It is preseason game #1, so don't expect to learn a lot from the starters.  We all want to see the Offensive line and Dalvin Cook, but wait til next week to evaluate that.


I want to see if Taylor Heinicke or Case Keenam is the backup.  Taylor is up and down, but looked the better of the two in camp.  Not one chance in Hell that Teddy is ready for opening day.  He is in very rudimentary rehab on the field with Sharrif Floyd, who looks more and more like he will never play another down in the NFL.
What do rookies Rodney Adams and Stacy Coley bring?  Coley looked better in camp at the wideout position, but Adams is the flash for kick returns.   Will Moritz Bohringer ever get off the line of scrimmage, get open, and get any pass beyond 6 yards?  This guy looks the part, but is running about 8th string.  He does nothing in practice, he is just a warm body who is simply too raw for the NFL.
Bucky Hodges vs David Morgan.  Morgan is the better blocker, and Hodges is supposedly the better pass receiver, but he has not shown a lot in camp.
Can Jarius Wright get out of the doghouse and make this team?  At present, he is the 4th best wideout to the naked eye (behind Floyd, Thielen and Diggs), but the team just seems to always be looking for someone better to showcase.  Wright made a spectacular play in the scrimmage on Saturday night for a long TD reception...but no one talks about him.
LaQuon Treadwell - before we got to Mankato, everyone said he was having a better camp this year.  Since then, he has been injured and not at practice.  As Pete Bercich says, "you can't make the club, if you're always in the tub (whirlpool rehabbing).
Who grabs Chad Greenway's open LB spot?  Ben Gedeon was starting in camp, but the first depth chart didn't even list him there, instead, putting him 3rd team MLB.  Weird.  Lamur ahd Robinson have shown very little, but are listed ahead of Gedeon.
Has MacKenzie Alexander grown into the CB spot?  He has looked much better in camp, and so has Trae Waynes.  (on a side note, Waynes is very standoffish to the media, and Alexander is with him everywhere, which means neither talks to the press)
Punters and kickers - a bunch of lesser-known names, and it will be good to see what they show.
What do you look for?

Was printing off season tix for me and my tix mates last night for our game exchange party...Dont ask me why, it's complicated. 

Anyways -- 1 home game in all of November, 2 home games in all of December.

3 home games for the last 2 months of the season! 

BRUTAL
Week 1 | Monday, Sept. 11 | vs. New Orleans Saints | 6:10 PM | ESPN
Week 2 | Sunday, Sept. 17 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | Noon | FOX
Week 3 | Sunday, Sept 24 | vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Noon | FOX
Week 4 | Sunday, Oct. 1 | vs. Detroit Lions | Noon | FOX
Week 5 | Monday, Oct. 9 | at Chicago Bears | 7:30 PM | ESPN
Week 6 | Sunday, Oct. 15 | vs. Green Bay Packers | Noon* | FOX
Week 7 | Sunday, Oct. 22 | vs. Baltimore Ravens | Noon* | CBS
Week 8 | Sunday, Oct. 29 | at Cleveland Browns (London) | 8:30 AM | NFLN
Week 9 | BYE WEEK
Week 10 | Sunday, Nov. 12 | at Washington Redskins | Noon* | FOX
Week 11 | Sunday, Nov. 19 | vs. Los Angeles Rams | Noon* | FOX
Week 12 | Thursday, Nov. 23 | at Detroit Lions | 11:30 AM | FOX
Week 13 | Sunday, Dec. 3 | at Atlanta Falcons | Noon* | FOX
Week 14 | Sunday, Dec. 10 | at Carolina Panthers | Noon* | CBS
Week 15 | Sunday, Dec. 17 | vs. Cincinnati Bengals | Noon* | CBS
Week 16 | Saturday, Dec. 23 | at Green Bay Packers | 7:30 PM | NBC
Week 17 | Sunday, Dec. 31 | vs. Chicago Bears | Noon* | FOX

In most cities, centers are nameless. In Minnesota, centers are famous. 
In fact, if you ask most NFL fans who their favorite team’s last five centers were, you would get shrugs and sideways looks. In Minnesota, that trivia question would be just as easy as naming the team’s last five quarterbacks. 

When former center Matt Birk, who hasn’t suited up for the Vikings since 2008, spent a day at training camp in Mankato, onlookers shouted his name and the team’s digital media crew pulled him aside for an exclusive interview. 
In the minds of older fans, Birk probably ranks second among all-time great Vikings centers to Mick Tingelhoff, who started all 259 Vikings games between 1963 and 1977 and made six Pro Bowls. 
There’s also Jeff Christy, center for the ‘98 team that reached the NFC title game, and John Sullivan, who was in the middle of all sorts of Adrian Peterson highlight runs. You regularly see these guys’ replica jerseys at training camp.
This year, the Vikings are looking to Pat Elflein to step into this non-traditional spotlight. 
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2017/0...gs-center/

While Latavius Murray has been sidelined recovering from ankle surgery, rookie Dalvin Cook has shown everything the Minnesota Vikings hoped to see when they drafted him in the second round – and more.
Not only has Cook looked quick and appeared to fit into the Vikings’ zone running scheme, the all-time leading rusher at Florida State has been frequently come out of the backfield on screen passes and even lined up as a wide receiver. He’s also garnered good reviews as a pass protector, which was an area he needed to improve coming out of college.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2017/0...s-offense/

Waynes improved last year in his second season, spelling both Xavier Rhodes and Terence Newman with 11 pass deflections and three interceptions in eight starts. Throughout this offseason, Waynes has been in the starting lineup, a promotion the Vikings hope turns into more growth.
“I think he’s where Xavier was two years ago,” defensive backs coach Jerry Gray said. “He was close to making plays and now this is your chance to start. OK, can you take that next step? Can you go from being close to making the interception?”
The Vikings have eased in Waynes, the highest-drafted defensive back in franchise history at 11th overall, with special teams work and 774 defensive snaps in his two seasons. Still, Waynes’ position coach isn’t shying away from expectations for him.
http://www.startribune.com/vikings-coach...439329353/

Since Zimmer and Patterson arrived in Minnesota, the Vikings took Everson Griffen from a rotational pass rusher to a two-time Pro Bowl player. Johnson, a former CFLer who struggled to find a fit in New Orleans, has 14 sacks the past three years. And Danielle Hunter, who slipped to the third round because of raw pass-rushing technique that belied his athleticism, tied for third in the league in sacks a year ago.

View this post on Instagram

#Vikings Rashod Hill ready for Thurs: "I’m ready if I’m the starter..I just got rolled over (Saturday) Just a little sore that’s about it’’

@XavierRhodes29_ & @teddyb_h2o doing the jersey switcheroo X sold it well with the hoodie up for a bit #Vikings https://t.co/z7QAKB9fh7