Cranking it up in Hotkato

Thurday’s afternoon practice was the teams 12th and so far I feel like I have seen 2 clouds totals. The sky is bright,the sun is hot and water and gatorade are selling like hotcakes.

This afternoon practice was the most fun yet as players were starting to hit harder. I saw a squirmish today with a receiver and defensive back going at it even after the whistle. There were no punches just some extra shoving. It is just a matter of time with the heat and the competitive fire that is training camp.
The quarterback to receiver drill with no defense was as sharp as I have seen. There were 4 routes run and 40 passes with only 2 drop balls. This included 4 for 4 on balls 40 yards. The sharpness in this drill was fun to watch and all 4 quartebacks were involved.

The drill quarterback to receiver with one defender can be a lot of fun to watch. Today I watched Jarius Wright ,receiver and Chris Cook defender running stride for stride and in the end Cook snatched the ball for an interception. This was Cook’s 2nd interception of the day.

The 12 practices I have witnessed, I have come away with the findings that the 3 favorite receivers for Ponder are Percy Harvin,Kyle Rudolph and Jerome Simpson.
Joe Webb connected on a great end zone catch by rookie Greg Childs as he leaped and fought the defender for it winning on the way down. The referee raised his hands and called it 6 for the offense.

Ponder threw and interception and the next play hits Harvin down the sideline for a long gainer. Ponder also connected with Jerome Simpson on a deep route.
I also believe for now the team has found its deep threat with Jerome Simpson being the man who has the ability to get under the ball and hang onto it.

The team worked on the goal line offense with the offense performing well. There was a touchdown thrown to Rhett Ellison and 2 rushing with one play also stopped for a loss.
One standout so far had been Jordan Todman the back the Vikes got from San Diego in the offseason. He is so quick coming through the whole. I think the team early in camp has found their third back behind Peterson and Gerhart.

Another standout today was the efforts of free agent Bryabn Walters. He looked Wes Welker like in running great routes. He is buit a lot like Welker and is very quick while running nice routes. He seemed to find the gap in the linebacker area and set up for the receptions. This will be fun to watch during camp to see if he can be consistant.

It was a great day to be in Mankato watching the hitting and plays being run. I can not wait for Friday as things heat up. I just hope the weather cools down a few degrees.

Thanks for reading
Purplestick