Preseason Over, It’s Now All Business For Vikings
Mike Greitzer
|
Editor’s Note: This article comes from ‘The V61’ (vikings61.com), a friend and partner of Purple PTSD! Check out them out daily for news, analysis, and history of the Vikings!
Follow the V61 on TWITTER here!
Though the Vikings lost their last preseason game in Buffalo in a flurry of fourth-quarter points, let’s just give that one to the fans of New York that came out to watch NFL reserves play.
The truth of the situation is going 4-0 in the exhibition season is nice, but really isn’t worth much besides emotional impromptu locker room speeches by new head coaches.
What’s infinitely more important is the fact that during that preseason an NFL team has been given the opportunity to examine and analyze their full roster for those players that make a successful football team.
And, almost as importantly, none of those players have gotten hurt in that span of exhibition games.
For the Vikings; check and check.
With only defensive end Tashawn Bower and tight end David Morgan being considered for IR, and Mike Hughes appearing to be beyond his scheduled rehab, the Vikings, as a team, look healthy enough to run, pass and tackle out there.
Yes, DT Linval Joseph and RT Brian O’Neill remain starting question marks, but try getting info about them from Vikings coaching staff and you’ll be waiting until Christmas.
This infirmity-free month of August is a big win for everyone involved with an NFL franchise, most especially the Minnesota Vikings, who in the last three seasons have seen training camp injuries–and tragedies–decimate the body and soul of their football team.
Last Cut Is The Deepest
For all the young men who will suffer the Vikings’ final roster cuts in the next 48 hours, our sympathy. The work that gets put into making an NFL roster demands all of a player’s energy and spirit, and allows no shortcuts.
A 53-man roster can be projected at this point from several angles, but most have variables.
The type of variables that make for common speculations.
For instance: does Kyle Sloter stick? And: is that a rhetorical question?
Whether or not he’s been playing against NFL reserves, Sloter has shown that he is a remarkable athlete with prototypical size for his position, has a good arm and obviously possesses the instincts of a winning quarterback.
With Zimmer’s bad luck with quarterbacks, he should consider guys who have shown they can win.
Do the Vikings’ put Khari Blasingame’s name on their active roster?
Another no-brainer. Blasingame is a power running back they’ve asked to play fullback. In Kubiak’s offense, he’s a total find.
Who makes the roster behind Diggs and Thielen?
Seems to be a consensus on this? Bisi Johnson, Chad Beebe, and Brandon Zylstra, with really only Johnson outstanding.
It seems everyone else falls off easily, including Laquon Treadwell, a guy you hope finds a home somewhere.
With a basically incumbent defense, what cuts (and signings) stand out?
Not a lot of brain twists there. Perhaps an extra player gets signed because Linval Joseph is uncertain and the secondary has its contingency problems, but Mike Zimmer has his purview and prognostication is difficult in exhibition games.
Except: Hercules Mata’afa is too small to beat starting guards and centers in this league.
Sorry.
And here’s a simple request: in the special teams mess out there, please keep Dan Bailey.
Is he perfect? No. But Kaare Vedvik will cost you games 2019. You can see the poor guy overthinking his kicks on the field. Easy kicks.
Yeah. Disappointing. But this is business. It’ll just be another season of not being able to watch Vikings’ field goals.
Birds Overhead
After cuts and codifications, the Minnesota Vikings will begin to prepare to play the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, September 8th.
The 2016 NFC champions (who lost a Super Bowl to New England that only Viking fans could truly commiserate with), Atlanta had another successful season in 2017, falling in the divisional round to eventual NFL Champion Philadelphia Eagles.
They then unpleasantly surprised their fans by going 7-9 in 2018.
Last season saw Falcon QB Matt Ryan and WR Julio Jones again have remarkable years, but unfortunately, Atlanta lived by the pass and had to suffer its own defense, who died by it, ranking 28th in the league in passing yards against, and 29th in opponents’ TDs through the air.
How has this team been improved for 2019? And how do you beat them to start your season?
That is a dissemination and formula second only to the difficult administrative–and human–task the Viking coaches are faced with on Friday and Saturday, trimming their football roster to 53 men.
With so much to both decide to do, the entire Vikings’ organization is now in full swing. You can almost sense the flurry of feet and paper. The sit-downs, the meeting rooms.
The sadness, the euphoria.
The added sense of urgency today, tomorrow, and through the following week, always inherent this time of year.
It’s finally time to play the football games that count.