Practice recap: Defenders still struggling to cover Rudolph

If the first half of Saturday night's preseason game wasn't enough to prove the Kyle Rudolph is one tough dude to cover, Monday's practice at Winter Park was another convincing argument.

SETTING THE SCENE: Today's practice seemed flatter as the as the Vikings returned to Winter Park, where the final two weeks of training camp isn't open to the public. At one point, the offense was moving so slowly that offensive coordinator Norv Turner reminded the players that the particular segment wasn't designed to be run at three-quarters speed.

YOUR DAILY QUARTERBACK SMORGASBORD: Veteran Matt Cassel's comfortable, if not insurmountable, lead over rookie Teddy Bridgewater continues to be obvious based on practice reps. Cassel took all of the first-team reps, while Bridgewater ran the second unit. The third unit didn't see any reps during 11 on 11 segments of practice.

During the first team competition, Cassel went 4 of 5 with a couple of particularly accurate throws that Rudolph caught softly in tight coverage. Bridgewater also went 4 of 5.

In the second team competition, both went 2 of 3. Again, Cassel and Rudolph were too tough to beat on a completion over the middle.

WRIGHT HOBBLED: Bridgewater's worst throw of the day was a misfire to Jarius Wright, who was surrounded by four defenders. Wright sprained an ankle and didn't return.

RUDOLPH A TOUGH MATCHUP: As we've grown accustomed to seeing, Rudolph is a tough matchup for a defense. The Cardinals got a look at the leaner, faster version of Rudolph on Saturday. The result was a four-catch first half that produced 89 yards, including a 51-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown.

NOISE MAKER: Unlike a lot of coaches, Mike Zimmer said he doesn't place any more significance on the third preseason game. For a lot of coaches, the third preseason game is the only one they game plan for. They also play their starters into the third quarter. Zimmer said his routine this week "is still about us," still about focusing on installing the new schemes. He said the coaches aren't doing any in-depth game-planning for Saturday night's game in Kansas City. But one thing was different today. As the Vikings prepare to play their first road preseason game of the year, Zimmer had a big speaker on the sideline to blare simulated crowd noise.