Vikings survive Day 1 of camp

Hello. This is Jim Rueda reporting on the first practice from Minnesota Vikings training camp Friday. The humidity was high but the heat wasn't nearly as bad as some recent training camp openers, making for pretty good conditions at the Minnesota State practice fields.

Everyone took part in the shorts and pads practice Friday with the exception of cornerback Cedric Griffin and wide receiver Sidney Rice, who are both starting the summer on the physically unable to perform list. Griffin tore his ACL in last year's playoffs and Rice is dealing with a lingering hip injury.

At the close of practice Rice talked with the media and said he'd definitely be back in time for the regular season. Earlier head coach Brad Childress said surgery was considered for Rice's injury at the end of minicamp but the team's medical staff rejected that option.

The only other player not practicing Friday was quarterback Brett Favre who is still trying to decide whether he wants to play another season. Even if he decides to play, he is not likely to make an appearance at training camp in Mankato.

As for the other quarterbacks, the pecking order has been established. There were indications during some of the OTAs and minicamp that rookie Joe Webb from Alabama-Birmingham had already moved ahead of veteran Sage Rosenfels on the depth chart but that was clearly not the case Friday.

Tarvaris Jackson (pictured) was the clear-cut No. 1, Rosenfels was the obvious No. 2 and Webb is No. 3. Jackson was the sharpest of the threesome in passing drills and Rosenfels was a close second.

Rosenfels had the two longest completions, a 45-yarder to Jaymar Johnson and a 40-yarder to Greg Lewis on consecutive plays. Webb's passes were not as consistently on-target, but he did manage to hit Johnson with a 30-yard pass in traffic down the left sideline.

Defensively, veteran linebacker Chad Greenway was the standout, knocking down two passes intended for receivers over the middle.

The Vikings resume practice today with a morning session from 9-11:15 a.m. The team will move into newly-refurbished Blakeslee stadium for a 7 p.m. practice Saturday night.

Photo by John Cross