6 takeaways from Kevin O'Connell's press conference after the Vikings' loss to the Titans
It was a disappointing night for the Minnesota Vikings as they lost to the Tennessee Titans on Saturday, but Kevin O'Connell did his best to put a positive spin on the loss during his postgame press conference.
From the development of Lewis Cine and Jaren Hall to his plans for next Saturday's preseason finale against the Arizona Cardinals, O'Connell had plenty to say as the Vikings enter the final weeks of training camp.
Lewis Cine is in 'a great spot'
Cine's transition to the NFL hasn't been easy as the Vikings' 2022 first-round pick was relegated to special teams before suffering a season-ending injury last September.
After working behind Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum and Josh Metellus in training camp, Cine got plenty of reps on Saturday night serving as one of the team captains and recording eight tackles and a sack.
Despite the stats, Cine's night was up and down. He had a third-down stop on the opening drive of the game and stopped Malik Willis on a scramble attempt in the third quarter. But there were other moments where Cine showed a need for improvement, including missing a tackle on a 33-yard touchdown run by Tyjae Spears.
"Those are going to happen," O'Connell said. "Especially when he's really just getting back going again. That's the one thing we can't simulate in those joint practices."
Despite the miscues, O'Connell thought Cine had a solid night and believes he's on track considering the obstacles he has faced early in his career.
"I think Lew is in a great spot," O'Connell said. "...[He's] doing a great job right now just building upon what he does each and every day. I'm sure there will be some things to correct, but I'm sure he'll be right back in there with Harry [and] Cam."
Jaren Hall needs to work on consistency
After Mullens played the first half, Hall came in at halftime as he looked to build off his performance in Seattle. Hall completed 4-of-7 passes for 49 yards and helped lead a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter but O'Connell also noted that the fifth-round pick needs to work on his consistency moving forward.
"It's a matter of 'Do you know it?'" O'Connell said of Hall. "...You should know that game plan well enough that you can finish the calls and be that guy in the huddle."
O'Connell also mentioned that Hall's task was a little bit tougher as the Vikings ran different plays during Saturday night's game compared to their joint practices with the Titans early in the week.
"There's a lot of plays that we may have ran over Wednesday and Thursday that weren't going to be on the play sheet tonight," O'Connell said. "It's that give and take of a guy trying to prepare for a game he's going to play in versus a practice where he's only going to get four or five or six reps and a lot of those plays won't carry over. It's a hard part of being a rookie in this league, especially with the way we do things."
O'Connell went on to say that Hall will "get a ton of time" during the preseason finale with the Cardinals.
The wide receiver battle is heating up
With Justin Jefferson and K.J. Osborn given the night off and Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor sidelined with injuries, it gave the Vikings a chance to look down the depth chart at receiver.
That included Brandon Powell, who had one catch for 11 yards but served as the Vikings' punt returner, with 16 yards on two attempts.
"Brandon has had an excellent training camp," O'Connell said after the game. "[He's] doing so many things that I don't think people realize sometimes just all of the different jobs he can do."
O'Connell also said that they tried to get Jalen Reagor (two catches, 10 yards) over the top to utilize his speed and praised his team's depth with Trishton Jackson returning from an early camp injury to catch two passes from 10 yards in his preseason debut.
The performances of all of his receivers present a good problem for O'Connell, who expects to get Addison back from concussion protocol this week.
"I think that group is going to be very tough for us to figure out," O'Connell said. "Whether it's five or six [receivers], what the depth looks like on the practice squad...there's probably four or five names that are all deserving. These are good problems to have but you are trying to figure out how it will all fit."
Dykes, McBride get a chance in the running game
The running game was one of the biggest disappointments on Saturday night as the Vikings ran for just 91 yards on 25 attempts (3.6 per carry), but it did give an opportunity for recent signing Aaron Dykes and seventh-round rookie DeWayne McBride.
Dykes was signed after the Vikings' joint practices on Thursday and ripped off a 38-yard return on the opening kickoff. The Richmond product was also the most effective player on the ground, carrying the ball three times for 19 yards.
"I think he had a great workout, but he was kind of a little bit of an unknown guy for me," O'Connell said. "Then watching him work out and seeing the movement...just going through drills with some of the other backs, he kind of jumped out to us."
O'Connell also had praise for McBride, who finished with just 18 yards on six carries but showed his power, dragging several Titans on a one-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
"When he has the football in his hands, he's finishing physically downhill," O'Connell said. "The reads aren't always perfect...[but] that's what our job is as coaches to continue to give him clarity and then demand the execution that we're looking for."
Ty Chandler took the majority of the load with 12 carries for 24 yards while Kene Nwangwu sat out but O'Connell also acknowledged that all backs will play a ton in the preseason finale.
"It was good to see those guys get in there," O'Connell said. "We're going to allow those guys to play an absolute ton next week to compete and try to win a game."
Special teams standout NaJee Thompson lands in concussion protocol
The Vikings' list of injuries grew on Saturday night including a possible concussion for special teams standout NaJee Thompson.
Thompson went viral with his effort during the preseason opener against Seattle and showed up again with a tackle in the first quarter. While it was another play that could help him land on the 53-man roster, O'Connell said he developed concussion-like symptoms after the play and is currently in the league's protocol.
In addition to Thompson, Theo Jackson and Tay Gowan both suffered shoulder injuries but were both able to return to the game. N'Keal Harry also was held out of Saturday's game after aggravating a soft tissue injury during warmups.
The Vikings need to play 'Clean Football'
One of the biggest drawbacks on Saturday night was the Vikings' failure to play what O'Connell called "clean football."
Most of those instances occurred in the first half when a hands to the face penalty by Oli Udoh and an offensive pass interference call wiped out a 19-yard reception by Jackson. Udoh committed a holding on the same drive and there were other instances such as a Nick Mullens overthrow early in the game and Chandler getting stopped on a 3rd and 1 early in the second quarter that led to a Greg Joseph field goal.
"There were really some sloppy things that totally were in our control in the first half," O'Connell said. "Offensively, [we] had some opportunities to maybe finish those drives with touchdowns."
Penalties have been a key theme throughout the preseason as well with the Vikings committing a total of 11 penalties for 69 yards over their first two games.
"I know that a lot of these guys aren't getting a ton of reps...but I still would like to believe we can play clean football and just simply execute the play call without penalties or mental errors," O'Connell said. "We've got to continue to work through that with the group that was out there tonight."
While O'Connell also said he will monitor reps for first-teamers during this week's joint practices with the Cardinals, he also believes that his team is getting close to where it needs to be.
"We're getting closer but we want to see that last phase of training camp to kind of put a stamp on our group," O'Connell said. "I can promise that our first group has been getting their work and [have] really been a major part of the young guys' development as well. ...My hope is they can play their best football next week and really put a stamp on what they've done this training camp to try and make our team."
