Camp reports: Chiefs/Vikings scrimmage
by Roger Thompson
Everybody was looking forward to Jared Allen practicing against his old teammates. It didn’t happen. Allen and almost all of the Vikings defensive starters had the night off. Vikings head coach Brad Childress didn’t want to create a scene at camp and left them and a few offensive starters at home. Some were given the “over 30” exemption and a few were attending to minor injuries. The move gave the Vikings coaches an opportunity to evaluate the younger players that are battling for backup jobs. Here are some notes from the practice.
Branden Albert didn’t get to see Jared Allen but was matched up against Brian Robison in one-on-one drills. The first snap Robison got underneath Albert and beat him on the move Allen has been working with him on. The next snap Robison tried to use his quickness on an outside rush but Albert slid well and got his arms on him and won that battle. Kansas City’s second first round pick shows good quickness at times and once he gets his hands on you he shows good strength. He has a ways to go and once he comes across top notch defensive ends, he will have to get his stamina up to be able to handle them the whole game. Albert his hurt ankle on the first play of team drills and played in only one other play and was done for the night.
The Chiefs other first-round pick, Glenn Dorsey, also seemed to struggle on the night. He did face a lot of double teams during running plays but didn’t seem to get any push or show any pass rush moves when matched against Vikings guard Artis Hicks. He could be still getting used to training camp and maybe his conditioning isn’t where he wants it yet. But looking at him standing on the sidelines, he looks thick. He should be a force when he gets used to the NFL. He has powerful legs and should live up to his number 5 overall draft position.
The Chiefs most impressive rookie was second round pick Brandon Flowers out of Virginia Tech. Flowers was very aggressive in one-on-one drills and looked very quick. He jabs the receiver at the line of scrimmage and directs them away from where they want to go. He showed the ability to run with the receivers all over the field.
Tarvaris Jackson had a good day. His throws were accurate and didn’t throw any interceptions. His first throw of team drills was dropped by Visanthe Shiancoe, who still drops too many easy balls. John David Booth had a good scrimmage. He threw some nice underneath balls and connected with receiver Nate Jones on a long pass down the right sideline.
The nickel corner spot is still a wide open competition for the Vikings. Marcus McCauley got hurt on punt return practice early in the night and didn’t return. Charles Gordon and ex-chief Benny Sapp both had interceptions on the night and seem to always be around the ball. Gordon almost had another interception but the referees ruled it hit the ground as he was diving for the ball. Vikings second round pick Tyrell Johnson picked off Tyler Thigpen around the goal line. Early in the practice Johnson was put to the ground by a Larry Johnson forearm. This seemed to fire up the rookie and later in team drills he tackled Johnson hard to the ground, which brought the ire of the Viking coaches who took him out for one play.
The two star running backs for the two teams didn’t disappoint. Larry Johnson burst through the line and went untouched for a touchdown. Adrian Peterson caught a swing pass from Tarvaris Jackson and made a couple of Chiefs miss and showed his burst of speed and went in for a touchdown that drew a big response from the crowd.