Observations on the 1st Preseason Game Against Texans

[VikingLord]

Yeah, it is the preseason, but wanted to share a few thoughts on what I saw.

First and foremost everyone wanted to see how McCarthy handled the offense while he was out there and I thought he looked pretty average actually. He made some nice reads and throws, but he struggled a bit with his accuracy. I thought for the most part the offensive line gave him good protection, so it is hard to blame pressure for the accuracy issues. Maybe he was just a little jacked up given the situation, but I wasn't impressed or discouraged by what I saw. We'll have to see how things go as the preseason continues.

And then there was Sam Howell. Given everything I'd read about Howell's camp so far I expected a disaster, but what Howell showed against the Texans was anything but that. He was confident, decisive, and he can really throw the ball. The Howell that played most of the first half was the Sam Howell I remember coming out of college. Not sure where all the negative press coverage was coming from out of camp, but he looked really good against the Texans.

As for Rypien and Brosmer, Rypien looked terrible. He was indecisive, held the ball way too long, and seemed content to settle for checkdowns. He just didn't look prepared and not at all the QB I thought might even be in position to compete for the backup job. One game doesn't make a preseason and Rypien will get to show more, but that wasn't a great start for his chances of even making the roster this year. Brosmer, on the other hand, started out playing it a bit safe, but as he settled in he started to make some nice reads down the field and threw some good balls. When his TD pass on 3rd down was ruled incomplete and KOC gave him another crack at it on 4th down late, he came out and delivered a nice strike to the back of the endzone. He seemed to rise to the overall challenge and that was a good sign for him. As with Rypien, it's one small sample size but I liked what I saw.

As for the rest of the offense, McCarthy seems to have a rapport with Addison, which stinks because Addison will miss the first 3 games. It would have been nice for McCarthy to spread the ball around a little more, but I'm sure that will come as JJ wasn't on the field and the play calling was pretty vanilla. The running game seemed pretty effective and I liked what I saw from the offensive line. The Texans are pretty solid defensively so I think it was a good evaluation of what the Vikings offense can do and I thought they did well.

Defensively, the first defensive series was rough and then they settled down a bit. They seem to have surprising depth, especially along the defensive line and in the secondary. I was pleasantly surprised to see the way they got pressure on the QB from a variety of defenders (especially Gabriel Murphy, who really stood out), while the secondary took advantage of that pressure to create some turnovers. From what I'm reading about camp, that seems to be something they're doing in practice as well, which is a good sign if it continues into the regular season. The defense looks pretty good overall although the starters didn't play very much. But the scheme looks disruptive and the depth seems to be there. I imagine Flores is going to have to make some pretty tough calls as the roster is reduced.

Special teams was solid. The injury to Moore sucks. That was tough to watch, but somebody else will get a chance to step into that role.

All told it was a solid, if unspectacular performance. It will be interesting to see how the remainder of the preseason goes and how KOC approaches it at QB, especially given that Addison is going to be out the first 3 games.

[psjordan]

I agree with most of your observations VL, but I'm just a bit more pessimistic on McCarthy. In theory we won't see him play again until opening day - read somewhere the team will keep him out until then. I'm not sure that's a good thing at all. I understand concerns over injuries, but that could happen in the first 5 minutes of opening day. I'd really prefer he get a series or two in each game. Although he completed four passes against HOU, none of them looked outstanding (or even above average) to me.

Loved what Murphy did as well, but I'm afraid unless he plays every minute of his time at that pace, he'll get lost in the shuffle come regular season. I'm almost to the point of giving up that Dallas Turner will play at the level he cost us to acquire. Not that he will suck and never play, but I really don't see a path where he will look like a "bargain" for the price tag. He's also a guy that if he doesn't start off playing at an all-pro level, I just don't see him getting the playing time that *may* allow him to shine.

Good to see the kicking woes coming from training camp did not manifest in this game. I was starting to worry that the K curse would continue. At least now I am comfortable to be in wait-and-see mode.

Defensively I did not think we were all that sharp but I'm not worried yet. BFlo's scheme takes awhile to gel for each individual player, and that will take time and reps.

I'm really looking forward to the remaining pre-season games on the defensive side - I think we have some unknown variables there that will show themselves one way or the other. On the offensive side, my only "worry variable" is McCarthy, and it looks like we won't see him anytime soon. I guess it gives more reps to the other three, and that may help straighten out our backup QB picture. I did like what I saw from an OL that was together for the first time against enemy fire, that group should only get better with reps together. Hopefully Darrisaw can step in when ready and they won't skip a beat.

[CharVike]

Thanks for the write up. It would be nice to see a preseason game that has the starters playing against each other for a half. I think it would allow for a better review. At one point in time the 3rd game was used for that. Our O is taking on a big rebuild of the OL. New center and 2 new guards and possibly a new LT to start off with. That's a make over. I could be wrong and maybe camp with no games works the same. I doubt camp speed and game speed are the same.