It’s good that the Vikings won’t be scrapping the last workout of their offseason program. Their new quarterback thinks he needs it.
Kirk Cousins wasn’t pleased with his performance on Wednesday Taron Johnson Jersey , the second day of a three-day minicamp.
鈥淚 was pretty salty walking off the field,鈥?Cousins said, via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. 鈥淚鈥檓 really frustrated. I do not want to walk into the summer with a bad taste in my mouth about practice, so hopefully we can finish really strong [Thursday] and be feeling good going into the summer.
鈥淓ven one bad decision in practice kind of bothers me all afternoon, and I can be a bit of a grouch when I go home.鈥?/p>
The salt came from a third-down red-zone drill during which Cousins threw two interceptions in three plays.
But there’s a silver lining; Cousins is learning through trial and error what he can’t do.
“On the first one, I just couldn鈥檛 get all the way through the throw, so the ball died on me,” Cousins said. 鈥淭he second one, I was testing things a little bit and trying to see what I could get away with, and I learned pretty quickly that I can鈥檛 get away with that throw. . . .聽Some of the beauty of (spring drills) is that you can test and experiment. . . . You鈥檝e just got to learn from them.”
The learning continues into training camp, with Cousins still having plenty of time to get up to speed with his new teammates and his new offense as the Vikings try to build on what they did in 2017. And it’s still not clear what will count as success in 2018.
Ultimately Joel Iyiegbuniwe Jersey , it’s not realistic to except the Vikings to at least get back to the NFC title game, especially since that’s something they’ve accomplished only six times in the last 40 years.
After all of those years eschewing the Los Angeles area, the NFL now has two teams there. On Saturday, both will host preseason games on what many say is the only August weekend that even slightly matters.
The Rams host the Texans in an afternoon game, and four hours later the Chargers entertain New Orleans.
There's actually some intrigue in Chargers-Saints, particularly for an exhibition game. For the second straight season, the teams went through two days of joint practices at the Chargers' training camp complex in Orange County ahead of the preseason game.
Saints star quarterback Drew Brees once was San Diego's starter, then was displaced by Philip Rivers. Brees has gone on to wild success and a Super Bowl championship in New Orleans, while Rivers has been a fixture behind center for the Chargers in San Diego and now in L.A.
"It was a tough set of circumstances, obviously, because they drafted him in 2004 to basically take my job Kyle Fuller Jersey ," Brees said on the Saints' website. "I think everyone always tried to pit us against each other and couldn't figure out how we could be friends or good teammates to one another in the quarterback room when we were having that type of competition, but we were."
And they still are friends as well as supreme competitors.
"There's no denying it was somewhat awkward," Rivers said. "We both wanted what the other person was trying to get, and keep it from him. But at the same time we pulled for one another.
"It may not make sense, and I'm not sure any of that necessarily does. That's kind of the way it went in those two years. I tried to be the first person to high-five him after a touchdown. But at the same time I wanted to be out there playing."
Neither will be playing very long Saturday.
The Rams' glamorous offseason additions are expected to play for the first time. Coach Sean McVay has been exceedingly cautious about using his starters in the preseason and could continue to hold out some veteran players, but receiver Brandin Cooks, defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters are likely to see their first action.
Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson did not play in a 33-7 loss at the Rams last season because of a torn ACL, but will get to test himself against a Los Angeles defense still attempting to identify a starting outside linebacker. The Texans scored at least 33 points in each of Watson's last five starts as a rookie, but failed to score more than 17 points in eight of nine games after he was hurt.
MORE INTRIGUE
The biggest topic from the Chiefs' perspective as they head to Chicago is coach Andy Reid gets to match up with his former offensive coordinator Matt Nagy, now in charge of the Bears.
"I'm proud of him for having the opportunity 鈥?I've watched his tape and he's doing some good things with the team," Reid said. "It's a little like looking in the mirror when you look at his offense. He's added a few little wrinkles but a lot of it is pretty similar."
The Bears were hoping to have first-round draft pick Roquan Smith in his first action Dick Butkus Jersey , but he barely practiced after ending his holdout. Starters or key players missing the game for certain are LB Leonard Floyd (broken bones in his right hand), and TE Adam Shaheen (right ankle and foot). Also possibly out: CB Prince Amukamara (ankle), DE Akiem Hicks (knee soreness), and TE Dion Sims (concussion).
THE RETURNS
While most fans will focus on the play of the Indianapolis and San Francisco quarterbacks, Andrew Luck and Jimmy Garoppolo, on Saturday, the coaching staffs might look more closely at their revamped secondaries.
The 49ers are eager to see cornerback Richard Sherman make his first appearance since tearing his Achilles tendon last season. The former All-Pro with Seattle joined San Francisco in the offseason.
"I'm more concerned about my game shape and making sure I can still go every single play because I haven't played (since November)," Sherman said.
First-year Colts coach Frank Reich will get his first glimpse of his projected starting safety pairing.
Clayton Geathers, who missed most of 2017 after neck surgery, returned from a subsequent knee surgery in Monday night's loss to Baltimore. Now, Malik Hooker Josh Bellamy Jersey , Indy's first-round pick in 2017, is expected to make his first start since October after recovering from two torn ligaments in his right knee.
It would be the first time Geathers and Hooker have actually lined up together in game action.
"I'm going to be pretty excited, just from the journey we had," Hooker said.
HOLD THAT LINE
Cincinnati's offensive line struggled against the Cowboys last week, which was a bad sign after the Bengals spent the offseason overhauling it. The starting offense managed only two first downs 鈥?one on a scramble by Andy Dalton 鈥?in three possessions. If the right side of the line struggles again on Sunday vs. Buffalo, changes could be in store, especially at right tackle where Bobby Hart has had problems.
First-round draft pick Josh Allen gets his opportunity to secure the Bills' starting job after showing progress in accuracy and decision making since the start of training camp. It'll be Allen's first start, and comes after the quarterback directed drives to a touchdown and two field goals in a 19-17 win at Cleveland. Allen has yet to face an opponents' starting defense, and he'll be playing behind a retooled offensive line that struggled against the Browns' pass rush.
Coach Sean McDermott said some starters will play into the third quarter, though he didn't specify QBs.
BACK TO PITTSBURGH
Mike Vrabel started his NFL career with the Steelers as the 91st pick overall in the 1997 draft. He returns with the Titans looking for his first victory as a head coach.
Vrabel says he kind of stumbled out of the blocks in Pittsburgh where he
learned how to be a professional pla LeBron
James Jersey
