The 2017 preseason schedule rolled on for the Minnesota Vikings Friday night in Seattle and along with it rolled the mixed reviews. The final score ended in favor of Seattle 20-13 but there was enough good and enough bad captured on the game tape to give the Vikings plenty to work on this week for practice.
Dalvin Cook finds his groove...
It's tough to tell whether some of the struggles in the run game were due to offensive line or rookie running back growing pains last week. All the same, we saw them shake off some of those cobwebs this week and the young running back everyone is excited about actually looked impressive! It came to the tune of 7 carries for 40 yards, an average of 5.7 yards per carry but it was a few of the 10-15 yarders that were impressive.
Offensive line teeter-totters through the night...
It's all eyes on the offensive line this year as there is much to prove and much to be expected. With two more starters out last night due to injury (Reiff/Boone) the shakeup on the line continued with Pat Elflein getting the start at center and Nick Easton sliding over to left guard. As mentioned above the line as a whole did some things well last night opening holes for the run game and protecting Sam Bradford to hit some deep passes. It wasn't a perfect game but seeing them do things well against a solid defense was something we didn't experience last year.
Blair Walsh taunts Vikings bench after 52 yard field goal...
I didn't necessarily think that Blair Walsh left Minnesota with too hard of feelings, but I guess anytime you get cut midseason it doesn't feel good. Walsh confirmed that thought last night as he stared down Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and pointed at him after hitting a 52-yard field goal early in the second half (photo above). It all seemed a little too much WWE for a preseason game but I guess emotions were running hot. Walsh claimed after the game that it was the Vikings players that were taunting him first and his response was reactionary.
Defensive roller coaster continues...
Nobody is really sure what the deal has been with this vaunted Vikings defense's struggles this preseason. Not everybody can dominate but there have been some lapses that are out of character for this defense. Are they being overly aggressive? Are they working on specific weaknesses? Either way, it's led to some struggles and last night those struggles came on the ground and through the air.