At 2:45 p.m., with about half of the team on the field, and no fans to be seen, the Minnesota Vikings ended their 45th training camp at Minnesota State.
This is Chad Courrier, rubbing my tired feet and stretching a sore back, the effects of standing on the sidelines for the past two weeks.
Thursday's final practice was limited to special teams, meaning there wasn't much of note. Darius Reynaud had trouble fielding punts. Jaymar Johnson, Greg Lewis and Ray Small handled kick returns.
Since this it the last post of training camp, here are some of my highs and lows of the last two weeks.
The highs: Attendance seemed to be up, though it's always tough to tell by looking at the grandstands and autograph lines.
Adrian Battles, the former Minnesota State lineman, made it through camp, living out a dream that may or may not die in a couple of weeks.
Two weeks is about the right amount of time for the Vikings to be here. Remember when the team was here for six weeks? I do.
It's unfortunate that the best, and only, fight of camp came on the last day, when defensive end Ray Edwards was ready to scrap with rookie Toby Gerhart, mammoth Phil Loadholt, coach Eric Bienemy and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier.
The lows: the misreporting of the Brett Favre story last week. Something must have happened to cause the reports of retirement texts, but the way the media grabbed on to the story and embellished it was embarrassing, made even more so when Favre denied the story the next day.
Only a couple of reporters had sources, while most of the media members used rumors as facts. ESPN's full-time programming of the "story" that day was the most embarrassing.
Injuries or absences from Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice and Visanthe Shiancoe didn't allow for the Vikings' starting offense to practice together once in Mankato. Of course, Favre wasn't here either, meaning this unit will have to "cram" for the season-opener Sept. 9 at New Orleans once all the pieces are in place.
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