The Minnesota Vikings offense didn't look so hot in Preseason Game #3. A goal line fumble after a terrific drive to start the third quarter was a disappointing way to end the night for the offensive starters. Joe Webb entered and led another great drive that ended in another fumble. Hopefully they got that kind of stuff out of their system before the season starts. No Adrian Peterson, John Carlson and little of Toby Gerhart and Jerome Simpson did hamstring the offense. I'm more concerned about the defense than the offense at this point and the defense was much improved. A depleted San Diego Chargers offensive line may have skewed that a bit. The Vikings got sacks by the bunches. Middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley played his best game of the preseason. His play and that position has been my biggest concern for the season. It was great to see Brinkley pick up his game.
Here's how I see the Vikings lining up against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a couple of weeks:
WR Percy Harvin
T Matt Kalil
G Charlie Johnson
C John Sullivan
G Brandon Fusco
T Phil Loadholt
TE Kyle Rudolph
WR Stephen Burton
QB Christian Ponder
RB Adrian Peterson
FB Jerome Felton
DE Jared Allen
DT LeTroy Guion
DT Kevin Williams
DE Brian Robison
LB Chad Greenway
LB Jasper Brinkley
LB Erin Henderson
CB Chris Cook
CB Antoine Winfield
S Harrison Smith
S Mistral Raymond
K Blair Walsh
P Chris Kluwe
KR Percy Harvin
PR Jarius Wright
Receiver Jerome Simpson is suspended for the first three games so he won't enter the starting lineup until week four against the Detroit Lions. He'll be missed but I'm hoping that Burton steps. He and Michael Jenkins are likely the first receivers up. The tight ends need to step up as well. Punt returner is possibly the only spot that is still wide open. I'm hoping that Wright can grab it. He can be explosive. He had a nice return last night.
One more practice game to go.
Also, from the preseason games that I'd seen I hadn't noticed too much of a drop off between the replacement officials and the official officials. That's not a compliment to the replacement officials. Last night in the Vikings-Chargers game I may have finally seen what apparently the rest of the country has seen. The replacement officials were horrible. That can't continue into the season. The officiating just seemed random. I'm not sure what they were seeing at all.
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