Game Information:
Minnesota Vikings vs. Oakland Raiders
Kickoff @ 7 P.M. CT
TCF Bank Stadium - Minneapolis, MN
College is an interesting beast. It is a four-year span of life --or more... sorry mom and dad-- that can alter your sleeping schedule, enable you socially, uncover intriguing opportunities and test your survival skills. Sometimes this range of emotions can all manifest at one time. It's called finals week. Anyway, everyone has their own coming of age timeline, but for many people, one of the most troublesome aspects of leaving the nest is learning to feed yourself.
Although the diet of a college student vaguely resembles the nourishment standards of Buddy the Elf...
...every once in a blue moon we like to impress ourselves by turning the heat up in the kitchen, so to speak. In all honesty, most of the time it is just a homework procrastination method. Once again, sorry mom and dad.
The other day, in an attempt to avoid a McDonald's run or yet another box of macaroni and cheese, grilled chicken and vegetables made its way on to the menu. In this brief snapshot of healthy living and clarity, a connection was made. The NFL preseason is kind of like grilling chicken. Before you start thinking that the propane fumes scrambled the few functioning brain cells remaining, hear this out.
After a marathon of an offseason, NFL fans figuratively get hungry for football, and the preseason is an absolute tease. Each team is raw and needs time to cook, yet preparing for the upcoming season seems as though it takes an eternity. It can even be more agonizing than the summer months, where, the only football related news comes in the form of a police report or a magazine article. In the most sincere way, thank you Cosmopolitan. Thank you for this riveting story on Russell Wilson and Ciara's abstinence pledge and for the countless of other stories, tips and trends you've kept this writer up to date on over the years. Guys, it's time we stop being embarrassed and start embracing our love for gossip mags and celebrity news, because that is what athletes have become...celebrities. Worlds are colliding and it isn't killing independent Joe. Shout out to the fellow Seinfeld junkies.
As painful as the preseason can be at times, every fan knows how critical it is for the success of the team, just as a grill master knows how critical the cooking process is to the quality and taste of the meal.
For those who lack experience and are unfamiliar in the kitchen, a lack of patience commonly results in an undercooked bird. Luckily, for both of these NFL teams, there is an experienced grill master of sorts preparing for the regular season or "main course". Mike Zimmer and Jack Del Rio, the head coaches of the Vikings and Raiders respectively, bring more than 35 combined years of NFL coaching experience to the table. These men have their teams cooking on high heat right now, as both have had unblemished starts to the season.
As we head into the second week of the NFL preseason, we will begin to see what each main dish will look like. As your favorite team starts to take form, appreciate the process and remind yourself that in three short weeks you will be able to consume the fine cuisine... or football.
Ok, enough ramblings, right? Let's get down to the nitty- gritty of this preview.
Saturday night will showcase some of the best young talent the NFL has to offer, and it will provide a snippet of what to expect when these two teams face off in Week 10 of the regular season. 2014's unanimous top two first-year quarterbacks will face off in an attempt to remain unbeaten in this infantile NFL season. Teddy Bridgewater and Derek Carr will look to build on not only a solid rookie season, but also a full offseason of work in their respective offensive systems.
Speaking of offensive systems, the Raiders' attack may look all too familiar to Vikings fans. Former Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave (2011-2013) and former Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder (2011-2014) will make their return to Minnesota, this time as a member of the visiting Raiders squad. The whole "Minnesota nice" thing may go to the wayside as neither Ponder nor Musgrave were particular fan favorites during their tenure in the land of 10,000 lakes. Ponder went as far as to say he expects to get booed by the lovely folks at TCF Bank Stadium. As for Musgrave... Well, he may be best known for having the smallest and most simplistic play call sheet of any offensive coordinator in NFL history. In his defense, there weren't a whole lot of plays that Ponder ran particularly well during his time here anyway.
Another aspect of Saturday's game to keep an eye on is the running back play in Oakland. Latavius Murray is gaining traction in fantasy football drafts as a legitimate RB3 option and has even began to draw comparisons to Minnesota's very own Adrian Peterson. He even dons the same No. 28 that Peterson has made famous. As electric as Murray may be, the back up running back position battle may be the one to keep the closest eye on. Trent Richardson, Roy Helu, Michael Dyer and Taiwan Jones will be duking it out for backup duties, and they will look to separate themselves from the rest of the pack during this all important second week of the preseason. This week is critical in making a move for a backup role, due to the fact that most teams play their starters for the majority of the third preseason game and use the fourth to finalize team rosters and get a look at "borderline" players. Expect Musgrave and company to feed the ball to the running backs in order to get a good look at all of Oakland's options.
For Minnesota, the position battle to watch will be at safety opposite Harrison Smith. The competition will likely come down to last season's starter, Robert Blanton, and this preseason's flash in the pan, Antone Exum Jr. For now, Blanton looks to have an edge due to consistency, range and experience, but after a fumble recovery in the Hall of Fame Game and an interception in last weeks game against 2015's first overall pick, Jameis Winston, Exum has put himself in the conversation to start. With a couple more game-changing forced turnovers, the second-year safety from Virginia Tech could find himself in the good graces of defensive mastermind and self-proclaimed perfectionist, Mike Zimmer.
A matchup that will be the focal point of the mainmedia will the battle between the fourth and 11th overall picks from last April's NFL draft. Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes will look to bounce back from some rough outings in his first two contests, and fellow rookie wide receiver Amari Cooper will attempt to completely fill his own bandwagon before heading into the first game of the year against Cincinnati. These highly touted athletes have a lot of expectations on their plate. It will be interesting to see which ego gets bruised the most, and which player rises to the occasion.
Like previously stated, preseason games are critical for the development of young players and teams. However, the main goal for each team is simply getting out of the first four weeks without any major injuries. Unfortunately, for both parties, the injury bug has already began to infiltrate the offenses. Last week, in a win over Tampa Bay, Minnesota's starting right tackle Phil Loadholt tore his Achilles tendon. For Oakland, the news of Andre Holmes' broken hand thinned out an already suspect receiving core from a depth perspective. Amari Cooper and veteran Michael Crabtree will look to elevate their game along with their budding star quarterback, but the growing pains may cause some problems along the way. Obviously, injuries are a part of the sport, but simply getting out of the game with your starting lineup in tact would have to be considered a win... regardless of what the scoreboard reads.