The Vikings had their last official practice in Mankato Thursday morning and ended it with a mass autograph session. More than 1,000 fans lined the practice fields as players went over and furiously signed balls, posters, scraps of paper, just about anything that would take a pen or a magic marker.
Midway through practice Donovan McNabb threw the longest touchdown of the day, finding Jaymar Johnson streaking down the left sideline and hitting him for a 65-yard score.
The offense also did some red zone work near the ended of the session. Joe Webb threw for two TD's during the workout, finding Johnson again in the left corner of the end zone. Johnson momentarily bobbled the ball but gained possession before falling out of bounds. Webb also found Juaquin Iglesias with a short curl pattern just inside the goal line.
The defense stepped up on the final play of practice. Rookie safety Mistral Raymond stepped in front of a Chris Ponder pass near the back of the end zone and ran it back for a touchdown the other way. Unfortunately, Raymond came up limping at the end of the play with what head coach Leslie Frazier later said was a tweaked hamstring.
Veteran cornerback Cedric Griffin, who is coming back from his second ACL surgery in less than a year, has all but locked up the team's Comeback Player of the Year award if he gets back on the field and plays even close to his former level.
A close second for that award could be wide receiver Bernard Berrian. The Vikings had high hopes for the free-agent signee before the 2008 season and he did will in his first year, but he was injured much of 2009 and amassed a sub-par 247 yards on 28 catches with no touchdowns last season.
Many thought he would end up on the waiver wire prior to the start of training camp but he's not only still here, he's receiving high praise from both head coach Frazier and quarterback McNabb. McNabb says Berrian can not only still stretch the field but runs precise routs.
If Berrian does in games what he's been doing in practice, he should once again become a vital part of the offense.
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