Sports
Vikings Territory: 4 Takeaways From Rick Spielman's First Camp Press Conference
The Minnesota Vikings are back as training camp formally began on Wednesday.
July 28, 2021
The Minnesota Vikings are back as training camp formally began on Wednesday.
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The Vikings encounter a pivotal campaign this season, trapped into between a sect of fans that are excited about Super-Bowl-or-bust stakes while some perceive this version of the team as frowsty.
These are the main takeaways from Spielman’s small chat with reporters.
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Rick Dennison is slightly removed from his OL post due to coronavirus vaccine stuff – in comes assistant Phil Rauscher. Other than some decent run-blocking at times, the Vikings offensive line cannot truly sink to a worse level for pass protection. The removal of Dennison from the top OL job was even celebrated by some fans. Now, the gig belongs to Rauscher, who spent time with the Washington Football Team and Denver Broncos (including their Super Bowl season in 2015) before coming to the Twin Cities last year.
Spielman isn’t worried.
The Vikings are not strangers to a WR3 camp battle – it just usually involves WR4-caliber players competing for the WR3 job title.
Unless the ex-Jaguar simply cannot mend his injury in time – which is unlikely per his statements – Westbrook will be the team’s WR3. He’s better than last year’s WR3 fantasy, Tajae Sharpe. His speed mandates a role in the Vikings offense and special teams.
Spielman traded for Kaare Vedvick, a punter-kicker that did not work out in the summer of 2019. For a moment in time, he was supposed to push Dan Bailey to the limit for the starting job. Bailey responded aptly, generating the best Vikings kicker season (2019) since the fruitful days of Blair Walsh – which emotionally feels like 40 years ago.
Now, it’s time for a battle between Greg Joseph and rookie Riley Patterson. It’s ok if you have no idea who those men are – that’s kind of by design. Every time the Vikings attempt to solve the kicker problem with a grandiose plan, it flops.
Spielman had very little detailed commentary about his thoughts on the team’s vaccination status. His counterpart, Mike Zimmer, was more vocal about the situation. Spielman would not reveal percentages of folks vaccinated, although he did mention the team has a “system” to identify vaccinated players/coaches and unvaccinated ones. He also implied that all Vikings coaches are vaccinated, with the possible exception of Dennison, who assumed a different job as a result.
Asked about Gladney, Spielman replied: “This is an ongoing legal matter and at this time. We just can’t have any comment on it.”
This press release was produced by Vikings Territory. The views expressed here are the author’s own.
