Positives and negatives from the Vikings’ first game

By Krupka  |   Tuesday, August 15, 2006  |  Comments( 3 )

Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings' first preseason game has come and gone, with a 16-13 defeat at the hands of the Oakland Raiders. Although the first action under the Brad Childress era didn't result in victory, there are plenty of positive moments from an otherwise bland, run-of-the-mill preseason contest.

The positives:

Brad Johnson- Though some are skeptical of Johnson, he's proven time and again an ability to manage teams and lead them to victories. The veteran quarterback played three series', completing 5-of-6 passes for 32 yards. Sure, the passing stats aren't glamorous by any means, but he did engineer a touchdown drive in his classically efficient fashion.

Tony Richardson- The All-Pro fullback was on top of his game. He made a terrific catch on the Vikings' second offensive play snatching it up at his shoulder. The former Chiefs star had a bruising three-yard touchdown run, where he plowed over Raiders linebacker Kirk Morrison.

The defense- New coordinator Mike Tomlin's unit seemed explosive. The defensive line was fast, and put plenty of pressure on the Raiders' quarterbacks. It wasn't until the 14:03 mark of the second quarter that they surrendered a passing yard.

A few standout performers were rookie cornerback Cedric Griffin, who had two nice hits and intercepted a pass; rookie defensive end Ray Edwards, who had a sack and forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter; and linebacker Rod Davis, who seemed to be flying all over the field. As for a starter that stood out, defensive end Erasmus James did, blowing past Robert Gallery to pick up a sack. As a whole, though, the defense was quite impressive.

The negatives:

The running game- Outside of the scrambling ability of quarterback Tavaris Jackson, the ground game never got going. Chester Taylor made something out of nothing a few times, but finished with just 18 yards on nine carries. It didn't get any better for Ciatrick Fason or Mewelde Moore, either, as they combined for just 25 yards on 12 rushes.

Special teams- If it wasn't for Chris Kluwe and Kevin Kasper, the entire unit would have been a disaster. The game started out ominously, as Troy Williamson fumbled the opening kickoff. Kasper took over the duties and produced a solid 35.5-yard return average and had a nice 64-yard return. He was decisive in hitting the holes and used his speed well. The Vikings may have found something with him. The coverage units were pretty bad, though. There were plenty of missed tackles and allowing 35.3 yards per return is never good. However, it's something that can be fixed before the season begins.

Tony Kornheiser- The Washington Post columnist and co-host of ESPN's show, "Pardon the Interruption," had a poor debut. He had trouble learning the names of the players, and made mention of the Vikings' recent scandals far too much. Those happened under the team's previous regime, so their relevance now is, essentially, gone.

Jackson shows he may be Minnesota's future QB:

For the Vikings, there might not have been a bigger positive to take away from Monday's exhibition game than the play of rookie quarterback Tavaris Jackson.

Last night, in his first action, the rookie second-round pick out of Alabama State excited the fans with his arm and scrambling ability.

Wearing the No. 7, he bared a resemblance to Falcons quarterback Mike Vick. Not just in appearance, but in his running, too. The QB rushed for an impressive 36 yards on only three carries, including a team-high 17-yard gallop.

Jackson's passing skills provide hope that he will be a more complete quarterback than Vick down the line. He hit on 7-of-13 passes for 60 yards and looked extremely comfortable in the pocket. The 23-year-old signal caller also ran an impeccable two-minute drill at the close of the first half. With only 25 seconds remaining, at his own 32-yard line, Jackson drove the Vikings into field goal range.

Also, later on in the game, had it not been for a dropped pass by fullback Steven Jackson, Tavaris Jackson would have had his first NFL touchdown pass, though it was only an exhibition game.

The 6-foot-2, 225-pound Jackson's first performance certainly left fans eager for more. It's only one preseason game, but if this is any indication of what's to come, the 23-year-old will be the real deal in Minnesota.

Eric Krupka can be reached at ekrupka@realfootball365.com

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CommentsComments: 3  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Ben Edwards		11:39 AM
08/15/2006
Yeah I was impressed with the defense and TJ (Jackson) the only real bummer is Greenway's injury. He may be out the whole season.
No.2
Rita Wares		04:59 PM
08/15/2006
Good game - really enjoyed seeing the new look of the boys this year. Disapointed in the coverage of the game Does Tony Tony...
No.3
alex flick		06:10 PM
08/16/2006
the announcers made the game slowly crawl along. it looks like madden didnt do too bad of a job after all. i thought the vikes...
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