Vikings Preseason X-Factor Report: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Finally, we have some live action to watch and judge on the Vikings, Kevin O’Connell, and the players vying for spots on the team.
After dissecting small video clips and listening to others’ training camp breakdowns, live game action was a welcome breath of fresh air. In a previous article, I discussed players to watch on offense and defense in this game to gauge their performance. Did they show up or show themselves closer to the door?
A detailed look at the Minnesota Vikings’ preseason X-factors, breaking down who impressed, who disappointed, and what it all means heading into the regular season.
After one preseason game, it’s still pretty early to say who makes the team. Guys that balled out today may curl up in a ball the next two weeks. The good thing is that there were several encouraging aspects on tape, particularly in terms of the team’s depth. Let’s take a quick overall look at the team’s units and then look at the individuals.
How the Vikings’ X-Factors Performed in Preseason Game No. 1
The Defense
Again, and louder for those in the back, we’re talking about depth, not how the backup units played as a whole. Many starters were out today, so you didn’t get to see how the starting defense will play, and Brian Flores was most likely dialing back on his defensive calls so he can spring them in the regular season. I’ve seen people upset that the defense’s second team wasn’t playing that great.
The NFL doesn’t have line changes like an NHL team, so we’re not going to see wholesale changes on the defense or offense in a game. Folks really need to settle down on this point.
The Offense
All four quarterbacks had their moments in the game, and the second-string offensive lines and receivers seemed to do their jobs well. The Vikings only punted three times, which meant the offense kept the ball moving and only had one turnover on a lost fumble. It was by no means perfect, but there also wasn’t anything that made you panic.
Donovan Jackson/Justin Skule/Michael Jurgens
The 1st round rookie had a decent game today. Some ups and downs getting his first live action, but nothing that made everyone say, “Oh no! Another missed pick on the offensive line!” He had some great blocks in the run game, with the pass game still to be determined. I need to go back and watch replays to see if I spot any glaring issues, but the less you hear an o-lineman’s name, the better he’s producing.
The same goes for Skule, who doesn’t hear his name called out much. It seemed like the pressure from getting close to JJ McCarthy caused the pocket to collapse. However, he never got sacked. He must have been doing something right. Jurgens came in after Ryan Kelly departed and didn’t miss a beat. He even came back in when Zeke Correll was injured.
Ben Yurosek
The rookie undrafted free agent didn’t have a catch in the game and was only targeted on one pass from Sam Howell that was thrown in the dirt to avoid a sack. I saw him run a few routes that looked great, and his speed was evident. His impact was felt more in the run blocking scheme, and upon further investigation, I saw he shone without any highlight stats. He’ll get more opportunities to put his catching ability on film.
Lucky Jackson/Rondale Moore
As has been the story coming out of camp, Jackson has been steady and strengthening his grip on the fourth wide receiver spot. Unfortunately for Moore, it seems that his propensity to get injured also continued to be his story.
As Jackson put up 3 catches for 30 yards, Moore only touched the ball on his lone punt return and sustained what Coach O’Connell referred to as a “pretty significant” knee injury as he was tackled out of bounds. It didn’t look good, but I’m guessing he is out for the season. Jackson now has to keep up his pace, and one of the other receivers on the depth chart has to seize the opportunity to become the fifth wide receiver and punt returner.
Tai Felton/Jeshaun Jones
Jones had one big catch for 20 yards, and Felton had 2 for 14 yards. Neither did anything very exciting, but they were steady. Felton also returned kickoffs and seemed comfortable doing that. They should get more opportunities with Moore being out. Will they take advantage of them?
Sam Howell/Max Brosmer
Reports indicated that Howell was struggling with the offense and might be supplanted by Brett Rypien. Everyone was saying how horrible he was. I said, “Live game action may be just what he needs to break out of his camp slump…” I was right. He went 11/13 for 105 yards and QB sneaked in for a touchdown.
The panic was premature. Max Brosmer came in and was calm, cool, and collected, and seemed to move the ball down the field surgically. There was hype about how he was performing in camp, and he took that to the field. Out of all the quarterbacks, Rypien was the least effective, and Brosmer may jump him in the standings.
Zavier Scott/Tre Stewart/Ty Chandler
Scott was another player who carried his camp performance to US Bank Stadium on Saturday. Reports were that the coaching staff liked what they saw, and we got to see it. His vision, quickness, catching ability, and strength were all put on display.
The only thing I wanted to catch a glimpse of was his pass blocking ability, which I only saw him do once, and he whiffed on it. His only other flaw was that the fumble they lost was due to a bad snap, and all he should have done was jump on it.
Instead, he tried to scoop it up and make something happen, and lost it to the Texans. It was first down, and the defense had just intercepted the ball and gotten it to the Texans’ 27-yard line. I’m sure the coaching staff will tell him to jump on it so things don’t go from bad to worse. That took at least 3 points off the board.
Tre Stewart gets an incomplete for the day as he only got three carries, but they were for 10 yards. Chandler had some great catches and runs on screen plays, but he didn’t seem as exciting as Scott was today. He will need to have some big moments in the remaining preseason games.
Levi Drake Rodriguez
He started the game, and from what I saw, he didn’t have a huge impact. The Texans were giving him some extra attention at times, and I saw him holding up the point of attack, so it looked like they had him playing more of a nose tackle role. In the second half, he applied some good pressure, collapsing the pocket, before they sat him down.
Mekhi Blackmon
As has been the case in camp, he didn’t make a lot of noise in the game. He did have four tackles and one assist. He didn’t have any pass breakups. He may have been doing his job, making the quarterbacks look elsewhere for a completion, since he was in good coverage.
Brian Asamoah III
Here’s a guy who played like he’s been reading the sports page and took it personally. Asamoah has been great on special teams the last few years, but has never blossomed beyond that. Fans feel like it’s time to look at someone else to fill his role.
He had 3 tackles, including one where he split the defense and brought down the running back for a loss. He played well, but he’ll have to keep it up the next two weeks to stay on the roster.
Gabriel Murphy/Bo Richter/Tyler Batty
This is an interesting position to watch in the backup roles. Murphy and Richter started the game and got significant time. Richter had a solid game, effectively putting pressure on the QB. Murphy balled out! He seemed to be everywhere and had 1.5 sacks on the day.
He was consistently in the backfield and also showed up on special teams. Murphy also looked a lot bigger, having bulked up a bit in his first year in the NFL. Both of them will be great rotational players, and with extensive time, they will be effective. The interesting thing about Tyler Batty was where he played. He’s listed as an outside linebacker, but they had him lined up on the defensive line with his hand in the dirt, and he seemed to be getting some decent pressure.
Later in the game, they moved him back outside, where he held up the edge well on run plays.
Ryan Wright/Will Reichard
Wright is in a bit of a battle with Oscar Chapman for his job. Wright punted twice, and they were great punts that allowed the coverage to get down the field. Chapman only punted once, and it was a nice one that was exciting because Tai Felton caused the returner to fumble.
Wright didn’t do anything to hurt his position, and his holding was solid on all of the field goals and extra points. That’s important because Will “The Thrill” Reichard was perfect on all his attempts. This once again calmed fans’ concerns as he was perfect last year until a leg injury, and then was shaky after that. Saturday should have put those concerns to rest.
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