages. That said, he wasn’t terrible off-ball, but he wasn’t asked to cover often, either. Chad Greenway had a mixed night in coverage, with some good positioning on some plays (including a touchdown allowed to Darren Fells that is honestly difficult to defend) and some issues on other plays. Jasper Brinkley has been having a great night, but I haven’t seen him tested in coverage too often. Good run defense, for sure.
I did not see much of Gerald Hodges.
Xavier Rhodes has had good positioning throughout the night, and Marcus Sherels has been far better than advertised going in to the game. Harrison Smith has had his fair share of mistakes, and the rotating group at strong safety has stood out neither positively or negatively. Captain Munnerlyn didn’t look bad, but has been caught out of coverage at least once. He continues to be a good tackler. I will have to review his splits outside and inside to see if he was less effective outside or not, but nothing popped out at me.