Minnesota Vikings training camp notebook, day 12: Minnesota under the lights
The Vikings roster has reported to Eagan, and as a result, they have started their journey into the 2025 season. It starts at home in Minnesota, but they hope it ends on the road in Santa Clara, where they have a chance to raise the Lombardi Trophy for the first time.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O'Connell have new extensions, as do their assistants and coordinators. J.J. McCarthy is finally healthy and ready to take over the controls of a franchise that trusted him enough to stick with him when so many other options presented themselves. All in all, the coaching staff remains essentially unchanged, while the roster sees some position groups infused with youth and talent to solidify them.
The 12th day of training camp has wrapped up, and there was a lot to breakdown ahead of a busy week for the team but there was one takeaway we wanted to share from The Athletic's Alec Lewis.
Reports have been coming out about how Sam Howell has looked less than spectacular suring training camp. With interceptions making up a lot of his game, there have been rumblings about a potential reunion with Kirk Cousins, but the team may have their backup in camp already.
Max Brosmer has been highlighted in a couple of camp notebooks, but as we get towards the first preseason game, he seems to be heating up. His performance this week, and how many snaps he gets, could be telling about the Vikings quarterback battle as the weeks go on.
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New York Times
8 minutes ago
- New York Times
Tottenham's Brennan Johnson: ‘Last season was a rollercoaster – I would not change any of it'
Brennan Johnson travelled to Barbados with his family earlier this summer and visited the Caribbean island's famous market in Oistins. It is based on the south coast, and on the weekend, visitors can enjoy live music, cocktails and Barbados' special dish of grilled or fried flying fish while looking out at beautiful views of the ocean. Over two months after he scored the winning goal in the Europa League final and paraded the trophy through north London with his team-mates, on his 24th birthday, Johnson still feels like he is flying. Advertisement 'It's an amazing memory,' the winger tells a group of journalists, including The Athletic, at an event in Hong Kong on their pre-season tour. 'It opened my eyes to how big the club is. We experience the sold-out stadium every week, but then when you do these parades and you keep going further away, no one is going anywhere. You get more and more people. The energy was so high. It was a special day.' Johnson will never be forgotten by Tottenham supporters thanks to his scrappy strike in Bilbao against Manchester United (he insists he touched the ball after it spun up off Luke Shaw following Pape Matar Sarr's cross), and finished the campaign as their top goalscorer in all competitions, with 18. However, there were also some testing moments for the Wales international throughout the season. Last September, he temporarily deleted his social media accounts after receiving abuse. A few days later, he scored a dramatic winner in stoppage time against Coventry City in the Carabao Cup and barely celebrated. 'Last season was like a rollercoaster,' he says. 'There were so many different emotions. It taught me so much about football. Not just on the pitch but off it. How you spend your spare time and who you spend it with. How you get on with your team, speaking to people. It takes a while to find a balance. 'I wouldn't have last season any different than it was. I learned and improved a lot. Won as a team, lost a lot of games as well. I don't think this season will be like last season with the ups and downs. It was an important season for my development.' Johnson was speaking at a session organised by family literacy charity Bring Me a Book Hong Kong, which inspires young people to read, as part of Tottenham Hotspur's traditional support for local charitable organisations on overseas tours. Johnson rarely takes players on compared to other wingers in the division. Former head coach Ange Postecoglou's system was about creating first-time shooting opportunities for him and Son Heung-min by encouraging the full-backs to overlap and fire crosses towards the penalty spot. It worked because Johnson scored 11 times in 33 appearances, but at times it felt like he was not involved enough in matches. Advertisement 'On the ball, I want to be better in one-v-one dribbling situations,' he says. 'I look back at least season and I was always trying to improve on it, and I think I did towards the end. Directness. More of a forward-thinking mentality from me and scoring goals. I scored a lot off one touch. I'm trying to improve my left foot and (shooting) off the dribble. It's about trying to get an overall better game.' Johnson has a close relationship with Son, who probably played his final game for Spurs in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Newcastle United at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Johnson scored and copied his team-mate's celebration in tribute. He has found it invaluable working with the South Korean forward, who scored 127 Premier League goals and registered 71 assists across his 10 years with Spurs. 'I'm a right-footed player who played on the right last season,' Johnson says a few days before Son announced his desire to leave Spurs. 'He is both-footed and has helped me with little techniques on how to improve my left. He is a great player, so it is impossible to learn everything he does. He does it at such a high level. His career speaks for itself. How amazing and professional he is.' Such is the bond between the pair that when Spurs faced Brighton on the final day of last season, Johnson wore a pair of boots that Son had designed. They were inscribed with Son's name, but Johnson made a cheeky modification. 'I remember when he first showed me the picture that he was getting his own shoe last year,' Johnson says. 'A long time before they came out. I said to him, 'Can I have some?'. Then they were released in April, I went into training one day, and the boots were there. I love Sonny. He is a great guy. 'The shoes are cool and he is my friend. They were white, red and blue, so matched the kit. It was his idea (to add Johnson's name). I probably won't wear them again, but if he gets a new boot in the future, I will.' In the summer of 2023, Johnson was ready to leave Nottingham Forest, and he had a couple of different options. Thomas Frank tried to persuade him to join Brentford, who had come close to signing him on multiple occasions across a two-year period but never agreed a deal with Forest, but he moved to Spurs in a £47.5million ($63m) deal. Johnson and Frank are finally working together after the latter replaced Postecoglou in June. Frank has used a 4-2-3-1 formation throughout pre-season and Johnson has appeared on both wings. Advertisement 'He was always someone who impressed me, even though I never played under him,' Johnson says. 'Lots of people could respect how Brentford played, how hard they were to beat, and the quality they had in attacking areas. He took them to become an established Premier League team. It shows what kind of development he can do and we are all excited.' Matt Wells is the only surviving member of Postecoglou's backroom staff. 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New York Times
11 minutes ago
- New York Times
College Football Playoff 2025 sleepers: 11 unranked dark-horse teams to watch
Though we usually have a good idea of which teams will be national championship contenders, the expansion of the College Football Playoff to 12 teams has made it easier for unpredictable sleepers to make a run into the bracket. Arizona State, Indiana and SMU joined top Group of 5 conference champion Boise State in leaping from unranked in the preseason to the Playoff last season. Who could do it this year? We asked 11 of The Athletic's college football writers to pick Playoff dark horses from teams that were unranked in Monday's preseason coaches poll. Advertisement If I keep predicting a Cornhuskers' resurgence at some point I'll be correct. Right? Two reasons why Nebraska could be in CFP contention late into the season: First, the Matt Rhule third-year bump. His teams at Temple and Baylor followed similar paths. Year 1, losing record. Year 2, bowl eligible. Year 3, double-digit victories and an appearance in the conference title game. 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This isn't a five star-laden roster, nor one built through the portal. But Key has built along the lines and has a lot of good pieces back, most notably QB Haynes King, a three-year starter whose dual-threat abilities are a problem for defense. But the biggest reason for optimism is the schedule: The only two preseason ranked opponents are Clemson and Georgia, both of which are in Atlanta. (Georgia is at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.) There's a path to the 10-2 record the Jackets would probably need to make the CFP, starting with the opener at Colorado, which is a chance to make a good first impression. — Seth Emerson Advertisement After years of jokes about Iowa's offensive ineptitude, what if that unit is (more or less) fixed? Transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski led South Dakota State to back-to-back FCS national titles and finished with more than 10,000 passing yards and 37 rushing touchdowns during his Jackrabbits tenure. Surely he can boost an offense that hasn't cracked the top 50 in passing efficiency since 2017. Assuming Iowa's defense continues to be strong — which seems like a safe enough bet — a good-enough offense can make the Hawkeyes an upper-middle class Big Ten team. With arguably their three toughest conference opponents (Indiana, Penn State and Oregon) all visiting Kinnick Stadium, the Hawkeyes have an unlikely but feasible path to the CFP. — Matt Baker Jedd Fisch quietly put together one of the season's best coaching jobs last year. He took over the defending CFP runner-up that lost 21 of 22 starters and led it to a bowl game. This year, the Huskies have one of the Big Ten's best trio of skill players in running back Jonah Coleman (1,053 rushing yards), receiver Denzel Boston (834 receiving yards, nine touchdowns) and potential breakout star Demond Williams at quarterback. The defense also should be much improved. Washington plays four teams currently ranked in the top 14 of the coaches poll, but it hosts Ohio State in September, the Michigan (away)/Illinois (home) doubleheader takes place in late October and the finale against archrival Oregon is at home. — Scott Dochterman It's been a disappointing first two seasons under Hugh Freeze, both ending with losing records. The Tigers are a combined 5-11 in SEC play under Freeze and are 10-22 in the conference over the past four years. Their inability to win close games has been a big problem, as they're 2-8 in games decided by 10 points or less under Freeze, but I feel like things are ready to swing back in the other direction. Freeze knows how to win in the SEC, and I think he starts to get it rolling in 2025. This is the best O-line the Tigers have had in years. They have some dynamic players outside in Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. It's a favorable situation for a new quarterback to step into, and it's a talented group of options featuring Oklahoma transfer Jackson Arnold, Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels and Deuce Knight, a freakish freshman, who could be special in this system before too long. On defense, Keldric Faulk has the tools to be a dominant D-lineman and should cause fits for opposing offenses. He's the headliner of what looks like a tough defensive front, and there's plenty of speed and experience in the back end. The season opener at Baylor will be tricky. The schedule isn't easy, but Auburn doesn't play Texas or LSU and gets Georgia and Alabama at home at least. — Bruce Feldman What does Navy have to do to get some respect around here? Apparently winning 10 games last season — including a 31-13 thumping of rival and AAC champ Army, a wild 56-44 besting of Memphis, routs at Air Force and South Florida and an Armed Forces Bowl triumph over Oklahoma — isn't enough. Nor is returning senior true dual-threat quarterback Blake Horvath, backfield standouts Eli Heidenreich and Alex Tecza, star nose tackle Landon Robinson and a host of other key players from 2024. Advertisement Robinson landed on Bruce Feldman's Freaks List for a third straight year; it would be borderline freakish for this Brian Newberry-coached Navy team to end up short of another 10 wins given its quality and its schedule. — Joe Rexrode Kansas and preseason expectations don't always go together. The Jayhawks had some preseason buzz last year after going 9-4 in Lance Leipold's third season, but that quickly faded amid a 2-6 start. Quarterback Jalon Daniels had a disappointing season after an injury-plagued 2023, and the Jayhawks had a rocky transition from offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to Jeff Grimes. Looking ahead to 2025, Daniels is back, Grimes is off to Wisconsin and the Jayhawks are unveiling a long-awaited stadium renovation. Maybe this is their year. It will be fun to see what new offensive coordinator Jim Zebrowski can do with Daniels and running back Daniel Hinshaw Jr., the No. 21 player on Feldman's Freaks List. There's no dominant team in the Big 12, and the Jayhawks avoid playing defending champion Arizona State in the regular season. The schedule sets up decently well for a dark-horse run to the CFP if Kansas can get past Missouri in a renewal of the Border War. — Austin Meek Few remember that Pitt started 7-0 last season, and with good reason. The Panthers did not win another game after that. But an avalanche of injuries down the stretch, especially on the offensive line, helps explain why Pitt went from averaging 42.3 points during those first seven games to 19.2 over its last five-regular season games. Pat Narduzzi's team has a lot of continuity, starting with breakout quarterback Eli Holstein. OC Kade Bell is back after installing a more wide-open attack. And believe it or not, Pitt returns two All-Americans: Running back Desmond Reid, who ranked fifth nationally in all-purpose yards (154.9), and linebacker Kyle Louis (101 tackles, 15 TFLs), along with All-ACC linebacker Rasheem Biles (82 tackles, 15 TFLs). Perhaps Pitt, which faces Notre Dame and Miami at home and does not get Clemson, could be this year's SMU in the ACC. — Stewart Mandel (Top photos of Dylan Raiola and Cam Coleman: Sean M. Haffey, Michael Chang / Getty Images)
USA Today
2 hours ago
- USA Today
Steelers' Aaron Rodgers says Jared Allen is true single-season sack leader, not T.J. Watt
Aaron Rodgers may be letting his nostalgia for the NFC North get the better of him — as he recently supported Hall of Fame Vikings edge rusher Jared Allen as the single-season sack leader over his Steelers teammate T.J. Watt. In a recent congratulatory message posted on the Vikings' YouTube channel, Rodgers paid his respects to Allen for his Hall of Fame induction— but at the expense of Watt's 22.5 single-season sack-tying record in 2021. "You are the all-time single-season sack leader," Rodgers said in his message to Allen. "I don't care what the numbers say, because that phantom bull***t sack they took away from you would give you the record. So, in my book, and probably in most Vikings fans' books, you're the all-time single-season sack leader, my friend." Allen, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame last Thursday, also believes he owns the single-season sack record — arguing that Watt's record-tying 22.5 sacks in '17 games' fall short of his would-be 23. Allen officially totaled 22 sacks in 2011, just a half-sack shy of the record — but both he and Rodgers are wrong about who truly owns the sack record. Not only did Watt tie the single-season sack record in just 15 games — one fewer than it took Allen to reach 22 sacks — but the Steelers star edge rusher was also seemingly cheated out of a sack in Week 18, which would have put him at 23.5 — half a sack more than the Hall of Famer's wishful 23. Rodgers' gesture to his former NFC North is kind in nature — but "phantom" sacks aren't listed in the record books — and even if they were, Watt would still be atop the mountain. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.
