The name is Mond, Kellen Mond...
One day this summer, with the impressions from another sharp workout still reverberating in his mind, Adam Thielen picked up his phone and dashed off a quick text message to Kellen Mond,
"Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."
Thielen had worked with Mond a year ago, too, as part of the training sessions he hosts for around two dozen players in Woodbury, but this year, everything about the quarterback seemed different: the pace of his delivery; his ability to put the ball where he wanted; and the way he took command of the workouts, with specific directions for receivers.
When the Vikings drafted Mond in the third round a year ago, Thielen recalled how one of their coaches had told him the quarterback improved more in four years at Texas A&M than any player he'd scouted. Perhaps, after a rocky first year in Minnesota, he could do the same.
"I told him I was impressed," Thielen said. "Obviously, in shorts and a T-shirt on a field is a lot different than here , but you couldn't have asked for anything more: the way he was out there leading and saying, 'Hey, run this route out of this formation,' getting you lined up and doing real football, instead of kind of running slants and stops when they're not even part of your offense. He did a great job."
A year ago, Mond contracted COVID-19 at the beginning of training camp, and his bout with the virus shaped his rookie season in multiple ways. His second training camp in Minnesota finds him again battling for the No. 2 job, trying with mixed results to consistently replicate the performances that caught Thielen's eye in the offseason. After a trying rookie season, though, the 23-year-old believes he established a foundation for himself this offseason.
"It was just a big self-evaluation, and understanding I wasn't at the right place where I was," Mond said. "I put in a lot of work this offseason, and I just want to continue to come out here and show it on the field."
Mond had few chances to do that as a rookie, sitting inactive for the Vikings' first 14 regular-season games after his recovery from COVID-19 led to an underwhelming preseason as he fought to get his rhythm back. He said he lost about 10 pounds, much of it muscle mass, and found himself picking up bad habits in his throwing mechanics as he tried to compensate for the loss of strength.
Whenever he dropped back, Mond said, "I could feel it. Whenever I threw left, I would be falling over my front foot. Trying to make certain throws, it was usually just flicking my wrist, but I wasn't able to make those throws. A lot of it had to do with my power and my balance."
Attention to details
Mond did his best to insulate himself from the turmoil, as teammates and coaches on the Vikings offensive staff encouraged him to stay positive.
After the season, he took an extended break from throwing, using the time off to unlearn some of the bad habits he'd picked up. This spring, the Vikings' new coaching staff continued to focus on Mond's footwork, particularly when moving to his left.
"I could tell he put a lot of time into it during the summer, because he came back and he had fixed a lot of those things," offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. "He can kind of speed it up and make throws, reactionary-type throws where he needs to just get his feet in the ground and deliver. He's very diligent in his preparation, and he's improved in his fundamentals."
Mond was drifting to his left last Friday when he made perhaps his best throw of training camp, slinging an off-balance 40-yard touchdown to Albert Wilson just beyond Cameron Dantzler's coverage while Mond evaded a pass rush.
He also threw several interceptions last week, while he was part of three botched snaps on Thursday and Friday.
Opportunities aheadAs Mond searches for consistency, Vikings coaches have had no qualms with the way he's approached his job.
"We've hit the gas with our entire football team with the hope we can see guys absorb it, practice it and ultimately when there are corrections to be made, be able to make that correction and not let similar mistakes happen again," coach Kevin O'Connell said. "Kellen's done a nice job in that area."
Last year, he completed 28 of 51 passes for 310 yards in the preseason, throwing an interception and fumbling once. This year, he will get chances to impress a new coaching staff, with Cousins — who's been unavailable for just one game the past four years — starting a new contract that runs through 2023 (the year before Mond becomes a free agent).
For Mond, the Vikings' three preseason games could be precious opportunities to make impressions like the one he left on Thielen this summer.
"My dad told me at a young age, the NFL stands for 'not for long,'" Mond said. "If you don't show that you can continue to work and get better, they'll get rid of you. That's not necessarily the motivation, but I want to continue to get better."
https://www.startribune.com/kellen-mond-vikings-backup-quarterback-covid-mike-zimmer-year-two/600197833/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
You never really know what to take away from these articles.
Only thing I know for sure is that this is a pretty important pre-season for this kid...
I am anxious to see him on the road vs Vegas
Keep in mind, he's just a young man trying his best. Its the NFL, a very high bar. I wish him the best, but the odds are against him.
From his pre season action last year, he looked like he had all of the physical tools so I expected him to take a big jump this year and at least be a competent backup. Pretty disappointing to hear the updates especially with everything making the same comments on how he has been extremely bad. Hopefully, he shows something on Sunday.
Hopefully the switch will turn on. Sounds like his biggest problem is reading and reacting at an NFL level. Plenty of decent QBs needed time and experience before the switch turned on.
- Drafted by Minnesota in 1987, Rich Gannon didn’t start in a full 16 games for more than a decade until he joined the Raiders in 1999 after bouncing from the Vikings to Washington, Kansas, and finally Oakland. That’s where he hit his stride, throwing for 3,840 his first season with the Raiders. He passed the 3,000-yard mark four seasons straight, including one season with 4,689 yards, and went to four consecutive Pro Bowls.
- The Steve Young was drafted by Tampa Bay in 1985 and spent two years there, first as a backup. In his second year, he started in 14 games and threw for 2,282 yards. Then he was traded to San Francisco, where the starting job was held by Joe Montana, who was busy being the greatest quarterback of all pre-Brady time while Young mostly watched from the bench. In 1991, however, Montana was plagued with injuries, and the next year he missed the entire season, giving an opening to Young, who went on to Hall of Fame greatness.
- Wade Wilson played in the NFL for 17 years from 1981–1998, mostly in Minnesota. He started in seven games or fewer for all of those years but three. The first year he broke double-digit games played was in 1988, his seventh season in the NFL, when he played in 14 games and started in 10. That year, he threw for a career-high 2,746 yards.
- Ryan Tannehill: The Miami Dolphins selected Ryan Tannehill with the 8th overall pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. Any quarterback selected that early in the draft automatically receives sky-high expectations. Unfortunately, Tannehill never quite lived up to them in Miami. He recorded just a 42-46 record across six seasons, with 123 touchdowns and 75 interceptions before being traded to the Tennessee Titans. Tannehill has revived his career with the Titans across the last three seasons. He has achieved an impressive 30-13 record with 76 touchdowns and 27 interceptions. In six years with the Dolphins, he has recorded six rushing touchdowns, while he has already totaled 18 rushing touchdowns with the Titans in just three years.
- Kurt Warner.
- Chris Chandler: These were Chandler's first 7 seasons in the NFL. He compiled a record of 17-28 and threw for 41 touchdowns, but threw 50 interceptions. Chandler would make the Pro Bowl in both 1997 and 1998, throwing 45 touchdowns and only 19 picks while leading Atlanta to the aforementioned Super Bowl appearance.
He was in the dog house last year, with a dick for a HC, I doubt he learned much so I view this as his rookie year 2.0. New coaches, New offense. New everything, the only thing the same is the facility and the teammates so lots of slack for the start of this year IMO, especially since I would bet KC has had more reps than normal since its a whole new system amd he won't likely get preseason game reps.
With Cousins out, now, right now is Mond's moment.
He gets to show he can play , even if it's only Pre-season.
Another year in the incubator won't help him.
Reports from camp don't sound promising. Holds the ball way too long, getting "sacked" repeatedly.
Also a report from Seifert that team is sniffing around looking to maybe trade for a more legit backup qb than Mannion/Mond, aka, they know they've got Kirk and not much else at this point and they're worried.
https://www.startribune.com/kellen-mond-vikings-backup-quarterback-covid-mike-zimmer-year-two/600197833/
Here's a list of the top backup QBs in the NFL. Interesting that 3 of the top 8, played in Minnesota at one time.
https://www.profootballnetwork.com/top-nfl-backup-quarterbacks-2022/
95% of them would not be available since teams are not likely to trade away their #2 just before the season. So very little hope for a Teddy or a Minshew or a Case. But there are a couple of situations that caught my eye....
1. Pittsburgh: Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett.
Steelers just drafted Pickett in the 1st round. He'll likely be the starter at some point this year, putting Trubby in the backseat. Rudolph could be available.
2. Seattle: Geno Smith, Drew Lock, Jacob Eason
Looks like Smith is winning the battle for QB1 between him and Lock. But Eason is probably a capable enough QB2. Plus, Seattle is tanking. I could see them moving Lock.
3. Arizona: Murray, Colt McCoy, Trace McSorley, Jarrett Guarantano
McCoy has a history with KOC and I've heard McSorley and Guarantana have been impressive in camp. This one might be the most likely.
@"MaroonBells" said: Here's a list of the top backup QBs in the NFL. Interesting that 3 of the top 8, played in Minnesota at one time. https://www.profootballnetwork.com/top-nfl-backup-quarterbacks-2022/95% of them would not be available since teams are not likely to trade away their #2 just before the season. So very little hope for a Teddy or a Minshew or a Case. But there are a couple of situations that caught my eye....
1. Pittsburgh: Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett.
Steelers just drafted Pickett in the 1st round. He'll likely be the starter at some point this year, putting Trubby in the backseat. Rudolph could be available.2. Seattle: Geno Smith, Drew Lock, Jacob Eason
Looks like Smith is winning the battle for QB1 between him and Lock. But Eason is probably a capable enough QB2. Plus, Seattle is tanking. I could see them moving Lock.3. Arizona: Murray, Colt McCoy, Trace McSorley, Jarrett Guarantano
McCoy has a history with KOC and I've heard McSorley and Guarantana have been impressive in camp. This one might be the most likely.
I don’t “hate-watch” tv shows because it seems like a colossal waste of time, but I’ll confess to “hate-clicking” this article just to see where Mannion ranked. Wasn’t disappointed.
The swine is 31 out of 32 and #32 is Nate Sudfeld of the Niners, who is actually their 3rd stringer since Jimmy G is still on the team. Nice :s
@"MaroonBells" said: Here's a list of the top backup QBs in the NFL. Interesting that 3 of the top 8, played in Minnesota at one time. https://www.profootballnetwork.com/top-nfl-backup-quarterbacks-2022/95% of them would not be available since teams are not likely to trade away their #2 just before the season. So very little hope for a Teddy or a Minshew or a Case. But there are a couple of situations that caught my eye....
1. Pittsburgh: Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Kenny Pickett.
Steelers just drafted Pickett in the 1st round. He'll likely be the starter at some point this year, putting Trubby in the backseat. Rudolph could be available.2. Seattle: Geno Smith, Drew Lock, Jacob Eason
Looks like Smith is winning the battle for QB1 between him and Lock. But Eason is probably a capable enough QB2. Plus, Seattle is tanking. I could see them moving Lock.3. Arizona: Murray, Colt McCoy, Trace McSorley, Jarrett Guarantano
McCoy has a history with KOC and I've heard McSorley and Guarantana have been impressive in camp. This one might be the most likely.
1. Heineke
3. Bridgewater
8. Keenum
3 former Vikings (2 former starters) in the Top 10. Telling.
It's too bad about Heineke. I believe he'd still be here as our (solid) backup if not for one drunken night..
Mr. Mond is going to get his shot later today. Not sure there'll be much to take out of it as its preseason and many starters won't be in, etc.
@"StickyBun" said: Mr. Mond is going to get his shot later today. Not sure there'll be much to take out of it as its preseason and many starters won't be in, etc.If he shines, he's learning, if he sucks, plenty there as well. I think preseason call give done pretty strong hints to a players development as long as you aren't looking at the results but more focused in the individual. As a QB, is he commanding the the huddle, is he understanding the plays as they come into his helmet or is he looking confused, does he direct traffic pre snap or call a timeout because guys aren't lined up right, does he change things up when he reads the D or runs a bad play regardless, does he move in the pocket and keep his eyes down field, or just freak out and tuck the ball and try and escape mild pressure, is his play action clean and fluid, or does he look like AD trying to catch a pass, is his foot work good or us he not setting his feet or having happy feet. How is the timing and ball placement? Lots and lots to look at in preseason games IMO to determine if the kid is something to try and build around.
Vikings have a pretty long history of pretty good backup QBs from Gary Cuozzo thru Dils, Steve Bono, the rotating trio of Wade Wilson, Rich Gannon, and Sean Salisbury. Brad Johnson, Thigpen, Rosenfels, Frerotte, Cassel.
@"MaroonBells" said: Vikings have a pretty long history of pretty good backup QBs from Gary Cuozzo thru Dils, Steve Bono, the rotating trio of Wade Wilson, Rich Gannon, and Sean Salisbury. Brad Johnson, Thigpen, Rosenfels, Frerotte, Cassel.
You forgot Horseshoe Keenum, he had arguably one of the best seasons of any Vikings QBs from the back up QB position.
@"JimmyinSD" said:@"MaroonBells" said: Vikings have a pretty long history of pretty good backup QBs from Gary Cuozzo thru Dils, Steve Bono, the rotating trio of Wade Wilson, Rich Gannon, and Sean Salisbury. Brad Johnson, Thigpen, Rosenfels, Frerotte, Cassel.
You forgot Horseshoe Keenum, he had arguably one of the best seasons of any Vikings QBs from the back up QB position.
Totally forgot about Keenum. Definitely one of the better backups we've had.
Keenum currently 16/18, 192 yds, 1 TD and led another TD drive. I know it’s preseason but thems some nice #’s for a backup. Josh Allen looked great too.
Kevin O’Connell tiptoes delicately around a question about his confidence in the backup QBs. Reading between the lines, seems clear they are open to the idea of looking outside the organization.
— Sam Ekstrom (@SamEkstrom) August 21, 2022
Mannion likely replaced and Mond goes to the incubator for another year until they bring in another rookie to replace him.
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