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VIKINGS NEWS and random stuff – Today is the first day of practice when the Press is allowed to watch. Expect lots of useless hype-style reporting. No injuries reported yesterday from the Vikings, so that is something. Football is coming soon.
NFL News – FTP!
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This should be interesting.
The Raiders signed DT Christian Wilkins to a 4 year $110M contract last year and they just voided it cause they don’t like the way he is rehabbing his foot. They voided $35M in guaranteed money.
Wilkins has filed a grievance with the NFLPA in response.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nfl/breaking-news/article/raiders-reportedly-release-dt-christian-wilkins-void-352-million-in-guaranteed-money-over-alleged-foot-rehab-issues-235525937.html
JJ (WR) missed most of practice today due to leg tightness.
https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/news/justin-jefferson-dealing-with-minor-leg-tightness-vikings-camp
Hot and humid in Minny. He’s fine.
From Yardbarker:
It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that through two days of training camp, the Vikings’ defense appears to be pretty far ahead of the offense.
Brian Flores is now in his third season as Minnesota’s defensive coordinator, and many of his key players have been in the scheme since he arrived. Others are now in their second year, and even some of the newcomers seem to have picked things up quickly over the course of this offseason. Meanwhile, the Vikings are breaking in an offense with a new starting quarterback (and a new backup), as well as some new pieces on the offensive line and elsewhere.
Expected or not, my main takeaway from Thursday’s practice was how impressive this defense already looks. On a beautiful 80-degree day at TCO Performance Center, Flores’ group appeared to be in mid-camp form, if not ready for the regular season to begin already. That was also the case on Wednesday, when they snagged a pair of pick-sixes on the first day of camp.
The lone interception on Thursday went to 14th-year safety Harrison Smith, the league’s active leader in picks by a healthy margin. In a 7-on-7 period, he snagged a J.J. McCarthy pass that deflected off of Lucky Jackson’s hands, then — in humorous Smith fashion — proceeded to lateral it to teammate Jay Ward shortly thereafter.
This is actually good for the offense, and especially McCarthy. He is going against a top shelf defense every day. That can only make him better.
Defenses are typically ahead of the offenses early in camp.
Most of the major changes, QB/IOL, are on the Offense this year so it makes even more sense.
Only 18 practices till first cut down.
From The Athletic:
If you were putting together a highlight package of McCarthy’s first day, you would likely begin with the pass he completed to receiver Jordan Addison.
It happened during a seven-on-seven rep. McCarthy positioned his eyes over the middle of the field, and, once he recognized Addison was streaking alone up the right sideline, he launched. Addison lunged to secure the catch, then trotted into the end zone.
Immediately, running back Aaron Jones, who had been watching from behind the play, hollered and met McCarthy on the field to celebrate.
While the reaction made sense and the completion warrants a mention, the more notable aspect of McCarthy’s day was his efficiency. He attempted passes over the middle but kept the ball mostly out of harm’s way. Once, he progressed through the passing concept, drifted out of the pocket to the right and tossed the ball out of bounds.
Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown nodded approvingly.
McCarthy’s quick start shouldn’t be surprising. In recent weeks, he flew to Nashville to work out with tight ends T.J. Hockenson and Josh Oliver. He also orchestrated local get-togethers with Jefferson, Addison and other teammates. The goal? To develop a sense of when and where they prefer to catch the ball.
“J.J. wanted to come down (to Nashville),” Hockenson said. “I had been bugging him since January, just to see what vibe we have. To have him come down there, my quarterback, was awesome.”
McCarthy spread the ball around during Wednesday’s practice. He connected with Jones on a swing pass. He drilled Jefferson on a comeback. He was by no means perfect, but even a late throw over the middle to Addison came after McCarthy had moved from the front side of the concept to the back side, showcasing his ability to go through the correct mental process.
Potentially the most uplifting part of the first day was the lack of pre-snap congestion. McCarthy entered the huddle with a purpose, exited quickly and didn’t fiddle around at the line of scrimmage. That may not headline the highlight reel, but it matters.
I don’t know what all that means, but camp is underway, and McCarthy at a minimum, knows the offense and can run it.
Wonder how much playing time he gets pre-season, if any. Last game?
Good question. I’d personally give him a lot of reps in preseason, but KOC tends not to put starters out on the field much in the practice games.
I’m guessing part of the first game and maybe the last. I think the second game is after joint practices so he won’t play in that one.
There was a story out that he plays preseason game 1, minimal 2 and then done.
Sounds good to me.
Winter Warrior uniforms for Christmas Night.
Big Dislike. Not a fan of those Unis at all.
the vikings to you:
Yeah yeah, its all promo stuff anyway.
Personally I love the white uniforms from the 1980s.
Coward went from complete love of Darnold and the best roster in the NFL for 2024, to now claiming the worst roster in the division. He doesn’t like QB’s who wear a baseball cap backwards.
Pundits gonna pundit…
So bad that the Bears almost took him #1 overall.
Poor Sig,
We had Glock 9m at the prison, never fired a Sig.
The cool thing about the Sig is it will fire itself. They’ve been catching a lot of flack lately. I think somebody just got shot by one at FE Warren in Cheyenne. There’s been a few of them that have done it, they tried to run a PR campaign that backfired and I think they just lost a big contract with DHS. I have a Glock 22C (40 caliber). I like Glocks. There are other nice guns out there, but I have shot a few thousand rounds through the Glock and have had one on my hip a lot, so it’s what I’m comfortable with.
I reviewed a trashy but fun movie…
RIP Hulk Hogan, 71.
I thought he was working on a new wresting project. RIP. Great entertainer.
Terrible news, he was a true patriot.
Hulk Hogan dead.
RIP
If they come in threes, he is the third…Malcolm Jamal Warner, Ozzy, now Hulk…
Good point
Might be boom or bust for you.
Addison is out for three games.
Is that official for Addison? Hadn’t heard.
No/Yes.
League minimum is 3 games.
Dynasty league. Got both for the long term. And a 2nd 1st rounder this year. Returning champ. Won 4 of the last 5.
🔨🔨🔨
Looks like Fields got stepped on and suffered a dislocated toe. No fracture and not the big toe.
He’s still undergoing tests, but that’s the initial diagnosis. Severity is unclear.
Good grief. It really does seem the Jets franchise is cursed.
Aaron Glenn said Justin Fields suffered a toe injury on his right foot. He doesn’t know the severity yet.
Toe injuries can be painful.
When I broke mine there was not much they could do, it was mostly pain management.
NFL level care might be able to mitigate the injury a bit.
Need a Gouger to be sure.
I have gout in one of my toes and it’s like a knife sticking in your foot when you put weight on. Toe problems are real.
Rickie is playing well, and is 3 under through his first 8 holes today. He’s currently tied for 5th though because the course is very soft, and players are going low in the first round. I think he’ll need to shoot 6 or 7 under today to be in the top 10 at the end of the day. I can see someone shooting 10 under today.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/45807728/packers-say-received-record-4326m-revenue-sharing
All the Packers owners made bank!
Oh, wait…
(No comments on this, so just to be clear: I’m making fun of the Packers “owners”.)
ruh roh
Oh man… that’s terrible. Hate to see news like this. Hoping it isn’t bad, but “carted off” sounds like it’s serious.
Just saw this…
https://x.com/DrakeFantasy/status/1948378030096658661/photo/1
Could happen.
Watching him take sacks and throw picks in a Jets uniform every Sunday would be very entertaining on Red Zone
Jets are cursed.
Kirk to New Jersey?
I really hope this isn’t as bad as it seems. Way too early for guys to be going down for the season.
Yeah, but for the team if it’s going to happen, better early than late like Teddy or the first week of the season like Rodgers.
That’s a good point. At least gives the team some chance to bring in another guy, and give him a chance to learn the offense, get in synch with receivers, etc.
Complete the sacred time line
“I’ve always wanted to retire a Jet……”
Rickie Fowler is hitting the ball well to start his day, but his putter is cold. He missed a 7 footer for birdie on his first hole for birdie, then a 14 footer for birdie on his second hole, and a 10 footer on his third hole. Now he has an 11 footer on his fourth hole. Needs that putter to get going.
AND… he pours it in. Finally a nice birdie to get to 1 under for the day.
“Happy Gilmore 2” releases on Friday, July 25 at 3 a.m. ET/midnight PT on Netflix.
A must watch for many… grin.
I need a breakfast sandwich…
Although, pancakes would hit the spot…
Get the sammich. Pancakes will go right to your eyelids……
I like the Jimmy Dean sausage and pancake breakfast sandwiches. Quick, easy, tasty, and hits the spot.
Skol.
FTP.
Vikes are back. Gotta love camp.
Sadly Obama and/or Hillary will never face jail time.
Probably not, but would nice to see Comey and Brennan in orange suits.
The point here is to defile them once and for all. Put the truth, with all the evidence, out to the public. Show everyone the indisputable proof of criminal intent, and activity to destroy their political opponent. Imagine the years of time, overwhelming effort, and massive amounts of money these people invested to destroy one man.
And they couldn’t do it.
But the one side will deny it or justify it (“had to do it to stop Trump”), and the other side will see them the same way they already did: evil. I don’t see much changing here.
Sadly one thing I see coming from this is the left spinning it to claim Trump is attacking his political opponents.
I honestly don’t know how this madness in the country resulting from the last three elections gets better. Maybe as people live in the better policies of Trump they’ll see the left’s policies for what they are.
If no one is convicted, and i believe no one will be, this will blow over and simply be viewed as usual Washington politics.
Yep and normal people will be further disenfranchised as they watch yet more elites get off Scott free.
Both of you are correct.
Nothing significant will happen to any of them.
And if the dems win the house in 2026, another impeachment of Trump on insurrection or something, because of it.
FTP Auto Rec.