The A #1 takeaway from preseason game #3 is that if this is how all the preseasons are going to go under the current regime ticket sales will PLUMMET! Don't get me wrong, it make sense to protect the guys who are already secure in their positions but why people would continue to shell-out to see the fringe guys is beyond me.
About an hour and half before kickoff the team tipped it's hand at who the top 30 members of the 80-man roster are.
Along with that group there are about 10 who had to play but are also fairly secure in their standing. That leaves about a dozen spots up-for-grabs. After the game KO said that Olabisi Johnson was set to make the roster but then he suffered another knee injury, the severity of which is not yet known. He joined Jalen Nailor, T.Y. McGill & Troy Dye as early exits Saturday night. As a veteran who flashed in both of the previous games McGill is one of the others who should make the roster. Nailor is more likely to be on the practice squad this year while Dye's time in MN is just about done.
Another member of that group is Nick Mullens, fresh off his acquisition from Las Vegas. He suited up but it was a showcase of the guys vying for QB3. There was no defined winner in that competition when the clock struck zero but with the physical gifts he has I do still think there's a chance Mond makes the roster. With an established veteran holding the job it makes sense to have a talented young guy in the room to continue learning. Mond has talent, he just needs more time. That's no guarantee that a year from now he will be any better but cutting him outright could come back to haunt the organization.
One position that continued to show it will take pressure off Cousins & the rest is running back. Ty Chandler took his five carries for 44 yards while Kene Nwangwu averaged 3.5/carry over his four opportunities. With that kind of depth on the roster this season it's likely that Bryant Koback will be the odd-man-out but not get the same opportunity to continue working at VikesBorg.
Two of the other others are Ihmir Smith-Marsette & Zach Davidson. Whether the team will keep six receivers or not is still unclear but IS-M showed enough to warrant a stop on the 53. Davidson, like Mond, has talent you can't teach and may just need more time to be sculpted. He has the added advantage of Irv Smith Jr.'s fragility, which also applies to Ben Ellefson who did not appear to take the field at any point during P3.
With about 48 hours until the initial roster is announced many of the questions will be answered, and then probably answered again as other teams make their moves.
Here's the second opinion about the preseason finale
The bad, the worse, and the ugly.
Praise the Lord and pass the acquisition (quarterback). With how ugly our passing game looked we should be thankful that we have a new face in the room in Mullens (especially when two of our three fumbles came from Mannion and Mond). While Mond might hold on for a 3rd string spot, we should all hope that we don't see him or Mannion on the field when it counts. I'll go so far as to say that Mannion might make a roster, but it won't be ours.
Ty Chandler looked like a beast last night, averaging a Peterson-esque 8.8 YPC. With production like that, he has certainly locked up a RB #3 spot, and might even push Mattison off the chart. On the receiving end, ISM looked like the real deal, and Davidson didn't play around either. In typical Vikings fashion our O-line was good at run-blocking, but gave up a disappointing 5 sacks. Was it pretty? No, not it wasn't. But neither does it matter with our starters all out.
Defensively, well, let's just say thank God it was the preseason. While Mike Brown was all over the place with 10 total tackles, with a few other guys getting more than 5, it wasn't much to write home about. Vilian had a solid INT but Russell Wilson wasn't throwing the ball so take that stat as you will. The defense wasn't blowing anyone away but given how much the offense tried to share the ball with the Broncos, they could've done a lot worse.
Our special teams looked dang good! Joseph was automatic (knock on wood), with a highlight 58 yard FG giving us a faint glimmer of hope going forward. Ryan Wright showed why he was the choice at punter, booming them an average of over 55 yards while sticking three of his punts inside the 20. Maybe the most impressive part was that he only had one touchback with those Maddenish numbers. Our return game looked pedestrian, but hey, preseason and all that.
Thankfully since this is 2022, no one important saw any significant time, so we are looking strong headed into the regular season. If we can show up to play against those Green Jerks from across the border it will soon be forgotten! ~ Bradley Foster
There will be plenty more to chew on over the next two weeks so don't miss out on the rumination!
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