8/15 Camp Comes To A Close
Phil Mackey
KFAN dot com

After 20 days of two-a-days, meetings, scrimmages, workouts and dorm food, training camp has finally come to a close for the Vikings. Camp may be over, but important questions remain. Who will start at right guard? Who will start at defensive end? Will the offense score any points? These questions will eventually answer themselves, but until then, players and coaches are simply ready to head back to Minneapolis.

"People are starting to get a little bit feisty," said Brad Childress. "They kind of get that way toward the end of training camp, but I'm big on getting away. I think that's part of the team building process."

Players spent the entire camp riding bikes, eating cafeteria food and rooming in the dorms. Curfew was 11 p.m. each night. Apparently, Childress' team building idea worked well.

"[Camp] symbolizes a place where we come together and get camaraderie and basically join as a unit and go through these tough times," said Dontarrious Thomas, "and know that each and every one of us has been through the same thing. We have each other's backs."

For wide-eyed rookies, training camp is about learning, improving, and building trust with fellow teammates. But rookies, just like old veterans, also become tired of the three-week grind.

"I think all of us are ready to be out of here," said Tyler Thigpen. "My first [camp], it wasn't as bad as everybody said it was going to be. It's training camp, so it's not like it's the funnest thing, but I felt like we got a lot accomplished here."

Another rookie, Sidney Rice, arrived at training camp on Saturday, July 28, after a one-day holdout. By Saturday night, he was in the trainer's room, hooked up to three liters of I.V. fluid. After a few days, Rice eventually became used to the heat and used to the grind of two-a-days.

"It was a really good experience," said Rice. "It was tough, and as long as you can overcome adversity, you'll be fine. We came out here, my first training camp, and everybody showed me the ropes and how to get through it."

Rain forced the Vikings into the field house for the first time all camp Wednesday morning. Players practiced in shorts, and they only ran at half speed -- a disappointment for fans who turned out for fan appreciation day. However, the entire team spent 20 minutes signing autographs for kids after morning practice.

According to Childress, Viking players signed over 15,000 autographs over the past three weeks in the autograph tent alone. Not to mention the thousands more players signed to and from practice. Darren Sharper is itching to get back to Minneapolis, but he appreciates the support of Viking fans.

"Well it's always a pleasure to come down to such a beautiful place like Mankato," said Sharper. "You get to see the nice scenery, the farms. When we were driving here, you get to smell the nice aroma of manure when you hit about 20 miles from Mankato… We get to check out a lot of the nice spots they have here, the nicer restaurants. Red Lobster, which is always a fine place to eat… We definitely get some culture down here. It's a nice place, we always enjoy coming down here. The fans are great, on a serious note," said Sharper. "They always come down and support us, and we have great time."

One big change during camp this season was the way Brad Childress ran his practices. Childress eliminated almost every tackling drill, and players never wore full pads in the afternoon heat.

"I would say in a physical nature, it's been a little lighter than it was last training camp," said Sharper. "I think coach Childress made it less physical. It still was a physical camp, but a slight bit less than it was last year."

Despite camp being less physical, the Vikings still lost a handful of players to injury. Dan Mozes, Rufus Alexander and Jason Glenn all went down with season-ending injuries (or in Glenn's case, career-ending). Adam O'Connor is expected to miss significant time with a knee injury as well. Wendell Mathis missed more than a week with a back injury, and the Vikings eventually waived him.

A number of other players missed practices with various strains, dings and bruises. Now that training camp is over, players will have some more time to rest. But that doesn't mean the Vikings are finished working.

"I think we're on schedule where we want to be," said Sharper. "We still have three preseason games left, so it's still a process of getting better and improving. We still have a long way to go. camp is over here in Mankato, but we still have some days left when we get back to Winter Park. We'll still be in training camp mode."

Dontarrious Thomas echoed the same sentiment.

"Just because we're breaking camp doesn't mean we're breaking camp for good," said Thomas. "We still have to go in and continue to work hard at Winter Park."

The Vikings have a team bowling outing scheduled for Wednesday night. On Friday night, the team plays preseason game number two, against the New York Jets. Childress said each quarterback will play one quarter, starting with Tarvaris Jackson. He'll be proceeded by Brooks Bollinger, Drew Henson and Tyler Thigpen, presumably in that order. The first team offense will play the entire first half, which means Bollinger will take snaps behind Matt Birk and company.

The offense moved the football considerably well against the Rams last weekend, however, the only touchdown of the game came on a Dontarrious Thomas interception return for a touchdown. Sidney Rice downplayed the lack of scoring, and instead shifted the focus on taking baby steps.

"We just want to execute on our plays," said Rice. "As individuals and as a team, execute on what the coach asks us to do. That's why we practice."

According to Childress, the first team defense will also play the entire first half. Ray Edwards will get the start at right end. Erasmus James is likely to be held out, because he's going through some of that muscle soreness most guys experience during the first week of training camp.

While depth isn't a concern at defensive end, depth at linebacker is a different story. The Vikings lost two men, Alexander and Glenn, to injury last week. Vinny Ciurciu and Heath Farwell are used primarily on special teams, which puts extra pressure on E.J. Henderson, Chad Greenway, Ben Leber and Dontarrious Thomas to remain healthy and productive.

"We're still solid at linebacker," said Thomas. "We still have our three main core guys, and hopefully we can keep them healthy throughout the season."

As always, Friday's game can be heard on KFAN, 5:00 pre-game, 7:00 kickoff.

Hopefully Darren Sharper and company can find their way to the airport without stepping in any fresh Mankato manure.