Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to the
Views and Personal Photos on the Vikes from the Inaugural Hall of Fame fan.
Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to theOn 2005 roster at present (Bold indicates projected starter)
38: Sarth Benoit; R
41: Ira Cooper; R
43: Heath Farwell; R
50: Rod Davis; 2nd season
52: Keith Newman; 7th season
54: Dontarrious Thomas; 2nd season
55: Sam Cowart; 8th season
56: E.J. Henderson; 3rd season
57: Raonall Smith; 4th season
58: Naploeon Harris; 4th season
59: Quincy Stewart; 4th season
91: Grant Wiley; 2nd season
92: David Barriro; R
I'll be completely honest here. I didn't spend that much time observing the linebacker corp. I think this is the weak link (kicking doesn't count!) on the Vikings team. And it didn't help early on when I saw newly aquired Napoleon Harris (yes, that guy we got in the Moss trade) get yanked aside for being out of position. But then, this was the first mini-camp practice. That is going to happen. A lot. Better now then when the season starts.
But Harris and the rest of the linebackers also have some tremendous potential for the coming year.
There is no doubt that Harris has speed as he showed during passing drills, often making up tremendous ground to reach the ball. And I mean the man can flat-out motor.
One linebacker that did catch my eye, and a pretty nice grab, was Raonall Smith. Smith seems to be back to full health and could prove valuable as backup to the starting LBs as well as special teams.
According to the depth chart handed out at this practice, Sam Cowart will be your opening game middle linebacker. Now that could change but I think Mike Tice would like to have someone who's head is not on a spindle this season playing MLB.
But if E.J. Henderson can learn from his mistakes last season, you could see him back in at MLB at some point.
But for now, it appears that Dontarrious Thomas, Sam Cowart, and Napoleon Harris will be your opening game starters.
And if that doesn't make you all warm and fuzzy inside, well, I don't blame you. But, they say speed kills. So here's hoping for some speedy linebackers making some kills behind the line of scrimmage this season.
Other Photos
E.J. Henderson during passing drills.
Napoleon Harris shows some quick feet.
Napoleon Harris looks for the ball.
Rod Davis during passing drills.
Napoleon Harris. And note the former Packer in the background!
Napoleon Harris and Sam Cowart
Up next: Runing Back! (Projected to be up Saturday night. Hey! I have to work part of Saturday and The WifeŽ has a healthy Honey-Do List for me as well. Be patient!)
Previous: Quarterback, Defensive Line, and Initial Report (just scroll down)
And be sure to leave a COMMENT below if you have a specific question you would like to ask me and I'll reply using the COMMENTS field.
And if you want to use a photo on your own personal site...I simply ask that you credit me and my Vikings Underground web blog.
Posted by maasx003 at April 30, 2005 09:38 PM | TrackBackDo the linebackers get noticeably more coaching than last year, now that they have a dedicated coach rather than part-time coaching from Cotrell? I'd guess they always get lots of coaching in mini-camp...
Posted by: AhmadRashad at April 30, 2005 07:15 AMThe coach in the black sweats throwing the ball, is that Bercich?
Posted by: Dave Culp at April 30, 2005 11:19 AMTice is apparently not thrilled with Cowart -- maybe because Tice is obsessed with combine numbers -- but he said of Cowart:
New starting middle linebacker Sam Cowart apparently didn't make the greatest first impression on Tice during Friday's morning practice.
Asked what Cowart adds to the defense, Tice said, "To this point, it's hard to tell. We'll have to see when we get pads on. ... He's not going to wow me the way he is moving around in shorts, so it's going to have to be in pads."
BTW is there any way to use HTML tags in your comments mine keep disappearing
Now of course Mike the game is played in pads. EJ is pretty good at running around, but doesn't really know how to fill a hole or shed a block or sniff the ball. I pray that Tice is really looking at more than workout numbers or we are in for another long EJ in the middle season.
Posted by: J. Lichty at April 30, 2005 02:03 PMI played football with Health Farwell in High school. He needs more speed and movement to play in the pro's. Nice guy and great strength. Good luck Health. Hope the best for you.
Posted by: Trenton Borts at May 10, 2005 01:27 PM