The first preseason game is usually a yawn. After the first series or two it is hard to recognize names, and players come and go so quickly you cannot tell if your team's 2nd string is beating your opponents' 3rd string or worse. The Vikings opened this week with the Houston Texans, and marquis names like Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Andre Johnson, and Jared Allen were expectedly absent.
Usually on the agenda is a first glimpse of new additions to the team. Draft choices will make an appearance, provided they are not banged up, and off-season acquisitions will get their first chance to don the home colors. In the case of the game vs. Houston, two of the Vikings' three first-round picks made extended appearances. Cordarrelle Patterson made an instant impact, returning a kick-off 50 yards, stumbling only as he tried to go by the final tackler. He finished with four catches for 54 yards, 104 total yards as Minnesota gave the flashy rookie every chance to win over the crowd. Sharrif Floyd, a defensive tackle, made a couple of nice plays before getting dinged and leaving the field. Xavier Rhodes did not play.
But most eyes (and hearts) were trained on Matt Cassel. The majority of Vikings' fans are highly concerned with Christian Ponder's lack of progress, and moreover, frightened of who backs him up. Joe Webb struck a nerve in his under whelming effort in Green Bay last season in the Wild-Card loss. The addition of Cassel gave Ponder critics hope that Minnesota will 'see the light' and give up on the young quarterback. Fans who are still behind Ponder see the addition of the veteran quarterback as insurance that we will not see another game like the last vs. the Packers.
Ponder would play only the first series. He made a nice pass to Jerome Simpson for 15 yards on his first attempt. Then, on the Houston 40-yard line, Ponder's pass intended for Simpson deflected off of his fingertips and was intercepted. Catchable, but slightly overthrown in the middle of the field. The anti-Ponder fans were reminded of why they feel they way they do.
Enter Cassel.
Cassel played the rest of the half. He completed 12 of 19 passes for over 200 yards, though the field was littered with backups and players hoping to make an NFL roster. Minnesota did keep Patterson on the field, and Cassel targeted him six times, completing four. Cassel's biggest play was a 61-yard touchdown pass to Zach Line, an unknown from SMU. Noteworthy on that play was the impressive efforts of Stephen Burton, who made a crucial down field block that allowed Line to score. Cassel hit Burton earlier with a 56-yard pass, where Burton's agility sprung him for a much bigger gain after the catch.
All in all a decent game.
There were some passes that should not have been thrown. Cassel was intercepted on a pass intended for John Carlson that never had a chance. A few others missed their mark. But I doubt if the anti-Ponder fans read too much into that. They were too busy celebrating 200 passing yards in a half. Cassel completed his first three passes, missed on five of the next six, and then completed eight of his last ten.
