The Vikings have acquired veteran QB Kelly Holcomb from the Philadelphia Eagles for a 6th round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.  This was a good move by the Vikings as Holcomb has been a decent backup QB in his NFL career.  Holcomb is efficient in the short passing game but he doesn’t have enough arm strength to make the deep throws.  Holcomb didn’t play a down last season for the Bills.  Holcomb has played in 34 games (21 starts) and he’s completed 523 of 810 passes (64.6%) for 5,401 yards with 37 TD passes and 37 interceptions (79.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 43 times for 30 yards (0.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Holcomb completed 7 of 9 passes (77.8%) for 75 yards (101.4 QB Rating) for the Eagles this pre-season.  Holcomb’s arrival will likely cause a ripple effect on the QB Depth Chart for the Vikings.  The first move the Vikings make was that they cut Drew Henson.  Henson was only 4 of 9 (44.4%) for 44 yards (54.4 QB Rating) in the pre-season for the Vikings.  Either Brooks Bollinger or rookie Tyler Thigpen is likely to go next as the Vikings will likely only keep 3 QBs on their roster.  Bollinger might be in the most danger because he has been awful during the pre-season this year for the Vikings.  He has completed 12 of 21 passes (57.1%) for 102 yards with 2 interceptions (30.4 QB Rating).  Rookie Tyler Thigpen has completed 3 of 7 (42.9%) passes this pre-season for 29 yards (55.1 QB Rating).

The Vikings made some big mistakes on offense and it cost them in this football game.  Tavaris Jackson did o.k. as he completed 9 of 18 passes for 117 yards.  Brooks Bollinger finished the game and he was a disaster.  He completed 6 of 11 passes for 52 yards and he threw 2 pickoffs.  One of Bollinger’s interceptions was returned 39 yards for a TD by rookie CB Kevin Hobbs.  Running back Chester Taylor looked very sharp as he carried the football 8 times for 61 yards (7.6 ypc).  Rookie Adrian Peterson continued his fine pre-season work with 10 carries for 41 yards (4.1 ypc).  Third stringer Mewelde Moore also got his work in carrying the football 7 times for 24 yards (3.4 ypc).  WR Bobby Wade had an outstanding game as he caught 5 passes for 85 yards and he also threw a 6-yard TD pass to TE Visanthe Shiancoe.  The Vikings finished up the game with 152 yards rushing on 34 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 30 passes for 167 yards.

The Vikings offense kept giving the Seahawks short fields and that’s why they gave up 30 points.  The Vikings were tough against the run holding the Seahawks to 75 yards on 23 carries (3.3 ypc).  The Seahawks also completed 17 of 24 passes for 206 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270825026

The Vikings have signed WR Robert Ferguson after he was cut by the rival Green Bay Packers.  It will be interesting to see how this career underachiever fits in with the Vikings WR corps.  Ferguson only played in 4 games (1 start) last season with the Packers and he caught 5 passes for 31 yards (6.2 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Over his NFL career he has played in 60 games (26 starts) and he has caught 116 passes for 1,577 yards (13.6 avg) with 12 TD grabs.  Look for Ferguson to be either the #3 or #4 WR this season for the Vikings as long as he can stay healthy.

Last night was a perfect example of the style of football the Vikings are going to play this season.  They are going to run the football and play defense.  The Vikings didn’t learn anything about their QBs last night as they only threw 18 passes.  Tavaris Jackson completed 2 of 4 passes for 12 whole yards.  Brooks Bollinger looked a little better completing 2 of 4 passes for 27 yards and he also ran the ball twice for 18 yards (9.0 ypc).  Drew Henson got to play and he completed 4 of 9 passes for 33 yards.  Tyler Thigpen made a cameo at the end of the game and he threw one incomplete pass and he rushed for 8 yards on one carry.  Rookie running back Adrian Peterson was the star of the show last night as he carried the football 8 times for 70 yards (8.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Mewelde Moore carried the ball 8 times for 27 yards (3.4 ypc) and he also caught a 12 yard pass but he seems locked in as the #3 RB this season on the Vikings.  Artose Pinner gained 20 yards on three impressive carries.  Chester Taylor carried the ball 4 times for 16 yards (4.0 ypc) and he also caught a pass for 18 yards.  The Vikings offense looked efficient at what they wanted to do last night but it will be interesting to see how they do against teams when they start gameplanning for them and make the Vikings’ QBs make some plays.  The Vikings ran the football 31 times for 167 yards (5.4 ypc) but they only completed 8 of 18 passes for 63 yards.

The defense of the Vikings gave up some yards last night but they also scored 3 TDs and looked dominant most of the time.  Darren Sharper (40 yard return) and Chad Greenway (16 yard return) both scored TDs of Chad Pennington interceptions.  Rookie DE Brian Robison also scored on a three yard fumble return and he also caused a fumble.  The Jets finished up with 148 yards rushing on 31 carries (4.8 ypc) and they completed 22 of 35 passes for 167 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270817020

It’s amazing to me that the Minnesota Vikings gave Visanthe Shiancoe so much money to be their starting TE.  He has shown nothing in the past to make anyone think he can be an impact player in the passing game but it appears that the Vikings didn’t get the memo.  Shiancoe played in 16 games (4 starts) for the Giants last season and he caught 12 whole passes for a whopping 81 yards (6.8 avg) with 0 TDs!  Those are not the numbers of a starting TE.   He has now played in 64 games (23 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 35 passes for 253 yards (7.2 avg) with 3 TD grabs.

Jim Kleinsasser will back up Shiancoe and he’s primarily a blocker that will catch a pass every once in a while.  He played in 16 games (12 starts) last season for the Vikings and he caught 7 passes for 47 yards (6.7 avg) with 0 TDs.  Don’t expect much more out of him in 2007 as he will not be on the field as much.  The converted fullback has now played in 101 games (83 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 154 passes for 1,331 yards (8.6 avg) with 5 TD grabs and he has also carried the football 43 times for 147 yards (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run.

Richard Owens will be the #3 TE on the Vikings and he doesn’t add much to the offense.  He played in 16 games (2 starts) last season and he caught 6 passes for 45 yards (7.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.   He has now played in 39 games (6 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 16 passes for 132 yards (8.3 avg) with 1 TD.

Unless one of the rookie WRs step up big-time in their first season in the NFL this will be one of the worst group of receivers in the entire NFL.  Troy Williamson is the #1 WR by default as he has been a huge bust so far in his career.  He has awsome speed but that’s his only above average NFL skill and that definately shows up on Sundays and it will again this season.   He played in 14 games (11 starts) last year for the Vikings and he caught 37 passes for 455 yards (12.3 avg) with 0 TD grabs.  He also returned 14 kickoffs for 314 yards (23.1 avg) last season.  Look for Williamson to drop down the depth chart if anyone has an impressive Training Camp or Pre-Season for the Vikings.  

The Vikings signed Bobby Wade away from the Titans but he also appears to be nothing more than a #3 or #4 WR on a good team.  He played in 16 games (2 starts) last season for the Titans and he caught 33 passes for 461 yards (14.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He also helped out on special teams for the Titans as he returned 50 kickoffs for 1,194 yards (23.9 avg) and 3 punts for 27 yards (9.0 avg).   Wade might step up for the Vikings but I have my doubts about him.  He has now played in 58 games (18 starts) and he has caught 101 passes for 1,199 yards (11.9 avg) with 2 TD grabs and he also has carried the football 18 times for 91 yards (5.1 ypc).  Wade has also returned 50 kickoffs in his NFL career for 1,194 yards (23.9 avg) and 38 punts for 353 yards (9.3 avg) with 1 TD return.

Billy McMullen is a favorite of head coach Brad Childress but I still can’t figure out why.  He played in 16 games last year (0 starts) and he caught 23 passes for 307 yards (13.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  I will be stunned if he puts better numbers than he did last season on the board in 2007.   He has now played in 45 games (0 starts) over his NFL career and he has caught 45 passes for 601 yards (13.4 avg) with 3 TD grabs.

Cortez Hankton isn’t much of a receiver either.  He played in 12 games (1 start) last season and he caught 5 passes for 48 yards (9.6 avg).  For his career now he has played in 46 games (1 start) and he has caught 34 passes for 310 yards (9.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Don’t expect much from him if he makes the final roster.

With that very motley crew of WRs the rookies will have a good chance to shine.  Sidney Rice was drafted in the 2nd round but beware because he comes from the same school that sent Troy Williamson to the Vikings.  Anyway, Rice seems way more polished than Williamson was when he entered the league so he could push for a starting job right away.  Don’t be surprised if 5th rounder Aundrae Allison or 7th rounder Chandler Williams not only make the team but move up the depth chart fast because this is a very, very weak bunch of veteran receivers the Vikings have assembled.

The Vikings have placed backup linebacker Jason Glenn on the Injured Reserve list after he re-aggravated an ACL injury in practice last week.  Glenn might retire after this latest injury to his knee.  He played in 9 games last season for the Vikings and he made 8 tackles and recovered a fumble.  He has now played in 80 games in his NFL career and he has made 102 tackles, defensed 5 passes and recovered 2 fumbles.

The Vikings have lost Rufus Alexander for the season after he tore his ACL in Friday’s pre-season game.  The Vikings thought they got a steal getting Alexander so late in the draft but they will need to wait at least a year to see if they were right.  The Vikings have had bad luck with rookie linebackers hurting themselves in the first pre-season game as they lost last year’s first round pick (Chad Greenway) to the same injury last year.

The Miami Dolphins gave up on Fred Evans because of off the field issues which he might get suspended for yet.  But, the Vikings see Evans as a very talented football player that they might be able to straighten out.  He only played in 1 game last season with the Dolphins and he made 2 tackles.  It’s interesting that the Vikings picked up a player like Evans after they have tried really hard to clean up their image off of the football field as an organization.

The Vikings are probably upset about the offense as a hole last night but Tavaris Jackson was exciting to watch last night.  He completed 8 of 11 passes for 83 yards and he also ran the ball twice for 25 yards (12.5 ypc).  The Vikings hope he will build off of his impressive performance last night.  Brooks Bollinger replaced Jackson and he completed 4 of 6 passes for 23 yards.  Rookie Tyler Thigpen also looked pretty decent when he got to play as he completed 3 of 6 passes for 29 yards and he ran the ball twice for 18 yards (9.0 ypc).  Rookie Adrian Peterson toted the football 11 times for 33 yards (3.0 ypc) and he caught 1 pass for 2 yards.  Bobby Wade, who the Vikings brought in as a free agent, looked good in grabbing 2 passes for 42 yards.  Troy Williamson actually played decent also with 3 grabs for 32 yards.  The Vikings carried the football 23 times for 87 yards (3.8 ypc) and they completed 15 of 23 passes for 128 yards.  The Vikes can’t be happy with those numbers or with the 3 points they scored on offense.  But, it’s still just the pre-season so they have three weeks to improve before the games count.

The defense did a good job of bending but not breaking last night.  The Rams ran the ball 22 times for 87 yards (4.0 ypc) and they completed 30 of 43 passes for 236 yards.  But the Vikings had three pickoffs one of which was returned 82 yards for a TD by Dontarrious Thomas.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270810016