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Vikings-Chief Scrimmage notes (1 Viewer)

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Footballguy
From KFAN.com - notes from the Vikings-Chiefs scrimmage on Thursday night:



Brad Childress held 17 players back in Minneapolis; Ryan Longwell, Gus Frerotte, Bobby Wade, Antoine Winfield, Jim Kleinsasser, Darren Sharper, Garrett Mills, Ben Leber, Chad Greenway, E.J. Henderson, Kenderick Allen, Steve Hutchinson, Matt Birk, Bernard Berrian, Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, and most notably, Jared Allen.

“I just said, ‘I’m not brining you,’” Childress said. “It was a dictatorship. And he didn’t

squawk.”

Childress thought bringing Allen to River Falls would create too much of a circus environment for an event that’s supposed to be focused around allowing young players to take extra reps. In fact, Childress told everybody over the age of 30, along with a few extra guys, to stay home.

“Great work for our young guys,” Childress said about Thursday night’s scrimmage. “Like [Chiefs’ head coach Herm Edwards] and I were talking about, we both have numbers of young guys, and it’s premium work for us. We can go back and teach so much off of it.”

Leber and Kevin Williams were both given the night off to spend time with their newborn children. Kenderick Allen, Wade, Berrian and Mills all stayed back because of various bumps and bruises. Jared Allen received what Childress called a “Kansas City exemption.”

Scrimmage Notes

- Marcus McCauley was the only casualty on Thursday night. He suffered a right knee injury during special teams drills, but he was walking around with only a slight limp after being carted to and from the locker room.

McCauley said he doesn’t believe the injury is serious, but the trainers just wanted to be cautious.

- Surprisingly, Ray Edwards made the trip to River Falls, but he didn’t really participate in any team drills. Ray’s jersey and pants were pristine clean at the end of the scrimmage. And he didn’t get into any fights.

- Chiefs’ running back Larry Johnson had an extra pep in his step on Thursday night. He broke a handful of nice runs against the second and third team Vikings defenses, including a 20-yard touchdown scamper that sent Chiefs fans into a mild frenzy.

- ESPN’s John Clayton took in the scrimmage with the rest of the reporters, and he interviewed Tarvaris Jackson afterwards, although when requesting the interview Clayton pronounced the name wrong…

- Benny Sapp showed why he is possibly the ’07 Marcus McCauley of this year’s preseason. During one-on-one WR/CB drills, Sapp was fooled on a double move when he attempted to jump what he thought was a curl route -- just like in practice a couple days ago.

About 15 minutes later, however, Sapp intercepted a pass that sailed on Damon Huard. Sapp has tallied at least four or five interceptions this week, but his propensity to gamble leaves him vulnerable over the top.

- Tarvaris Jackson saw a plethora of reps on Thursday night, and although he didn’t necessarily light the world on fire, he didn’t make any glaring mistakes (that I saw), and he completed a lot of 8-12 yard passes in traffic.

“You get tired of seeing [our defense] day in day out,” Tarvaris Jackson said. “Even though they’re my teammates, you want to go against a different colored jersey. You get kind of familiar with what they’re doing, so you want to see something different. Kind of test your mind a little bit.”

On one particular play, Jackson scanned the short routes to his left before uncorking a deep pass 50 or 60 yards downfield in the direction of Sidney Rice. The ball was slightly overthrown, but the Kansas City defensive back was called for pass interference.

Jackson also completed a number of short passes to his running backs. All he really has to do this season is limit mistakes and move the chains by hitting short-medium passes, and once in a while hit a deep ball to keep the defense honest.

“I can remember the two days we had last year like they were yesterday,” Childress said. “I kind of scratched my head a little bit… And now I see a completely different demeanor [from Jackson]. This isn’t live stuff, but you can see him move around and slide in the pocket.”

- Chiefs’ tight end Tony Gonzalez limped out of the scrimmage early on with what appeared to be a hamstring strain. (INTERESTING)

- During one-on-one D-line vs. O-line drills, the Chiefs’ offensive linemen had their way with the Vikings’ backup defensive linemen. Brian Robison was stuffed on consecutive plays by Will Svitek, fourth-year tackle out of Stanford.

- Adrian Peterson sent Vikings fans into a mild frenzy when he broke a 20-yard touchdown run into the far endzone. Peterson had a few nice runs/receptions on the evening. He also took time to sign autographs, pose for pictures, and talk to the media. What a guy.

- Tyrell Johnson intercepted Tyler Thigpen near the north endzone. Thigpen, of course, was a 7th round draft pick by the Vikings in 2007, but the Chiefs claimed him off waivers because of his strong performance at this exact scrimmage one year ago.

- The defensive highlight of the night for the Vikings involved three nice defensive plays in one. Jayme Mitchell came around the end for what probably would have been a sack. The Chiefs’ quarterback (number escapes me) threw a pass over the right hashmarks, but Cedric Griffin tipped it into the diving arms of Charles Gordon. The ref said the ball hit the ground, but from my angle (and this is confirmed by Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune), Gordon had both arms under the ball.

- Maurice Hicks broke a long run during 11-on-11, and he later was involved in a small scuffle with a group of Chiefs’ defensive linemen. The brush fire was stomped out before things got ugly.

- Madieu Williams popped Larry Johnson at the end of a 10-yard run, and both guys had a friendly jawing session. It’s easy to see over the last few days that Williams absolutely loves contact. So does LJ…

- During 11-on-11 practice, John David Booty hooked up with Nate Jones on a 50-yard touchdown pass over second year cornerback Rashad Barksdale. On the very next play, Booty found Martin Nance on a slant route and pumped his fist.

Booty has played terribly this week at Vikings practice, so it’s nice to see him have a little success.

- Vikings quarterbacks like taking deep shots when they see one-on-one coverage on the outside. This is a trend that will almost certainly continue during the regular season. It’s just a matter of cashing in on situations.

- CB Marcus Walker made a beautiful play to break up a pass near the Vikings’ sideline. The KC receiver ran an out route, but Walker recovered and sprinted to the ball before it arrived, much to the delight of his teammates nearby.

 
I'm not sure if he will make the team, but I was impressed with what I saw from Nate Jones when I watched the Vikings practice. I hope he can land on the practice squad if he doesn't make the team.

Thanks for the update.

 
Herm comments:

Q&A with HERM EDWARDS - 7/31

Jul 31, 2008, 8:59:09 PM

CHIEFS VS. VIKINGS - TRAINING CAMP – Highlights

HERM EDWARDS: “I thought some good things happened and some things we have to correct, but I felt for the most part for our young guys it was a good opportunity to see a different colored jersey and a different player.

“I thought both teams did a good job of keeping their composure and treating it like a professional practice. We got something out of it and talking to (Minnesota) coach Brad (Childress) he felt he got something out of it.

“Couple of nicks: Donnie (Edwards) with a hamstring, Kolby (Smith) with a groin, Branden (Albert) with an ankle.”

Q: Anything serious?

EDWARDS: “No, no.. A hamstring is a hamstring and that could linger on. The ankle…he’ll be fine. Nothing bad.”

Q: Did you see anything that particularly pleased you from anybody?

EDWARDS: “I thought for the most part once we got going both teams were very competitive. They were both trying to be physical. It’s hard to tell just looking at plays. Until you watch the tape, watch everybody, there will be some things that will make you shake your head and say why did we do that?

“But youth will be served and they’re going to make some errors. This is the first time a lot of these guys have ever participated against another team in a professional uniform. They were excited. (Jamaal) Charles was so excited he couldn’t keep his feet right. He was excited about getting to the hole, wanting to hit the hole fast he was tripping over his own feet. That’s a little bit of anxiety.

“Thought we threw the ball halfway decent too on seven-on-seven.”

Q: Minnesota obviously left a lot of their big guys at home. Are you okay with that, not sending some of their better players?

EDWARDS: “It was our guys that needed to practice against another team. They’ve got some veteran guys and that’s a long ride. Those guys are veteran players so I could see what they did.”

Q: Did you like what Larry Johnson did?

EDWARDS: “Yeah, he ran good; he ran hard. He got hit some but he’s been getting hit some in practice, too. He wanted that. He wanted to get hit and wanted to find a tempo.”

Q: He did that stiff arm on a guy too?

EDWARDS: “Yeah, he laid a good one on him. I didn’t blow the whistle fast enough and the poor guy got it.”

Q: Do you sense your running game is ahead of your passing game which would be understandable at this point?

EDWARDS: “Yeah, but Minnesota did some things early on nine-on-seven and they were very good against the run. They were the number one team in run defense. We talked about that and how they could play the run. They’re very powerful up front and quick with their linebackers. They have pretty good gap control. We had to adjust some things once we got into team. On nine-on-seven a couple of times we didn’t adjust properly.

“But the running game…you’re not always going to break a 10 yard run. But I thought we had some creases in there and we missed a couple holes. So, that’s something we can better at.”

 
No Jared, But Plenty of Good Work

Jul 31, 2008, 9:32:27 PM by Bob Gretz - FAQ

RIVER FALLS, WI – The circus came to town with only one ring. It was like the Minnesota Vikings brought the elephants and tigers, but left at home the clowns and the guy who gets shot out of the cannon.

The Chiefs and Vikings went head-to-head Thursday night at UW-River Falls and Jared Allen was somewhere else. Whether he was back at Vikes camp in Mankato, or in the Twin Cities or on a one-day trip home to Phoenix, the defensive end wasn’t back in the Falls. That left many fans disappointed and the Kansas City media distraught.

It turned the affair into just an ordinary football practice, which is precisely what the Vikings wanted to do. They wanted no part of the circus that would have come with the defensive end’s presence on this evening. It’s doubtful Allen needed the practice work and when you’ve had the luck the Minnesota franchise has had in the last decade or so, you don’t want to see your $31 million guaranteed man bite the dust in a training camp scrimmage.

In fact, Minnesota head coach Brad Childress left most of his better players at home. Allen, Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, Antoine Winfield, Darren Sharper, Ben Leber, Steve Hutchinson and more did not make the trip. All-World RB Adrian Peterson did, but he hardly worked up a sweat.

That was OK with Herm Edwards, who said he found out earlier in the week that Allen would not be attending.

“He felt he got something out of the practice,” Edwards said of Childress. “We got something out of it … we just needed to practice against another team. That’s good for us. We had a lot of guys on the field tonight that had never been in action against another team in a professional uniform. (Jamaal) Charles was so excited he couldn’t keep his feet. He wants to hit the hole so fast he’s tripping over his own feet. This was good work for us.”

Right now, it is baby steps for the Chiefs. Thursday evening’s work was baby steps towards improvement. There wasn’t anything that happened that was a surprise, or anything that shocked the folks around the Chiefs. Their young players made plays. Their young players made mistakes. They were not overwhelmed by a full-house in the Ramer Field stands or a bunch of guys wearing different colors.

This season is going to be a journey and the work against the Vikings was just another day’s adventure on the road back to respectability.

“We’ll see some things on the tape and say, why did we do that?” said Edwards. “Youth is going to be served and they are going to make some errors.”

The Chiefs had some walking wounded that did not participate and then picked up a couple injuries during the work: RB Kolby Smith (groin), LB Donnie Edwards (hamstring) and LT Branden Albert (ankle). None are thought to be serious. The most disappointing injury was Albert, because it cost him some snaps. He was able to take part in one-on-one pass protection and split his two snaps against DE Brian Robinson.

What Albert has shown so far in camp is that he’s a quick learner. Veteran pass rushers can fool him at times with inside moves, but he’s picking up the clues and starting to diagnose his opponent. Now, the Chiefs have to hope this ankle thing isn’t some chronic problem. Remember, he missed the last workouts of the off-season program after suffering an ankle injury.

Offensively, the Chiefs struggled through the workout, just as they have in practice sessions against their own defense. The positives came from a couple of Larry Johnson runs where he showed anybody who doubted that there is no residual problem with his foot. He took a couple of hits that were more than normal for a practice, but laid out a few of his own, especially with a wicked stiff arm that rocked a Minnesota defensive back.

Although they threw the ball pretty well in passing drills, they didn’t make much work in the passing game when it came to the team sessions.

There is much work to be done.

 
River Falls Recap: Thursday, 7/31 PM Practice

WPI - Justin Olson By C.E. Wendler####Warpaint Illustrated Columnist####Posted Jul 31, 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008 – Evening practice, 6:30 – 8:00 PM

QUICK HITS

Hundreds of fans from Minnesota made the trip east to River Falls this evening. Vikings faithful are obviously enamored with their new defensive end but were likely disappointed as Jared Allen didn’t even make the trip with the rest of his teammates.

Left tackle Branden Albert had his right ankle stepped on Thursday night and immediately exited. He did not return. Second-team left tackle Herb Taylor replaced Albert for the remainder of the evening. Defensive tackle T.J. Jackson was also injured tonight.

For whatever reason, KC’s offense looked reluctant to throw the ball down the field against the Vikings in 11-on-11 drills. It may have had something to do with the fact that the second-team offensive tackles, Herb Taylor and Barry Richardson, played significant snaps with the starters.

Tyler Thigpen is aggressive with the football. Sometimes it gets him in trouble, as evidenced by his numerous interceptions recently, but he’s far more reluctant to simply dump the ball short, particularly in 7-on-7 drills.

It was a year ago when the Chiefs’ first-team offense was almost completely dominated by the Vikings’ defensive front in a scrimmage. Kansas City was unable to run the ball in that first meeting with another team, a sign of things to come. Tonight, KC’s run offense wasn’t spectacular, but holes were opened and significant yards were gained. Don’t read too much into it – the Vikings didn’t have a single starter working on the defensive line tonight – but it's important that the Chiefs found rushing success against another team after they struggled to run all last year.

The Chiefs started Pat Thomas at middle linebacker for the third straight day.

PLAYS OF THE DAY

Dwayne Bowe got a clean release off the line of scrimmage before slashing into a gaping hole in the middle of Minnesota’s defense. Bowe’s route was run so well, Tyler Thigpen had an enormous space to throw the ball into. The play resulted in a 20-yard completion.

Everyone is excited about Will Franklin because of his 4.37 40-yard dash time, but tonight he showed toughness and run-after-catch skills down by the goal line. In 11-on-11’s, Franklin ran a short curl route and turned around to present himself to quarterback Brodie Croyle, who thumped the ball right into his chest. Franklin did a little shimmy to escape one defender and dove into the end zone for a touchdown.

Big ups to the kid in the Adrian Peterson jersey who threw a dropped pen back up the stadium bleachers to a notable member of the Kansas City media tonight. It was a hell of a throw, covering at least 50 feet, and how was the guy supposed to write without a pen? Kid, you’re a hero.

WHO’S HOT

Minnesota’s defensive backs could not contain Dwayne Bowe tonight, at least early. In a span of just nine snaps during 7-on-7 drills, Bowe hauled in five catches, highlighted by his grab over the middle of the field. Kansas City’s quarterbacks didn’t throw any particularly amazing passes, Bowe was simply bigger and more physical than any Vikings defensive back, and his route running was splendid.

Larry Johnson looks like he’s got plenty of gas left in the tank. When the Chiefs opened a hole tonight, 27 was through it like a rocket. On the first play of 9-on-9 drills, LJ zipped off left tackle for a big gain down the sideline. Later, on a toss left, Johnson cut back to his right, thundered past the line of scrimmage and ran over a linebacker. Towards the end of practice, Johnson delivered a haymaker of a stiff arm to a Vikings defensive back. Check out Pat Clifton’s recap for more on the return of “The Centaur.”

According to my notes, Brodie Croyle literally completed every pass he attempted tonight. Now, I only saw Croyle attempt seven passes, and most came in a 7-on-7 drill. But Croyle was accurate, used audibles effectively, and was probably the best quarterback on the field tonight. Nothing he threw up came close to being intercepted. Considering how awful Croyle was the last time he practiced, it was hard to find fault with his performance tonight.

WHO’S NOT

There’s no question now – the Chiefs absolutely, positively, beyond a shadow of a doubt, need to find another backup quarterback. Tyler Thigpen and Damon Huard both threw interceptions tonight, and in fact Huard almost threw picks on back to back plays. I’ll give Thigpen credit for being aggressive with the ball at times, but Huard seems completely happy to check the ball down to fullbacks until the end of time, at least when he’s not scrambling between trash-can offensive linemen during 7-on-7 drills. Thigpen, by the way, can’t seem to take a snap without falling down occasionally.

Rashad Barksdale only showed up once on my radar tonight. He was chasing an unidentified Vikings receiver down the right sideline as a perfect pass sailed over his head for the longest play of the night. It was only one play, but on the biggest night of camp so far, that’s not how you want to be singled out.

Speaking of being singled out, I feel sorry for Bernard Pollard. On one play tonight, his facemask was practically touching Adrian Peterson's. Now, Peterson makes plenty of defenders look silly, but the move he put on Pollard was out of this world. It was almost like Pollard was turned to stone. To be fair, I'm pretty sure I saw AP run right past Jarrad Page a few seconds later.

SITTING OUT

Trevor Johnson

 
I understand that it's only a scrimmage, and early in training camp, but it seems as though Bowe "The Show" is only getting better. This kid is something that the Chefs have lacked for soooo long at the WR position!! It's finally good to say!!

 
- Vikings quarterbacks like taking deep shots when they see one-on-one coverage on the outside. This is a trend that will almost certainly continue during the regular season. It’s just a matter of cashing in on situations.
This is interesting.... since Defenses know they will run AD/CT all day, they have to open things up a little by going deep. It will be interesting to see if the Minn WR have any hands (B Berrian, S Rice). Thanks for sharing the news!

 
- Vikings quarterbacks like taking deep shots when they see one-on-one coverage on the outside. This is a trend that will almost certainly continue during the regular season. It’s just a matter of cashing in on situations.
This is interesting.... since Defenses know they will run AD/CT all day, they have to open things up a little by going deep. It will be interesting to see if the Minn WR have any hands (B Berrian, S Rice). Thanks for sharing the news!
I'm not worried about the hands of the WRs, it is accuracy of Jackson's deep passes that are the cause for concern. If he can be accurate, they will be in great shape this season.
 

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