The first official day of the Leslie Frazier regime took place at Vikings Training Camp Monday with an afternoon practice at the Minnesota State University practice fields.
There were few noticeable changes from the workout sessions held under previous coach Brad Childress except that Monday saw a significant number of players standing around but not participating. That had to do with the rule that prevents recently signed free agents or players acquired by trade from practicing until the NFL Players Union re-certifies itself on Thursday.
Among those in attendance but not participating were quarterback Donovan McNabb (acquired in a trade from Washington), wide receiver Michael Jenkins (signed as a free agent from Atlanta) and defensive tackle Remi Ayodele (signed as a free agent from New Orleans).
Undrafted free agents who were signed last week were allowed to practice right away.
The pecking order for quarterbacks on Day 1 was Joe Webb, followed by Rhett Bomar, followed by rookie No. 1 draft choice Christian Ponder. The team was not dressed in pads so none of the passers had to throw against a live defense.
Webb seemed to have the best command of the offense but Ponder looked fairly sharp in his first appearance. In 11-on-11 drills (against fellow offensive players), Ponder twice hit tight ends in stride going over the middle for 20-25 yard gains.
It will be interesting to see how quickly the QB rotation changes when McNabb joins the group.
Monday was the 10th anniversary of former Vikings' offensive lineman Korey Stringer's death and coach Frazier had the team take a moment of silence before practice to acknowledge his memory.
The Vikings are back in practice at 9 a.m. Tuesday for a two-hour workout. There will be no afternoon practice.
No comments:
Post a Comment