Well, football is FINALLY back tonight for Minnesota. The Vikings kickoff their preseason tonight in San Francisco versus Randy Moss and the 49ers. Although the starters won’t be getting much playing time, football is still back! YIPPIE.
Basic game information:
Who: Minnesota Vikings versus San Francisco 49ers
What: Preseason opener
Where: Candelstick Park in San Francisco, California
When: Friday at 8 p.m. CT and can be seen on CW channel in Minneapolis
What Coach was saying heading into the game:
- Who won’t be playing: Robert Blanton (hamstring), John Carlson (knee), Kamar Jorden (hand), DeMarcus Love (pectoral), Geoff Schwartz (sports hernia), Jordan Todman (ankle), Josh Robinson (hamstring), and of course Adrian Peterson (knee).
- How long will the first unit offense be on the field: “We are not going to keep them in that long, but we do want to get them maybe a little bit more than what we have done in the past.” — look for the first team offense to be on the field for a series or two, it depends on how the first one goes
- Vikings will be cautious with RB Toby Gerhart, who is coming off his own knee injury
Who and what to watch for:
- Christian Ponder — how does he look in his limited time on the field? Does he look comfortable?
- Wide receivers — who is going to step up? Who will fill in while Jerome Simpson is suspended for the firs three games of the season?
- Matt Kalil — how does the rookie LT look?
- Offensive line as a whole — are they improved?
- Safeties — who is going to do enough to be the starter?
- Rookie kicker Blair Walsh — how does he do in his first NFL game?
Enemy news:
- New Niners WR Randy Moss will make his SF debut against his former team, however Moss will not start the game but is expected to see time on the field — this shall be interesting
- WR Michael Crabtree WILL play and is expected to start
For live tweeting of the game, be sure to follow @Skol_Patrol and/or @KimSherayko on twitter
