Before anything else, my thoughts and prayers are with the family of Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer. His father, Bill Zimmer, passed away on Tuesday. He'd battled health issues since a nerve was nicked two years ago during a surgical procedure. The elder Zimmer coached football and wrestling at Lockport High School (IL) for 34 years. He earned the rare honor of being inducted into both the Illinois High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame and the Illinois Wrestling Coaches and Officials Hall of Fame. One of coach Zimmer's players was his son. Mike Zimmer often references the impact of his father's coaching. Bill Zimmer was able to see his son, finally, get his first head coaching shot in 2014. RIP Coach.
As a Vikings fan, I would like to thank the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and their selection of Jameis Winston at the top of the 2015 NFL Draft for getting this game on live national television. The NFL would probably have another game highlight today's schedule if one of their young gunslingers wasn't playing in this one. Tennessee Titans-Atlanta Falcons filled last night's prime time slot because of Marcus Mariota.
Most of the first week preseason games were played over the last two evenings. There are only three games today.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Minnesota Vikings
San Francisco 49ers at Houston Texans
Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals
There's one tomorrow.
Indianapolis Colts at Philadelphia Eagles
That last game probably qualifies as the most interesting game of the weekend. The Colts are a serious Super Bowl contender. The Eagles might be the most interesting team heading into the new season. Head coach Chip Kelly and his "different" approach to the profession is a big reason for that.
What would I like to see from the Vikings in preseason game #2?
-I'd like to see Teddy Bridgewater connect with new receiver Mike Wallace.
-I'd like to see rookie corner Trae Waynes rebound from a rough first game.
-I'd like to see the back-up defensive ends step up.
-Most importantly, I'd like to see no injuries!
Injuries. Injuries will always be a part of football. There's never a good time for them but it's especially disappointing to see players go down before the games that count. The Vikings have been pretty lucky with injuries the past couple of seasons. I certainly hope that continues. A lot of preseason game critics connect these practice games to injuries. The possibility of injuries isn't a reason to be critical of preseason games because the risk is always there in football. It's there in practices. It's there in lifting weights. It's there in getting to practices. The only way to avoid football injuries is to not play the game at all. So, here's to an injury-free weekend of football.
Some other thoughts:
I chuckle when I hear Roger Goodell and his parrots honk about "conduct detrimental" to the league. The only conduct that I see that is detrimental to the league is just about everything that Goodell has done in the past year.
Sometimes I wonder if the reason that Goodell is drawing this ball inflation issue out for so long is because of the attention being paid to it. Does he really think that even bad news is good news if it generates "clicks?" If he does, he truly is an idiot. The only thing that can derail the NFL's runaway train of success is if the public no longer trusts the league. Goodell is heading in that direction.
I wish Michael Sam the best in all that he does. He always was an NFL-longshot, at best, but he was talented enough to deserve a shot. He got that shot. There have been more bad football stories than good ones in the past year. Sam's pursuit of his football dream was one of the good ones.
A couple electrifying rookies:
Ameer Abdullah, Detroit Lions, running back
Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks, receiver/kick returner
Doug Baldwin says differently but the Seahawks have found remarkable offensive success without dominant receivers. It's too early to call Lockett a dominant receiver but I think that he and fellow newcomer Jimmy Graham are the most skilled pass-catchers on the roster.
I'm a little surprised by all of the attention given to the block made by Dallas Cowboys rookie guard La'el Collins. He flattened San Diego Chargers undrafted rookie linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo about ten yards down the field. It was a fine block but hardly deserving of all this attention. Let me repeat this: undrafted free agent linebacker Chi Chi Ariguzo. Collins should be flattening this guy. Especially when he has undrafted free agent Chi Chi Ariguzo on his heels. His block(s) that led to a five-yard touchdown run in the first quarter was a better play.
Go Vikings!
No comments:
Post a Comment