08-01-2019, 11:45 PM
If you go to our Twitter feed @VikeFans, you will see all our interviews, photos, and other thoughts from Camp today.
We are here through Saturday night. We have a new interviewer who comes from a Hollywood Red Carpet interview background - Katia Dragotis. She is from Minnesota, knows football, is a Vikings fan, but lives in LA now for her entertainment broadcasting career. She has done work covering the San Diego Chargers and NBA basketball.
I will still do some of the interviews, but time to give someone younger a shot. Hope you will view her early work.
In the meantime, here is a cut and paste of what we saw that the cameras would not have picked up.
* There was noticeably more “rah-rah” to the team between plays as the coaches seem to be trying to get the players to play with more emotion on the field.
We are here through Saturday night. We have a new interviewer who comes from a Hollywood Red Carpet interview background - Katia Dragotis. She is from Minnesota, knows football, is a Vikings fan, but lives in LA now for her entertainment broadcasting career. She has done work covering the San Diego Chargers and NBA basketball.
I will still do some of the interviews, but time to give someone younger a shot. Hope you will view her early work.
In the meantime, here is a cut and paste of what we saw that the cameras would not have picked up.
* There was noticeably more “rah-rah” to the team between plays as the coaches seem to be trying to get the players to play with more emotion on the field.
- Anthony Barr looks quicker and more decisive to make plays. He seems glad to be back.
- Rookie First Round Center Garrett Bradbury has such a different body style from that we have seen from former Viking interior lineman. We are not fooled by the #56, he really does look like a LB and has a v-cut body shape. He is extremely quick and can get to the second level of the defense (LB) and seems to have the wheels and energy to get to the secondary on run plays
- I know it sounds crazy, but Stefon Diggs looks more impressive this year than he every has. Always a crisp route runner, he seems to have shifted it into overdrive with slick crossing routes and expertise on one 40 yard deep route he caught in tight coverage (thrown by Cousins)
- We talked to backup QB Sean Mannion today. We made the mistake 2 years ago of not talking to Case Keenum at camp, and we won’t make that mistake again. Mannion is well-spoken off the field, has a little daughter (1) who he talks about glowingly. On the field, he looked poised and is very accurate with good velocity on his throws. 2nd looks deservedly like it is his, and rightfully so based on what we see here.
- Kyle Sloter, the intriguing physical specimen of a QB had not looked great this camp so far. We had high hopes for him, and he is technically sound in drills. But, his accuracy has seemed off so far in 11-on-11 scrimmages, and he does not seem as comfortable reading his passing progressions as the other 2 QBs.
- As much as we sing the praises of Sean Mannion, Kirk Cousins is the better QB by a wide margin. He has zip on his throws, is making quick and correct decisions on where to go with the ball, and if he was asked to hit a nickel from 40 yards away, he probably could. Games will tell us how far he has come, but in camp, he looks good.
- Coach Zimmer showed his playful side in the press conference today, and he seems more relaxed with the media.
- Everson Griffen, to our eyes, looks 15 pounds lighter. He is really engaged and trying to look for coaching. He so badly wants to bounce back from a disappointing season
- Great to run into our old podcast partner, Pete Bercich (KFAN Radio Analyst). Pete shared the good news of getting engaged and introduced us to his fiancé. Pete was there to connect with Rookie TE Irv Smith Jr’s, Dad, Irv Smith. Pete played with Irv, Sr at Notre Dame.
- Wait til you see rookie TE Irv Smith on the field. He is very fast for a TE and has good hands. When he catches it, he wheels and turns and he is gone. He will be an amazing weapon.
- Speaking of TEs, Kyle Rudolph looks extremely fluid in camp and if the ball gets within a 3 yard radius anywhere on his body, he is catching it. A lot of outside and down the field passes to the TEs and Kirk Cousins is really trying to trust his TEs to make a play this year and in camp, they are.
- Chad Beebe is the real deal. He is so fast out of his routes and when he catches a ball underneath, good luck to DBs trying to catch him, especially on crossing patterns. He looks more quick than fast, but he does have speed to finish the catch and go for quite a few extra yards.
- Laquon Treadwell caught everything thrown his way, but he is not the #1 option often, even when working with (predominantly) the 2nd string offense. Interestingly, he does get separation and is open frequently against the 2nd team defense. From our eyes, Beebe is well ahead of him.
- New RB Alexander Mattison is interesting. At 5’11’ and 221 pounds, we expected short and squatty. He is not that at all. He looks like a slightly smaller version of Latavius Murray, but a bit short and more powerfully built. And, it is not just the looks that impress us. He has soft hands and can catch. When h runs the ball, he does so with authority and does not waste time dancing around. He broke a few to the outside
- Staying at the RB position, Dalvin Cook is going to light it up this year. He is so much faster than anyone on the field. He is explosive, and decisive. He runs with the aggressiveness of Adrian Peterson (not quite on AP’s level) but he is a trusted blocker to pick up a blitz and this man can really catch the ball, wheel and leave a defender behind.
- TE Irv Smith, Jr’s dad, Irv Smith, Sr is a longtime NFL Tight end and he could be seen coaching his son after practice.
