Vikings Camp Journal: Day 5

The pads came on during Monday's practice and it was an impressive day for the defense

Photo courtesy Minnesota Vikings

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By Matthew Coller

EAGAN — When pads come on, training camp officially gets real. That means the defensive players can finally be fully physical with the offense. On Monday, that mostly played to the advantage of the defense — which is often the case, hence the cliche about the defense being ahead of the offense early in camp. Let’s dive into everything that happened at TCO Performance Center on the first day of pads…

What I heard

The Vikings have an extra layer to their defensive advantage vs. the offense during the opening days of camp. There are few defensive coordinators in the NFL who are as complex and aggressive as Brian Flores. His scheme is so nasty that Flores and head coach Kevin O’Connell have talked about how much they should turn up the heat on first-year quarterback JJ McCarthy and when they should back off and give him a chance to operate.

“We've had that conversation,” Flores said. “Give him enough looks that he's prepared and on the progression that Kevin's looking for…there's a lot of really good dialogue and compromise on both sides to use for lack of a better term… I think it's a really good kind of working dynamic in that standpoint.”

McCarthy has said that he welcomes the challenge because he wants gameday to be easier than practice but some quarterbacks of the recent past have been flustered by Flores’ aggression at times, especially early in camp as they are still trying to navigate the offense.

“Hopefully, seeing a lot of different looks, he's ready if he sees that in the game,” Flores said. “And then if it's dial back a little, he's ready for that, too. And I think JJ has done a great job. I really do. I think he's got real good command of the offense. I think he's throwing the ball really well. I think he's doing a lot of nice things. And I've liked watching him improve. That's good for everybody.”

After practice I talked to veteran center Ryan Kelly about how different Flores’ defense is than most around the league. His answer: A lot different.

“There might be some teams that try to emulate it but nobody that I’ve seen since I’ve been in the league has successfully done it the way they have done it,” Kelly said. “There’s teams where they make things look differently but I wouldn’t say there’s as much movement as Flo’s defense. Is Andrew Van Ginkel a linebacker or defensive end on this play? And then you get into third-and-long and you’re looking around and you don’t know what’s going on.”

Not only should it theoretically be easier to identify things with the opposing defense when not facing Flores but most defenses do not have as much talent as the Vikings. The compromise has seemed to be giving McCarthy enough reps against the second team that he can work on some fundamental elements of the offense and then test them against the nasty first team.

“The blocking stuff and the routes, that just kinda comes but the important thing is how he presents in the huddle,” Kelly said. “I think he’s done a really good job from the spring to where he is now steadily progressing with his command of the huddle.”

A victim of the Vikings’ defensive personnel on Day 1 of pads was rookie left guard Donovan Jackson. He got to see just how much power an experience players like Harrison Phillips, Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave possess.

I asked Kelly what he’s emphasizing to the rookie about making the transition from college to the NFL.

“A lot of it is just that the tackle expects you to be at this place on this play and I expect you to be at this place on this play — it’s the fine details,” Kelly said. “The NFL is different from college where you are facing an elite player once every couple of weeks. This is going to be every single down of every single week. The unity of the five guys playing together as one is that much more important in this league. Be where you’re supposed to be.”

Harrison Phillips was on the other side going against the Vikings’ first-round pick from Ohio State on Day 1 of pads. His advice for Jackson is to focus on areas where he needs improvement rather than trying to prove himself right away.

“It’s tough when you’re a rookie with a lot of expectation you want to go out there and win every single rep,” Phillips said. “[Coaches] are going to tell him a thing to work on that day and he has to work on that thing. If it’s an off-hand punch, he needs to work that even if he’s going to get beat 10 times today. It’s a practice for him so he can become a better version of himself. I think he’s doing a fantastic job but if there’s a day he’s getting beat, that’s not a worrisome thing, it’s him taking coaching and working on something so his game can be more complete.”

That speaks to the challenge of trying to evaluate players by standing on the sidelines watching practice and why we try not to overreact to a single bad day.

As far as the defensive line goes, they looked like they had been playing together for a long time on Monday but Phillips said there are a lot of nuances they have to learn in each other’s game to maximize everyone’s talents.

“We’re really optimistic about our group, I think what we need to learn — it’s the first day in pads here — everyone is still trying to figure out people’s techniques and style. The best defenses I’ve been part of you learn to play off of one another,” Phillips said.

Elsewhere on the defensive side, Flores was asked about Christian Wilkins, who became a free agent this week after being shockingly released by the Las Vegas Raiders after getting a $104 million contract there last offseason. Flores was the head coach when Miami drafted Wilkins and the DT played a role in turning around the Dolphins’ defense.

“I kind of let Kwesi and his staff and handle that side,” Flores said. “I think we got a pretty good group that we feel really good about D -Line wise…I don't know what happened with the injury but I'm hopeful that he gets back healthy and can get out there and play because I know he loves to play.”

What I saw

The first padded practice of the year started out nicely for JJ McCarthy. During the opening period of 11-on-11s, he found Jalen Nailor on a deep out route near the sideline, dropping a pass between the underneath player and the over-top defender. It was the type of out-breaking route that we saw intercepted in minicamp but this time he was on point despite having a muddy pocket.

Shortly after that, Lucky Jackson arrived on the scene again. The well-traveled receiver who has spent the last two years on the practice squad has stepped in with the first team since Justin Jefferson went out with a hamstring strain and immediately made downfield catches. On Monday, he caught a long shot play down the left side of the field that Theo Jackson nearly intercepted. We have not seen many first-team reps from Tai Felton or Rondale Moore.

In the middle of practice, McCarthy had an impressive play that ended up incomplete but it showed something natural about his game. The pocket instantly collapsed on him, so he stepped up and would have had room to run for a couple yards. Instead he fired the ball toward Jalen Nailor over the middle. While it wasn’t accurate enough to be a completion, McCarthy’s pocket presence and ability to keep his eyes downfield were pluses. He isn’t going to be a difference-making runner but his playmaking disposition should work to his favor.

Unfortunately for McCarthy, he didn’t get much of a chance to make any kind of plays during the final 11-on-11 period. The Vikings’ defense went all out and completely manhandled the offensive line, which featured backups at left tackle and right guard. McCarthy’s best play was a very short completion to TJ Hockenson that came as he was falling down.