TE Kyle Rudolph scores the Vikings lone touchdown in their loss to the Bears

A quick recap of the Vikings 28-10 loss to divisional foe, Chicago Bears

HOW THE GAME WAS LOST

Plain and simple, the game was lost with the turnover battle. The Vikings committed three turnovers (a fumble by Adrian Peterson, a fumble on an QB to RB exchange and a Christian Ponder interception).  Peterson’s fumble and Ponder’s interception both led to Chicago touchdowns.

TURNING POINT

The Vikings came out of halftime strong with an interception on the Bears first drive of the half by Antoine Winfield.  Winfield’s interception led to a two yard touchdown from Christian Ponder to Kyle Rudolph.  This cut the score 25-10.  On the Bears next drive, it seemed like Matt Forte fumbled with Mistral Raymond returning it 52 yards for a touchdown.  Initially, refs said it was confirmed.  However, moments later, they said the play was under review (LOL WUT).

Following the review, the call was over turned and Bears retained possession, while 6 points were taken off the board for the Vikings.

If the call had stand, the Vikings would have been down 7 points with a huge momentum shift towards the Vikings.  However, the Bears continued the drive and god a field goal to put them up 28-10.

» Continue reading “Vikings Lose To Bears 28-10″

QB Christian Ponder looks to bounce back on a short week

After the Vikings 21-14 victory over the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, the Vikings had to quickly re-shift their focus to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they will face them Thursday night on NFL Network.  Thursday’s prime time match up for the Vikings is their only of the season, unless they are flexed in later on.

Notes from head coach Leslie Frazier’s Tuesday press conference:

• RB Adrian Peterson was held out of practice on Tuesday as he continues to deal with a sprained ankle
• WR Percy Harvin’s and DE Jared Allen’s reps in practice will be monitored ahead of Thursday’s game
• TE John Carlson “has not been cleared yet for any participation” after sustaining a concussion in Sunday’s game.  Frazier said “it would be very difficult to expect him to play this week.”
• Frazier praised CB Chris Cook’s growing confidence and the progress he continues to make each week after missing 10 weeks of the 2011 season: “We feel like he can match up against some of the best receivers in this League and it’s helped our defense.”

Notes from QB Christian Ponder’s Tuesday press conference: » Continue reading “Quick Notes On Vikings Short Week”

Christian Ponder’s poise on the field compared to last year is night and day

The Minnesota Vikings will play the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.  The Vikings will travel for their first away game in hopes to go 2-0 to start the season.

Vikings health:  The Vikings are surprisingly really healthy.  On Wednesday, every player on the 53 roster participated in practice.  Andrew Sendejo, Jarius Wright, and Marvin Mitchell who were out for the season opener because of ankle injuries all practiced and are expected to play on Sunday.

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Quick hits from Leslie Frazier’s press conference:

• The Vikings plan to get John Carlson more involved this week after his return to action last week was a quite one.
• Frazier said he believes Adrian Peterson was just happy that he was able to play and stay healthy

“I think he’s pretty close (to his 2011 form)…He may not be quite where he was prior to the injury but he’s pretty close.”

» Continue reading “Vikings Begin Preparations For Colts”

Adrian Peterson Watch: Will Vikings fans be celebrating RB Adrian Peterson’s return to the field on Sunday? Stay Tuned.

It’s two days before the Vikings season open and Adrian Peterson Watch is still in full effect.

On Friday, the Vikings released their injury report for the game, which you can see below via Vikings.com.

Vikings
RB Adrian Peterson (knee) is listed as questionable, and Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier said he’d be a game-time decision.

S Robert Blanton, TE John Carlson (knee), DT Letroy Guion (knee), OL Geoff Schwartz (abdomen) and CB Marcus Sherels (ankle) are listed as probable.

LB Marvin Mitchell (ankle), S Andrew Sendejo (ankle) and WR Jarius Wright (ankle) are listed as out.

It’s also worth pointing out that the two newest Vikings, CB A.J. Jefferson and OL Mark Asper, will not suit up for the game, according to Leslie Frazier.

Notes Leslie Frazier’s Friday Presser:

» Continue reading “Vikings Injury Report And Other Notes Heading Into Season Opener”

Christian Ponder connects with Percy Harvin
Credit: Mike Wobschall

Day two of padded practice (and day four of practice overall) is now complete in Mankato.  Below is all the news from the final day of July’s practice.

Injury notes:

• Did not practice: Josh Robinson, Adrian Peterson, Robert Blanton, and DeMarcus Love.
• Limited due to CBA rules: Stephen Burton and Chris Stroud
• TE John Carlson injures knee during practice.  Carlson will be out “a few weeks” with a sprained MCL.  There is no tear and surgery will not be needed

Practice notes:

• Quarterback update on 11-on-11 drills: Christian Ponder went 3 of 8; Joe Webb went 3 of 6; Sage Rosenfels went 10 of 14; and Bethel-Thompson went 0 of 3
• Leslie Frazier on Christian Ponder’s less than stellar day: “We are so early in the camp. You don’t panic about those moments.”
• Stand outs on defense: Harrison Smith with a pick and Mistral Raymond and Eric Lattimore with pass deflections
• Hit of the day: Everson Griffen lays out Lex Hillard
• Almost fight: Harrison Smith versus Mickey Shuler 

Training camp is almost upon us and what better way to prepare for the 2012 season then looking at who may be on the roster.  This post will focus on the Vikings’ tight ends.

Kyle Rudolph

The Vikings selected Kyle Rudolph in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft.  Although he was behind due to no off-season his rookie season, he was a bright spot of what the future possibly will look like for the Vikings

2011 stats:

• 26 receptions — 249 yards — 9.58 yards/catch
• 3 receiving touchdowns

“I compare it a lot to going into your sophomore year in college,” said Kyle Rudolph.  ”You’re already been through the whole (gamut) of things.  You’re familiar with practice.  You’re familiar with the routine.  There’s a comfort level of being around all the people, especially us coming in last year without an offseason program (because of the lockout).  Our first crack at it was training camp.  Everything is new to you, and the rookie season itself — we’ve never had a season that long. I feel a whole lot more comfortable going into my second year.”

Minnesota media flooded Winter Park today to get a glimpse of the 2012 Minnesota Vikings on the field during their first day of their three day mandatory mini-camp.  Below are the top tweets from the reporters in attendance.

Tom Pelissero (1500ESPN)

» Continue reading “Twitter Recap of Vikings Mini-Camp Day 1″

The NFL will allow all teams to take 90 players to training camp, which is where the current Minnesota Vikings roster stands (however, the 10 draft picks remain unsigned).  Below is the breakdown of each position, as of May 21st, 2012:

Offense

Quarterbacks: **Christian Ponder, Joe Webb (back-up), Sage Rosenfels and McLeod Bethel-Thompson

Running backs: **Adrian Peterson, Toby Gerhart, Jordan Todman, Derrick Coleman, Lex Hilliard and Jerome Felton

Wide receivers:  **Percy Harvin, **Jerome Simpson, Manny Arceneaux, Devin Aromashodu, Stephen Burton, Michael Jenkins, Greg Childs, Jarius Wright, Chris Carr, Bryan Walters, Kamar Jorden and Kerry Taylor

Tight ends: **Kyle Rudolph, **John Carlson, Mickey Shuler, Allen Reisner and Rhett Ellison

Offensive linemen: **Matt Kalil (LT), **John Sullivan (C), **Phil Loadholt (RT), **Charlie Johnson (LG), Geoff Schwartz (OL), Kevin Murphy (OT), DeMarcus Love (OT), Brandon Fuscco (OL), Chris DeGeare (OG), Pat Brown (OL), Joe Berger (OL), Tyler Holmes (OG), Darrion Weems (OT), Quentin Saulsberry (C) and Austin Pasztor (OG)

Fullbacks: Ryan D’Imperio and Matt Asiata

Defense

Linebackers: **Chad Greenway, **Erin Henderson, **Jasper Brinkley, Tyrone McKenzie, Larry Dean, Audie Cole, Marvin Mitchell, Tyler Nielson, Corey Paredes and Solomon Elimimian

Defensive linemen: **Jared Allen (DE), **Brian Robinson (DE), **Kevin Williams (DT), D’Aundre Reed (DE), Letroy Guion (DT), Everson Griffen (DE), Fred Evans (DT), Christian Ballard (DL), Trevor Guyton (DL), Nick Reed (DE), Anthony Jacobs (DE), Chase Baker (DT), Terrell Resonno (DT), Tydreke Powell (DT), Ernest Owusu (DE) and Eric Latimore (DE)

Safeties: **Harrison Smith, Robert Blanton, Eric Frampton, Mistral Raymond, Jamarca Sanford and Andrew Sendejo

Corner backs: **Chris Cook, **Antoine Winfield, Marcus Sherels, Brandon Burton, Asher Allen, Josh Robinson, Zach Bowman, Reggie Jones, Bobby Felder, C.C. Whitlock and Nick Taylor

Special Teams

Kicker: Blair Walsh

Punter: Chris Kluwe

Long snapper: Cullen Loeffler

** indicates likely starter/will receive major reps

Matt Kalil | Credit: KFAN

The Minnesota Vikings are currently in the middle of having their three day rookie mini camp at Winter Park.  There are 71 players in attendance: 10 draft picks, 15 undrafted free-agent signees,  seven players signed before the draft, and 39 tryout players. The Vikings even had some veterans on the sidelines looking at their new teammates.

Below are some nuggets of information people in attendance have noted.

Matt Kalil is awesome and makes Christian Ponder smile:

The rookie receiving the most attention at camp is the fourth overall pick, Matt Kalil.

“Really impressed with how he moves,” said right tackle Phil Loadholt.

“He’s a big man,” said Frazier of Kalil, who stands 6 feet 7 and 310 pounds.  ”You can see why we have high hopes for him.  He was excellent for us today.  His ability to pick up information is encouraging as well.”

Christian Ponder was even in attendance to look at his future left tackle and blind-side protector for years to come.  During open workouts on Wednesday, Ponder admitted he was happy with the Vikings selection of Kalil.

“[Me and Adrian Peterson] cracked a pretty big smile,” Ponder said.

Kalil….is expected to start immediately at left tackle.  That’ll move Charlie Johnson to left guard, upgrading the protection unit if everything goes to plan.

And no one would benefit more from that than Ponder, whose struggles as a rookie were magnified by an increasing tendency to stare down the rush, rather than keeping his eyes down field.

“It is huge,” Ponder said. “A lot of time last year, it didn’t necessarily have to do with the protection.  A lot of time I wasn’t comfortable getting to my third, fourth reads, checking the ball down.  Instead of just checking it down when a guy is wide open, I’d just run.

“That’s something I have to get away from.  It’s easy to break the habit.  It’s just going to make it so much better having full confidence in the protection.  Offensive line is looking good.  They got stacked up pretty quickly and they’ve got a lot of depth now. I’m excited about that as a quarterback.”

With the addition of Kalil to the offensive line, I will look for Ponder to make a huge step forward this upcoming season.

Greg Childs and Jarius Wright are a package deal, so it seems:

Childs and Wright played high school football together.  Then they both went to Arkansas.  Then they were both drafted in the fourth round by the Minnesota Vikings. Oh, and they both play wide receiver, but excel at different aspects.

“We always do things together.  This just makes us get even closer,” Childs said Friday as they both began their NFL careers at Minnesota Vikings rookie minicamp.

….

They grew up together and became two of the four players from Warren High School to sign with the University of Arkansas in 2008.  The 6-foot-3, 219-pound Childs blossomed first, leading the Razorbacks in nearly every receiving  category as a sophomore in 2009, including 48 catches for 894 yards and seven touchdowns.

He was on track for an even bigger junior year with 46 catches for 659 yards when he tore the patella tendon in his right knee in the eight game against Vanderbilt.  His senior year was rough after, he later acknowledged, he returned too soon.  The Vikings watched him fall down the draft board, anticipating his bounce-back season will be this one.

“If that’s the case, we’ll be the beneficiaries and he could be the steal of the draft,” Frazier said.

Childs said he has a “very big chip” on his shoulder.

“Before I got hurt I was considered one of the top receivers.  Since I got hurt I might not have gone in the round I wanted to go in, but I’m going to come out here and give it my all,” he said.

Wright is only 5-foot-9 and 182 pounds, but he has exceptional speed and the ability to return punts and kickoffs as well.  His breakout came last season, including a 13-catch, 281-yard game against Texas A&M  for a season total of 1,117 yards and 12 touchdowns.  He spoke eagerly about joining and learning from Percy Harvin, one of his inspirations

Childs is considered an outside threat, while Wright is one in the inside game.  Wright will likely back-up his inspiration in Percy Harvin.

Veterans look-on | Credit: Aj Mansour of KFAN

Day 1 nuggets (only day open to media):

• WR Jarius Wright sat out Friday’s second practice after hitting his head in the morning practice

“I’m doing good,” Wright said after the conclusion of the first day of practices.  ”No real problems with the head.  I was feeling a little sick earlier so for precautionary reasons they didn’t want me coming back out here and getting sick again .”

• Marks Lesie Frazier’s first “official” off-season with his players.  Last year, the Vikings were burned due to the lockout and never had proper a off-season.

“The coaches and I have talked about that repeatedly,” Frazier said.  ”We were in meetings yesterday just going through some of the final touches for this camp that we’re having and we just looked at one another, to be able to have this discussion and know it’s going to happen, it’s a big deal for us to be able to come on the field with so many players that we think are going to be able to help us and to spend time with them.”

• Veterans in attendance, included QB Christian Ponder and Joe Webb, TEs John Carlson and Kyle Rudolph, OL Brandon Fusco, Charlie Johnson, Phil Loadholt, DeMarcus Love and John Sullivan, DL Everson Griffen, WR Manny Arceneaux and RB Jordan Todman

“Some of (the veterans) asked me about it,” Frazier said.  ”They wanted to be able to come out and watch and we said, ‘Come out and look.  Just make sure you don’t jump in a drill or pick up a dummy or anything like that.’ It’s good that they want to come out and watch.  They’re hungry to get out there as well.

“The participation we’ve had in the offseason program has been superb.  The fact they want to come out here when they could leave and do other things on a Friday, that’s a good sign.”

• CB Josh Robinson is F-A-S-T!!!

“I was watching the guys return punts this morning,” Frazier said, “and we still have those cheat sheets with the guys numbers (on them).  Josh caught a punt and he took off like a guy shot out of a rocket.  I thought, ‘Man, that guy has a nice little burst, let me see who that is.’

“It was Josh Robinson and I said, ‘That’s a good sign.” That burst, it sticks out.  You can see why he ran a 4.2, 4.3 40(-yard dash) at the combine.  He can get from A to B pretty quickly.  So that’s encouraging.”

• Kickers Galore! Vikings picked Georgia kicker Blair Walsh in the sixth round, when they signed Ryan Longwell to a four-year,$12 million deal last season

Frazier said he does not know if the Vikings will keep two kickers — the possibility would be to start off Walsh as a kickoff specialist — and added that’s “not in the game plan right now.”

Asked about evaluating Walsh, Frazier said: “We are obviously going to take a close look at him.  Obviously, when you draft a kicker you are drafting for a reason.”

• Minicamp invitees on a tryout basis include LB coach Mike Singletary’s son Matt Signletary and Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald’s brother, Marcus Fitzgerald.

The Vikings had two more practices today and one final practice on Sunday.