The stars had aligned for the Minnesota Vikings to practice under the darkened skies while the moon moved in front of the sun Monday afternoon as part of a partial solar eclipse.
Alas, Vikings decision-makers opted to move the practice indoors.
Between the potential distraction, the possible darkness, the risk of eye damage — as well as the additional threat of rain — head coach Mike Zimmer didn’t have any regrets about missing the first eclipse in 38 years.
“I can watch it on CNN or something like that,” Zimmer said.
Other NFL players made an event out of the day as Seahawks, Broncos and Ravens personnel donned the required spectacles to check out the blocked out sun.
We are all out here! #EclipseDay pic.twitter.com/G5bY0023Q6
— Pete Carroll (@PeteCarroll) August 21, 2017
Zimmer, however, had good personal reason to avoid the phenomenon, in light of his recent eye issues.
“Hey, I’ve only got one good retina,” said Zimmer.
Dalvin’s development
From the first preseason game to the second preseason game, there was clear improvement shown from rookie running back Dalvin Cook, who amassed 5.7 yards per carry and fared better in pass protection against the Seahawks.
On three straight carries between the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter, Cook reached the second level of the defense three times in a row. Each time he was a single setback and ran between the tackles.
“There were a couple seams he hit there that were pretty tight that became almost explosive runs,” said offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. “You see a guy that’s disappointed when he doesn’t make the safety miss. That’s a good thing because one of those times when the safety does miss, that could be a touchdown.”
The operative word from Shurmur is ‘explosive,’ as it was also used to describe throughout his decorated Florida State career.
Cook had 15 touches of 25 yards or more in his final regular season with the Seminoles, which was tied for second among Power 5 conference running backs.
“He’s trying to do what we’re coaching him to do, yet he’s very natural in his ability to run the football,” said Shurmur.
Interior rotations
With Alex Boone missing the second preseason game due to a knee injury, the Vikings have gotten a look at several different guard-center pairings.
Nick Easton started at left guard against Seattle after playing center against Buffalo. Pat Elflein moved up to first-team center and played between Easton and Joe Berger, the right guard.
Elflein, Easton and Berger all have the flexibility to play center or guard, which opens up possibilities for the coaching staff.
“We’re really not doing the math there yet,” said Shurmur. “We’re just trying to get everybody to play better. We saw some guys that had a better performance certainly than the first week.”
One might assume that Boone and Berger would be locked in at their respective positions based on their veteran status, but Shurmur did not shoot down the proposition of Easton or Elflein competing for a starting guard spot.
“We’ve got a couple more weeks,” Shurmur said. “We’re going to put the best five guys in there, as far as we’re concerned.”
When it came to Easton, whose presence seemed to help the performance of the first-team offense Friday night, the offensive coordinator was pleased.
“He was very active in there, he moved his feet and did a good job of getting to the second level,” said Shurmur. He did a good job in our screen game but yet was physical enough to block on the line of scrimmage. He passed off a couple of twists real well, so all the things you’re looking for.”
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