Vikings morning walkthrough: Hunter progresses, Peterson off probation

After a day off, they are back to the grind today. Morning walkthrough in Mankato is from 10:30-11:30, with the afternoon practice in full pads from 2:45-5 p.m.

August 6, 2015 at 12:49PM

On most mornings, we walk you through what's going on with the Vikings.

WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED

–Rookie defensive lineman Danielle (that's De-NEEL) Hunter was considered a project after being taken in the third round, but Coach Mike Zimmer has been impressed.

– Adrian Peterson's probation in Texas has ended early.

– Kicker Blair Walsh hopes to return to rookie form, and so far his only issues have been on long-range kicks.

– Sid Hartman likes the new Vikings stadium. He took a tour last week and has some inside dope from Vikings VP Lester Bagley.

– The national forecasters continue to like the look of the Vikings.

– Matt Vensel's video with Cinesport discusses whether the team is worth the hype.

AROUND THE NFC NORTH

– In Detroit, after losing some big stars on defense, the Lions had some dough to play with. That's why standout linebacker DeAndre Levy got a lucrative new deal.

– New Bears offensive coordinator Adam Gase, who came over with new coach John Fox from Denver, has Jay Cutler to worry about and talked about changes in Chicago.

– The Packers' big issues this season might be on defense, but so far they are happy with the play of their young cornerbacks.

TODAY'S VIKINGS SCHEDULE

After a day off, they are back to the grind today. Morning walkthrough in Mankato is from 10:30-11:30, with the afternoon practice in full pads from 2:45-5 p.m. Coach Mike Zimmer, who missed Tuesday's practice to be with his ailing father, is expected back.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

The Vikings aren't exactly approaching Sunday night's game against Pittsburgh as they would in the regular season. Here's what defensive coordinator George Edwards had to say about the preparation: "It's not going to be defined as like a game week situation as far as us game planning. We will look at Pittsburgh some, see the things that they do, come in, but our biggest thing is we don't want our guys to be out there worried about matchups and those kind of things. We want to line up and be able to go play fast, not be able to think as much and get the evaluation off of them, keeping it simple and letting them go play."

about the writer

about the writer

Chris Miller

Editor

Chris Miller supervises coverage of professional sports teams. He has been at the Star Tribune since 1999 and is a former sports editor of the Duluth News-Tribune and the Mesabi Daily News.

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