Gästebuch » Three seasons ago when the Minnesota Vikings stumbled

EAGAN Drew Lock Jersey , Minn. (AP) — after a 5-0 start and finished just 8-8, one of their many problems was a negligible contribution by their collection of first-year players.The following summer, school started early for the new students. Coach Mike Zimmer hasn’t looked back.“That was the rookie class that didn’t really give us much that year,” Zimmer said, reflecting on the 2016 draftees, “so I figured the more that we could help them with these kinds of things, the faster that they can get up to speed, they might be able to help us a little bit.”Headlined by center and first-round draft pick Garrett Bradbury, a group of 37 rookies and assorted other players took the field at team headquarters on Tuesday for the first official practice of training camp. The balance of the squad will join them on Friday.The Vikings in 2019 will be a decidedly veteran team, molded with a Super Bowl-or-bust mentality and featuring 12 players with a salary with an average annual contract value of $9 million or more. They likely won’t last long in the postseason, let alone qualify for it http://www.broncoscheapauthenticstore.com/dre_mont-jones-jersey-cheap , without a productive core of players still on rookie-level salaries.Bradbury will be leaned on heavily, the anchor of an offensive line that has struggled more often than not in recent years and must better protect quarterback Kirk Cousins. Tight end Irv Smith Jr. (second round) and running back Alexander Mattison (third round) will be asked right away to play supporting roles in the offense.Long snapper Austin Cutting, his military service requirement ironed out with the Air Force Academy, would not have been drafted had the Vikings not believed he could beat out Kevin McDermott for that specialist’s role. Perhaps cornerback Kris Boyd, another seventh-rounder, will prove his worth as needed depth behind starters Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes, with Holton Hill facing an eight-game suspension and Mike Hughes returning from reconstructive ACL surgery on his left knee.Three years ago, wide receiver Laquon Treadwell was the first-round pick with only one catch to show for his first NFL season, second-rounder cornerback Mackensie Alexander was slow to warm to the slot position, and fourth-round offensive tackle Willie Beavers was overmatched. The draft classes from 2017 and 2018 have so far proven to be more impactful.Given his draft status and critical position, Bradbury will face the most pressure to perform from the outset. The North Carolina State product clearly has the confidence to meet the expectations that have surrounded him.“It’s just trusting the preparation,” Bradbury said. “I’ve been studying the playbook a lot http://www.eaglescheapauthenticstore.com/shareef-miller-jersey-cheap , and I just need to be confident with my calls.”Said Zimmer: “He’s a brilliant kid, so that helps a lot. He’s going to have a big load.”Cutting will, too, but in a different way. He’s a second lieutenant in the Air Force, which has assigned him to recruitment. So he’ll be able to fulfill that post-graduate duty while not having put his NFL dream on hold.“The Academy has helped me a lot, not just in the football aspect but in everything and life, too, so I have people there that have my back,” Cutting said, adding: “It’s definitely a stressor taken off of me. It was stressful, because it was nothing that I could control yet was still something that I had to keep up with and monitor. Now it’s nice to be able to be here and focus on football.”These rookies, from Bradbury to Cutting Zach Brown Jersey , likely won’t feel the same type of burden that so many others in the organization will carry into this season, whether it’s acknowledged publicly or not.“The expectations or the pressure are no different than they are any other year,” general manager Rick Spielman said. “I know last year was disappointing from where we felt we were and where we ended up. I know we did a lot of things to try and correct those areas that we needed to address during the offseason, and I think we’ve accomplished that so far. But it’s yet to be determined.” FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The Patriots spent their lone pick of the first round of the NFL draft getting Tom Brady a fresh pair of hands to throw to.New England used the 32nd pick of Thursday’s opening round to select receiver N’Keal Harry out of Arizona State.He is the first receiver selected by the Patriots in the first round since they chose Terry Glenn seventh overall in 1996. Harry is the first receiver taken in the first round under coach Bill Belichick.“It means the world to me,” Harry said. “For him to have that much faith in me and to have that much trust in me it just makes me want to work that much harder.”Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio described Harry as big, strong receiver with good hands that is good with the ball after the catch.At 6-foot-4, 213 pounds, Harry has questionable speed after running the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. But he was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection as a junior, catching 73 passes for 1,088 yards and nine touchdowns.“There are some other good players that are out there as well,” Caserio said. “We just thought this was the best player that made sense for us at the time.”Harry’s selection brings instant energy to a receiving group that entered free agency in need of a youth injection.Receiver Julian Edelman is Brady’s most experienced returning pass catcher. But he will be 33 when the regular season starts.Chris Hogan signed with the Panthers in free agency Devin Bush Jersey , leaving Brady with Phillip Dorsett as his No. 2 receiver behind Edelman. The signing of Demaryius Thomas gave the Patriots another proven veteran. But Harry’s addition is a sign they want to remake the group further.Originally from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Harry watched the draft unfold in Scottsdale, Arizona, with about 50 members of his family.He said he doesn’t have a preference of whether he plays on the outside or in the slot.Harry described his game as “very passionate.”“When that ball’s in the air I’ll sacrifice anything to go get it,” he said. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help the team win.”The Patriots entered the draft with 12 picks, including seven in the first four rounds. The No. 32 pick was their lone selection in Thursday’s first round.New England still has several needs, including finding a long-term replacement for tight end Rob Gronkowski following his recent retirement, as well as filling holes on the offensive and defensive lines created by free agency departures.Two of the most highly rated tight end prospects were taken early in the first round after the Iowa tandem of T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant were chosen by the Lions and Broncos, respectively.There was also a run on defensive linemen, with 13 players chosen in the first 32 picks.Day 2 of the draft is set up to be busy with the Patriots holding five picks in Rounds 2 and 3.The offense needs a new starting left tackle to replace Trent Brown, who signed a lucrative contract with the Raiders at the start of free agency.There’s also the possibility that the Patriots may select a quarterback, with Brady set to turn 42 years old in August. Brian Hoyer is solely Brady’s backup and not their quarterback of the future. They did select Danny Etling in the seventh round of the 2018 draft http://www.steelerscheapauthenticstore.com/diontae-johnson-jersey-cheap , but he spent last season on the practice squad and still needs a lot of development.One player still on the board after Thursday night is former Missouri quarterback Drew Lock, who is big at 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds. A four-year starter with the Tigers has the big arm to match, throwing for 28 touchdowns and completing 63 percent of his passes as a senior.Caserio said he is expecting some opportunities to move around on Day 2 with five picks.“We’re off to a decent start and we’ll see how it goes,” he said. “We do have a little flexibility relative to the picks, so we’ll evaluate the board, we’ll evaluate the situations and opportunities that are there and we’ll try to make good decisions over the next couple of days.”