Just a FWIW from the local St Paul paper.
Starters worth a quarter
Childress plans to send in reserves early
BY SEAN JENSEN
Pioneer Press
MANKATO, Minn. ? Coach Brad Childress said his starters will play about one quarter tonight in the Vikings' exhibition opener against the Oakland Raiders.
After a short mock game Sunday in the Myers Field House at Minnesota State Mankato, Childress broke down the expected playing time of his four quarterbacks and added that veterans Pat Williams and Fred Smoot will play.
Starter Brad Johnson will play about a quarter, followed by Mike McMahon, who will play a portion of the second quarter. Then, rookie Tarvaris Jackson will finish the half and play the third quarter. J.T. O'Sullivan will play the fourth quarter.
Childress, though, pointed out that his starters could wind up playing only one or two series.
"Again, that's up to my discretion," he said. "But the plan is for a quarter."
Regardless, Childress said he is excited to get exhibition play under way.
"Even though it is the preseason, it's always good to tee it up against somebody," he said.
After a grueling training camp, the Vikings are looking forward to competing against someone else.
"It breaks up the grind of training camp," veteran center Jason Whittle said. "It's nice to compete, and it's great for the young guys. It's a different tempo, no matter what anyone says. And it's good to have some game situations."
Rookie linebacker Chad Greenway will play extensively with the second- and-third string defenses in various packages.
"I'm more excited, just to experience it for the first time," he said. "This is going to be fun."
Childress said the coaches don't want to bog players down with concepts and schemes.
"What we want to do is we want to let these guys' abilities come out," he said. "We want to watch the play. We're not strapping them with a lot of thinking."
Staying focused: Rookie defensive end Ray Edwards embraces the challenge laid out by defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin at the start of camp.
Tomlin said he wanted to see how Edwards would handle the "mental grind" of training camp, adding that talent is not the issue with the fourth-round pick.
"It's definitely a challenge, because that was the big bust on me coming out of college, that I didn't go hard every play like I should have," Edwards said. "But that's definitely a challenge to me, and I plan to do it day in and day out."
Edwards has done that, according to defensive end Kenechi Udeze.
"He has a great work ethic," Udeze said. "He's smart, because he doesn't take a long time for him to realize his mistakes and fix them. He wants to show people he should have been a first-day pick."
In practices, Edwards has starred in one-on-one drills against backup offensive tackles. He has drawn plenty of praise from his coaches and teammates.
"I want to show them what I can do on every play," Edwards said. "They give me encouraging comments. But they also tell me if there is anything I need to work on."
Even though he wasn't a first-day pick, Edward said he's thankful to be a Viking and that he got drafted.
"I know guys who didn't even get drafted. So I was blessed to get drafted where I got drafted," Edwards said. "I can't ask to be anywhere else. I'm around a great group of guys."
Briefly: Childress said the protective measures for left tackle Bryant McKinnie's fractured left hand could change.
"You still have 48 hours for that thing to heal," Childress said. "If it feels better and better and better to him, (that) means maybe the club will get smaller and smaller and smaller."
Sean Jensen can be reached at sjensen@pioneerpress.com
Starters worth a quarter
Childress plans to send in reserves early
BY SEAN JENSEN
Pioneer Press
MANKATO, Minn. ? Coach Brad Childress said his starters will play about one quarter tonight in the Vikings' exhibition opener against the Oakland Raiders.
After a short mock game Sunday in the Myers Field House at Minnesota State Mankato, Childress broke down the expected playing time of his four quarterbacks and added that veterans Pat Williams and Fred Smoot will play.
Starter Brad Johnson will play about a quarter, followed by Mike McMahon, who will play a portion of the second quarter. Then, rookie Tarvaris Jackson will finish the half and play the third quarter. J.T. O'Sullivan will play the fourth quarter.
Childress, though, pointed out that his starters could wind up playing only one or two series.
"Again, that's up to my discretion," he said. "But the plan is for a quarter."
Regardless, Childress said he is excited to get exhibition play under way.
"Even though it is the preseason, it's always good to tee it up against somebody," he said.
After a grueling training camp, the Vikings are looking forward to competing against someone else.
"It breaks up the grind of training camp," veteran center Jason Whittle said. "It's nice to compete, and it's great for the young guys. It's a different tempo, no matter what anyone says. And it's good to have some game situations."
Rookie linebacker Chad Greenway will play extensively with the second- and-third string defenses in various packages.
"I'm more excited, just to experience it for the first time," he said. "This is going to be fun."
Childress said the coaches don't want to bog players down with concepts and schemes.
"What we want to do is we want to let these guys' abilities come out," he said. "We want to watch the play. We're not strapping them with a lot of thinking."
Staying focused: Rookie defensive end Ray Edwards embraces the challenge laid out by defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin at the start of camp.
Tomlin said he wanted to see how Edwards would handle the "mental grind" of training camp, adding that talent is not the issue with the fourth-round pick.
"It's definitely a challenge, because that was the big bust on me coming out of college, that I didn't go hard every play like I should have," Edwards said. "But that's definitely a challenge to me, and I plan to do it day in and day out."
Edwards has done that, according to defensive end Kenechi Udeze.
"He has a great work ethic," Udeze said. "He's smart, because he doesn't take a long time for him to realize his mistakes and fix them. He wants to show people he should have been a first-day pick."
In practices, Edwards has starred in one-on-one drills against backup offensive tackles. He has drawn plenty of praise from his coaches and teammates.
"I want to show them what I can do on every play," Edwards said. "They give me encouraging comments. But they also tell me if there is anything I need to work on."
Even though he wasn't a first-day pick, Edward said he's thankful to be a Viking and that he got drafted.
"I know guys who didn't even get drafted. So I was blessed to get drafted where I got drafted," Edwards said. "I can't ask to be anywhere else. I'm around a great group of guys."
Briefly: Childress said the protective measures for left tackle Bryant McKinnie's fractured left hand could change.
"You still have 48 hours for that thing to heal," Childress said. "If it feels better and better and better to him, (that) means maybe the club will get smaller and smaller and smaller."
Sean Jensen can be reached at sjensen@pioneerpress.com
