Luft’s Locker Room

Archive for August, 2008

Here are the “final” 53 (subject to change of course).  The 8 man practice squad will be selcted by 5:00 PM Sunday 31 August.  I would caution you to expect changes on the lower end of the roster over the next few days and throughout the season.

The beloved Purple by position:

The Turk has been busy already.  He started early on Friday notifying the first of at least 22 cuts.  Here are those players.  I hope to udate the list as the day progresses and the evening deadline looms ever closer.

Cut Friday:

C Dan Mozes

WR Martin Nance - Nance deserves to catch on elsewhere. I think Dallas needs some receivers that aren’t injured. Maybe he made enough of an impression.

CB Brandon Sumrall - This is still a high motor player that has a knack of being around the ball.  I think he will be a good practice squad candidate if he makes it that far.

T Chase Johnson

TE Braden Jones

DE Chris Norwell

LB Rufus Alexander - I didn’t expect Alexander to make the list. I did expect Herron and Leman. It is interesting that Leman is still there. From what I read, he isn’t fast but has a knack for being at the ball and making the play. I suspected that Leman would have been a practice squad candidate. …Interesting.

LB David Herron

Cut Saturday:

RB Albert Young – Hopefully the spunky RB makes it to the practice squad.

WR Jaymar Johnson

DE Martail Burnett

CB Dee McCann

DE Leger Douzable

QB Brooks Bollinger

Playing with the backups

The last preseason game of 2008 is upon us and will be a battle between backups to make the squad.  The headlining battle will be between Brooks Bollinger and John David Booty to see who will be #3?  This could very well be the last time we see Grand Forks native, Bollinger in a Vikings uniform, or the Vikes could risk getting Booty through waivers and onto the practice squad.  Fans that have advocated for either player have said they don’t get a true evaluation playing with backups.  That is exactly who they will be playing with and against tonight.

I’ve heard that argument before of, “why can’t he play with the first team?”  Other than a failed snap on the center’s part, everything Booty [or any other player does] is on him.  If he is practicing amongst the inexperienced and not so talented types of the team, he can either stand out, or usually blend in.  As far as his execution, it is for the most part independent of other players.  You can evaluate how takes a snap, his drop or pivot, how he reads a defense and where he looks to throw a ball.  You can evaluate if he gets to the proper spot in the backfield in the proper position to make the hand off or throw, and does he get the ball there in a window tight enough for only the receiver to get and get there with enough speed for the receivers.  Look to see if he has the power in his arm to hit the fastest of receivers or hit a target that is open but for the very briefest of times.

That is what a coach is looking at and that is mostly independent of the other players on the fields. “If you figure on both for a half, obviously they want to give a good account of themselves,” Childress said, “whether they’re handing it off or whether they’re making a play on a naked (bootleg) or a screen or a drop-back pass. I just want to see where they’re at with my system.”

This is the third year for Brooks Bollinger, he should know the Childress system more than any quarterback on the team.  He needs to demonstrate that he can successfully execute it.  Bollinger, 28, said he would take it “just like every other game. I just need to go out there and do my job, try to move the ball, score points and win the football game.”

Booty will be given the benefit of the doubt knowing that he only has a few months of immersion in the system, not years.  “I hope we get some good quality time there and try to make an impression with this team,” he [Booty] said. “That’s what I’m trying to do, just do the best I can and not have any mental mistakes.” Lack of mental mistakes will be the key for both quarterbacks.

He will also have the fact that he is younger and that the Vikes moved up in the draft to get him.  Brooks on the other hand is not old, but he has seemed to have topped out on his development.  He seems the perennial #3 QB, a Shawn Hill or J.T. O’Sullivan type that just might need hop around the league some more.  It is not a really bad gig, to get paid about a million a year to sit the bench.

There are interactive abilities too that need looked at, like leadership and confidence portrayal along with how the other members of the team respond to them.  Each will get a half to play their quarterback hearts out, and that is what we are really looking for anyway, heart.

Against the Cowboys, coach Childress has already announced that he will not be playing his starters on offense and defense.  He will also be giving Gus Frerotte the night off after the team goes through their stretches and warm-ups.

The specialty guys aren’t so lucky, both Chris Kluwe and Ryan Longwell will get some playing time, Hauschka can’t do it all plus Childress wants Ryan to get a few more kicks in.  Steven Hauschka has done well for himself this camp and even though he will be one of the 22 players cut, he might have done enough to earn a spot on another team’s active roster [maybe the Chiefs, who cut their kicker today].

Speaking of the other 21 players that will be looking for work elsewhere, at least hoping to make it to the practice squad, Vikings preferred but any practice squad, they should be putting it all on the line to make this as memorable in a good way to make the decision difficult for the coaches.  If there is any advice that I could give them, it would be, “don’t make the decision to cut you easy.”

Two veteran players in danger of not making the cut might be cornerback Benny Sapp and safety Michael Boulware.  Boulware even with Madieu Williams out with his neck injury has been beat out by rookie Tyrell Johnson but he does have the experience that would fit well.

Scrubs on scrubs playing for their lives, it is either that or listen to some blow hard politicians promise you everything except for a new Vikings stadium.  Give me the football and maybe next week we might hear about that stadium.

Oh, and remember that the next week is one of two that we all look forward to… It’s Packer week.  A big shout out goes to Pacifist Viking and to his feelings on the subject.

What this time is between preseason game 3 and, an early final preseason game and preparations for week 1 on Monday Night Football. A few thoughts first on Saturday’s game first, then the cuts for Tuesday, Dallas and the final 53. That’s a lot I know, but let’s see how it goes… So much so, that I’ve decided to do this as a two part-er.

Part One:

A little Vikings self critiquing to make some of the Steelers fans feel a little better. The offense sure missed Tarvaris Jackson [I didn’t expect it that much, but it shows how much he is in sync with the offense], but thankfully we have old Gus, but things were “off”. Be it nervousness about the Steelers good defense or as the excuse I heard last night, “not being used to Frerotte’s cadence”, the O-line and even the running backs looked like their timing was a skewed. Childress went on to call it rhythm, but whatever it was the offense just wasn’t as productive as it had been with TJ at the helm.

AD and Taylor only getting 26 yards? Good job Steelers.

“The Steelers’ defense is very stingy,” said Peterson, who rushed for 21 yards on 12 carries. “They’re a playoff team, so we knew what to expect. We came out the second half with a good drive and really got into a groove. That’s what our offense is all about. When you play playoff-caliber teams it’s going to be tough.”

Tough maybe, but I think it may be more of the vanilla and lack of game planning style of the preseason. Plus Adrian and Chester both become effective because them and the offensive line wears down the opponent over the course of a game, not just one half. Some of those runs needed just one missed tackle and either back was off to the races. Like I said, good job by the Steelers D.

False start penalties from Herrera, Birk and Shiancoe, flat out unacceptable. The line play was “off” as a group with a sack even given up by Steve Hutchinson, but at least we saw McKinnie’s suspension backup, Artis Hicks get some snaps with the first team at left tackle. Shiancoe did catch 2 passes and didn’t drop or fumble either one, so progress there. Allison looked good receiving except for his drop, and Frerotte did well statistically with the exception of the one horrible interception leading to the Steelers’ 3 points.

The defense looked great! My favorite play among many was Pat Williams meeting Mendenhall 4 yards deep in the backfield. Sweet! EJ Henderson should be a Pro Bowler this year easily the way he is playing, a beast. I guess besides his talent, it says something for having the same D coordinator 2 years in a row. Also, why his kid brother wasn’t drafted is beyond me. Erin is playing better than many first day draft picks. Don’t worry guys, he’s made the final 53 [especially after the first cut was announced].

Longwell, who played for the first time looked good and distance on kickoffs was adequate. (Some day I would love to get a guy that consistently blast kickoffs through the end zone… sigh.)

It was good contest between two good teams, which who knows if all goes well, might see each other again in Tampa.

The only injury of note was to Robert Ferguson who got kicked in the calf. He was seen Monday in Winter Park with a stiff limp and a sleeve over the right calf.

Tuesday, the day teams make their first cuts from 80 to 75. The Vikings accomplished that task on Monday and with only one surprise. Linebacker Derrick Pope, who was signed as a free agent in the spring to be another special teams ace and backup linebacker has failed to make the team. That currently leaves Vinny Ciurciu, Rufus Alexander, J Leman, David Herron and Erin Henderson as the backups. Last year the Vikes kept 7 backers on the roster, but even if they go to 6 this year, I am convinced that Ciurciu, Erin Henderson and Alexander will be the #2s. It will be tight between Leman and Herron if they keep 7, but either one should now make it to the practice squad.

The other three cuts were offensive tackles Sean Dumford and Brock Pasteur and receiver Daniel Davis. Dumford and Pasteur were literally camp bodies picked up after the Vikings when on an IR spree. The Vikes were already down to 79 because of it and never replacing defensive tackle Kenderick Allen a part of the same spree. Davis didn’t do anything worthy to stand out, a must when you are trying to make the team.

Tonight is is P3. In a national broadcast on CBS, we will be treated to Mike Tomlin and his Steelers coming to town to face the mighty Purple.

It is not only a homecoming for Tomlin, but also running back “Waltzing” Mewelde Moore, punter from eons ago Mitch Berger and safety Tyrone Carter. Plus there will be ex-Goophers: Gary Russell, Matt Spaeth and Micah Rucker.

We know injury-wise at this point that Sydney Rice (virus) will be out after recovering his strength after a wicked batch of the late summer flu. Childress said tight end Garrett Mills (ankle) and defensive end Brian Robison (leg) are out for Saturday’s game. Offensive lineman Drew Radovich (shoulder) is questionable. Bernard Berrian should be playing after taking last week of with turf toe on the right foot.

The big question will be Tarvaris Jackson and his sprained knee. He did partake in some drills during the week, but reportedly never in 11 on 11 workouts. His appearance is looking very doubtful.

That will leave it up to Gus Frerotte to start the game and see if he is as sharp as he was last week off the bench. We should see a lot more running too, since the starters should get worked through half time and early into the third quarter.

The roster is at 79 but by the end of Tuesday will be dropped to 75 for the first cut. These should be 4 of the “camp bodies”, not there has seemed to be lots of those this year. The bug cuts to 53 will come a week later, and they will hurt a lot more.

Tonight will be the night, a dress rehearsal of sorts, that those guys on the Childress’ bubble must make a statement. For me I want to see if Martin Nance can continue to make the catches anywhere on the field. I want to see the battles for backup spots on the O-line, in particularly at left tackle. I want to see John David Booty and if he is still as lost as he has been the first two weeks. Then lastly take a good look at Tyrell Johnson to see if he indeed can alleviate my fears that he can take over for the injured Madieu Williams.

Speaking of Williams… Kevin and Pat along with their cowboy buddy should be having a field day against the Steelers offensive line, a weak point of theirs since last season. It should be interesting to see if the run defense has shaken off the rust as well as how many sacks can be totaled. Pittsburgh has a trio of good backs with Willie Parker followed by Mewelde Moore and rookie Rashard Mendenhall that will will test the run stopping ability of this unit yet again.

This is a very good test to see where the Vikings will measure up to the rest of the league. Enjoy the national audience, a good brew or two and the Vikings pounding some steel. Skol Vikings!

Our good friend, Anthony Hall over at Vikings War Cry today doesn’t think Tarvaris falls into the “china doll” category, but wonders if he is one of those players that everything must be 100% before he steps back onto the field.

I’ve wondered if he has a low [football-wise] threshold for pain. Then I think, “How could he, he’s a quarterback and they take all sorts of abuse since day 1 in Pop Warner.”

I’m not so convinced that he falls into the, “I’ve got to be 100%” category either. He did play last year [though not well] with the groin injury healing. But that should be a playable injury. A pulled groin as long as it is stretched and warmed up well will allow a player to play.

There were 3 injuries causing him to miss 4 games last year, groin, thumb and concussion. He missed at least 1 game each time.

Maybe Childress is pushing him to play Saturday against the Steelers, to get him over that mental hump and see that he can play with minor injuries like this the sprain, even all season if necessary. It will be interesting to see and if T-Jack ends up earning the reputation of being fragile or if this is just a recurrent stretch of the injury bug.

As well as Jackson has played so far this preseason, and you have to admit he has been sharp, I don’t think scratching him from playing against the Steelers or even the Cowboys will hurt his performance on Monday night the 8th against the Packers and their “fragile” quarterback. I also think, that getting ready to play Saturday is not necessarily a bad thing either and may build that confidence Childress is looking for.

For the rest of the sick and wounded, getting an update takes scouring the web. Head coach Brad Childress has said many time that he doesn’t have to report injuries in the preseason. He is already into the full blown secretive mind-game playing mode of an NFL head coach. So, here is what I was able to pick up as of today.

As of 20 Aug:

sick, restricted, held back and healing:

FS Madieu Williams (neck) Probably back about week 3 or 4.
OT Drew Radovich (dislocated left shoulder) limited practice today.
DE Brian Robison (leg) ready for last preseason game or week 1; was stretching and doing footwork drills today.
TE Garrett Mills (ankle) he can run in a straight line, it is when he cuts that it causes pain. After seeing the specialist again, they are saying it should be just a few more days.
WR Bernard Berrian (turf toe right foot) doing pool work – may miss the Steelers game.
WR Sydney Rice (stomach virus – same as Birk’s last week)
C John Sullivan (concussion)
OT Tim Mattran (ankle)
QB Tarvaris Jackson (sprained right knee) limited.
PUP list:

None
IR:

DE Kenechi Udeze (leukemia)
LB Heath Farwell (knee)
DE Jayme Mitchell (knee)
OG Mike Jones (unknown, still)
DT Kenderick Allen (hand/wrist)

Possibly hurt:

No rumors
Back to work:

OT Marcus Johnson (knee) returned to practice today.

Reports have it that the MRI results on Tarvaris Jackson came back with a right sprained medial collateral knee ligament.  The damage was supposedly done on the second hit, when Jackson was being brought to the ground.  The good news is that this injury is considered minor.  He will at least miss next week’s preseason game 3 against the Steelers, and to be safe, also the last preseason game against the Cowboys.  He will be ready for the opener in Green Bay on Monday Night September 8th.

Jackson has been extremely sharp in action to date and with the first two preseason games in the books is carrying over a 127 quarterback rating.  He’ll obviously be watching tons of film between now and then, and we’ll have a least a full week of practice after the Dallas game to get his his and body’s timing back and in sync with the rest of the team.

Access Vikings / ESPN

I had thought the damage was done with Ray Lewis’ hit. To me it looked like his left over extended when it hit the ground, kind of like when ground is a little further down than you thought and you land stiff legged already moving forward but your knee doesn’t want to bend that way. I was wrong…

It was the hit that took him to the ground or while he was on the ground and it was the right knee.

The rumble from the team is that this is minor and he will only have to sit out a week. Just happens to be, that week is week 3 of the preseason, the tradition dress rehearsal game for the season. This year it just happens to be against the Steelers who are coached by former Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin. It would have been good to see how Jackson would have done against a coach that knew him.

Gus Frerotte will get the start and a chance to persuade any doubting Thomas’ that he is indeed the right man for the backup job and can still go out there against a good team and lead the Vikings to a win [at least as long as Childress has him in the game]. Then again against Dallas if T-Jack is still sitting at that time.

It also gives more opportunity for the #3 and #4 quarterbacks to cement management’s decision on whether to keep Bollinger and try to slide Booty to the practice squad [a move that failed and lost Tyler Thigpen to the Chiefs last year] or release Brooks Bollinger.

Would Brooks be picked up by another team or would his career as a player be done? If the answer is the later, I hope that he goes into coaching and hopefully as an intern with the Vikes, he has the lineage and skills for it.

For now, we wait and see how long Jackson will miss action. It is not quite the bruise that coach Childress had claimed last night, but it looks like it won’t impact the season either. Every day it will now run through Tarvaris’ mind what the coaches and other players were saying, “protect yourself and stay healthy so you can lead the team.”

Vikings vs Ravens

The Purple have sailed east to Baltimore to meet and discuss issues with the only other team to wear purple. It is week 2 of the preseason and we should be privileged enough to see more of the starting line ups.

On offense, the Vikes will and should allow Adrian Peterson to get some touches running the ball. This should be interesting in two aspects; first has Adrian learned the patience that he has talked about to allow his blockers to do the work and then hit the hole when it opens, and secondly, will he hit Ray Lewis before Ray Lewis hits him.

To keep the 3-4 defense of the Ravens honest and not blitzing linebackers all of the time, the running backs must make it to and through the linebackers. Get them sitting on their heals instead filling gaps. Doing this delays the pass rush by the linebackers making for easier pickups in blocking assignments and more time for Tarvaris Jackson to make good decisions and throw the ball.

A point of emphasis for the Vikings fan to watch will be to see that Tarvaris continues to make good decisions, on time and on target throws. In week 1 of the preseason, we saw an improved Jackson and there is no reason to doubt that his progress will not continue.

The Vikings stated earlier in the week that the starters should be playing almost 2 full quarters. That will be good for us fans, but also for the defense, that was spotty last week against the Seahawks.

The defense will have their main run stopping energy source in the middle, big Pat Williams. Ray Edwards has been practicing, so we should be able to anticipate the starting front four of Edwards, P-Will, K-Will and Jarred Allen on the field and in action for all of us to see. And just think, new Ravens starter at quarterback, the former Heisman Trophy winner, Troy Smith will get the same opportunity. [Haha!]

There are backup battles that need watching tonight as well. Will Fred Evans improve on last week’s performance at nose tackle, or Leger Douzable especially since Jayme Mitchell is done for the season. Who will step up as the special teams ace now that Heath Farwell is done, and how will the rookies do in the kick return department this week.

Again this is only preseason and the coaches will be putting in specific players into the game during certain situations so as to get their play on tape for evaluation. That is the goal, show progression towards honing skills as a team and to evaluate players. Winning is nice, but not a goal. We should see better play by the defense against a much weaker offense this week, if not; worry will start to creep in. The offense should show continued steps in production, especially out of the 2’s and 3’s. One last goal… STAY HEALTHY!

I envy you all that will see the game tonight, for those of us out of the local broadcast area, the first re-broadcast on NFLN isn’t until Monday at 3 PM, then again on Wednesday at 5 AM. Enjoy as always, and SKOL VIKINGS!

These aren’t your ordinary beer goggles, but high tech devices brought in to help the Vikings. Sight acuity is a significant thing and can mean the difference between success and failure, or between not so good and great.

Shooting sports are one that come to mind and for me it was learning to shoot skeet in Turkey years ago. I used to always hunt dove in North Dakota early in the fall, and used it not only for the Sunday afternoon snacks it would make for later, but as a tune up for my shooting eye come deer season. I figured if I could nail a dove flying down wind in a North Dakota breeze, hit a deer was a piece of cake.

I would generally waste a good half box of shells in the process just peppering the sky. That was the case until the skeet instructor taught me to focus on the dove’s eye instead of just the bird. It worked great!

It was eye training. This year it looks like the folks at Winter Park have brought back the good folks from the Nike Vision. Sunday at practice, the strobe goggles were brought out. They are designed for the wearer to improve their focusing through distraction and focusing on what they need to. Just like what the instructor taught me.

Here is what coach Childress had to say as reported by Vikings Now:

“Strobe Specs is what they’re called,” coach Brad Childress said. “They will flash fast, so you can see everything. Then they will flash slow. The quarterbacks are continually getting hands across their faces, people waving things and bumped and moved. So it is really more of a distraction that you have to focus through.”

Nike Vision’s program of hand-eye exercises couldn’t cure former Vikings wide receiver Troy Williamson of the dropsies, but Childress is open to anything that might improve his players’ game.

“By any means necessary,” he said. “I think we’re some of the first people to have those. We have 10 pairs of them. DBs will be using them, quarterbacks, wide receivers. Anything for better visual acuity.”

Curing Troy Williamson definitely didn’t come when he was in a Purple uniform, but word now coming from the Jags camp is that he is catching everything in sight. He missed the first preseason game so we will all have to wait to make that judgment.

If these goggles help the rest of the Vikings, it will be all worth it. Plus it goes to saying that Childress and Wilf are trying to do everything possible to get the best players available and improve their skills, all in an effort to bring championship football back to Minnesota. No purple tinted glasses required to see that.

The picture is not of the goggles as far as I know. I just thought the goggles would be nice to look at through.