OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS

Rookie first round draft choice, Chad Greenway's season ending knee injury has allowed the emergence of a linebacker that few had taken notice of last year. Heath Farwell, a 6 foot, 235 pound, weak side linebacker, as an undrafted rookie free agent that was kept on the practice squad last year, is doing exactly what he has to do to make the active roster for the season opener against the Washington Redskins, Monday , September 11th.

In 2005, the Vikings had an interest in the undrafted free agent, whom while at San Diego State, was named the Ironman player of the year for his special-teams play. Farwell's coaches at SDSU had nicknamed him the “Policeman” for the way the criminal justice major disrupted play in opponent’s backfields. This preseason we have seen testament to the style of play that he had portrayed in college. Not only has he been passionate about his play of special teams, but has become a familiar name to those calling out the numbers and names for tackles on the defensive side of the ball.

Against Baltimore, Farwell finished with nine tackles, a pass deflected and a forced fumble. He lead both teams in tackles for the night. Overall, he leads the Vikings with 22 tackles in three preseason games. All but one of the tackles have been solo.

Farwell is not in uncharted waters as the Vikings make cuts to get down to the required 53 man roster. His comments from last year are probably close to the same this week. “I love special teams,” said Farwell, “I’ve always wanted to be on the field as much as I could. I was on every special teams in high school and college. To be honest with you, special teams is all about effort. Everyone’s pretty much talented in the NFL. The guys who excel are the guys who put the most effort into it. I have to be able to show I can play at linebacker in case of injuries.”

The difference this year, OPPORTUNITY. The squad from last year was full at linebacker. Special teams was the key to making the team. However, this year we may see more of #59 on the turf when the defense takes the field.

D Looks Solid but Who is Backing Up Brad Johnson?

The Vikings preseason is a success for the defense. A concern a year ago, the defense has looked very good this preseason. I know it's preseason so I won't write too much about it but I do think it's fair to judge the D in the third preseason game. The third game is the game with the most action for the starters.

In the Baltimore game, the Vikings looked more like the black and purple of the Ravens than the purple, white, and gold of the previous Vikings. The pressure on Steve McNair rattled him all game long and when he had time, McNair struggled to find an open receiver. While the offense drove down the field well against one of the best Ds in the NFL, it was the Vikings D that was the surprise. While the O moved the ball down the field against one of the predicted best Ds in the NFL this upcoming year, the D put on pressure, caused false starts, and made McNair look like it was not only his first year with the Ravens but his first year period. Due to the Viking's D, McNair often ran for his life and the only open players were open for short passes.

Other Game 3 Comments

Beyond the D, I had to comment on how strange a year season can be. Seeing McNair as a Raven was odd but seeing Jim Fassel on the Baltimore sideline was just as odd. Faces in strange places make preseason ball interesting to watch.

For positives, #11 Jason Carter is looking great. His jersey fits the heritage: A last name of Carter is a lot to live up to in purple and the #11 has recent significance. If he can continue to play well and make the 2006 squad, a lot of Culpepper jerseys can be recycled with the simple change of a nameplate. I wish Jason the best!

The worst part of the third preseason game was the awful announcing. I cringed often and watching the game with my friend Ryan, was entertaining as we both mocked the pre-preseason effort of the announcing crew. I rewatched the game on NFL Network and was thankful that the 2nd half was announced by the Raven's crew (the NFL Network broadcast feature one half for each home crew). The next game is Thursday against Dallas and I hope to see a better performance by the voices of TV. Maybe I'll need to listen to the game via radio...

Who is Backing Up Brad Johnson?

The most common question I have been asked this year is who is the backup for #14 Brad Johnson. Well, the future is bright but the present, anything but a gift.

Right now, the roster behind Johnson is scary and the odds of Brad Johnson surviving an entire season is bleak (I'll take a lunch for someone who claims that he plays 16 regular season games). Backing up Brad are ex-Lion Mike McMahon, J.T. O'Sullivan (you can call him J.T. O'Gone when the next round of cuts occur), and Tarvaris Jackson. McMahon has looked bad and honestly I believe him taking over the reigns of this club spell death to any playoff hopes. Tarvaris has looked great and needs seasoning. His potential probably means the end of J.T.'s 2006 Vikings career.

Who's missing? Well, Shaun Hill! On the roster from 2002-2005, Shaun is now in San Francisco backing up last year's #1 draft pick Alex Smith. I watched the Dallas Cowboys/San Francisco 49er game and kept an eye on ex-Viking backup quarterback.

This preseason has been great for Hill. In 2 games, Shaun is 7 of 9 for 76 yards. He's been sacked twice but last night showed great mobility. Last night, he scampered for 14 yards in one run last night dodging players and showing intense drive. He's racked up 28 yards rushing. He looks good and with McMahon's struggles, I wonder if he would have been a better backup for Brad Johnson. Oh well.

Pre-Season Thoughts

Good to see the Purple Faithful out tailgating on Monday night. August tailgating is almost as good as December tailgating. Dress appropriately is just as important, too.

The Defense looks good. The loss of Greenway is unfortunate, but we're getting lots of pressure. 5 sacks, IIRC. Nice job, gentlemen...

The Offense looks good. The line gives Brad plenty of time. The improved blocking is helping our running game. Nice to see the fullback get in the end zone, too.

The Special Teams look okay. Obvious mishap for Williamson with the fumble, but the other dudes are taking that job and *running away* with it. Kasper, huh... I'm sure some jokes will come about shortly... %>

Skol Vikes!

Jim "BleedPurpleGuy"