Camp Nowhere. The 2nd practice of 2021 Vikings Training Camp is in the books, and the overreactions have already begun. I am in no way saying that training camp isn’t vital to some players success, but it often gets people thinking a lot of players are what and who they truly aren’t. Shorts and shirts are not an NFL uniform. Before pads, all we are going to see is a bunch of athletes doing athletic things. When we finally get to the pads part of the program, we finally get to separate the men from the boys.
You’ll See
There is a tale as old as time. “Just wait and see” as we enter into year after year of Training Camp. We all have done plenty of waiting over the years on guys that haven’t shown us anything during the regular season. Will guys have a great camp and show up during the regular season? A few times. However, it is not likely. I truly believe that when you see it, you know. There isn’t a “I hope this happens, I hope that happens.” Good/Great players get those titles for a reason, there isn’t a hope, but a know. Don’t be fooled. Camp Nowhere. Minus Christopher Lloyd.
Enterainment.
Camp Nowhere
I love Brock Lesnar more than anyone, but a big part of Training Camp was getting Brock in there for the experience of it, and never really having a chance to make the team. For me, it is a great example of how much of Training Camp doesn’t matter, and only those few will actually be helped by the actual Training Camp itself. Another player that comes to mind is Babatunde Aiyegbusi, who was signed from Poland, with a 0.0% chance of ever seeing a professional football field. German Moss was another bright spot of the Training Camp spectrum for the Vikings, and if you don’t know who that is, I’m jealous.
Diamond In The Rough
I couldn’t write this without ending it with a positive twist, and what better place to go than Adam Thielen. We’ve all heard the story about 19 more times than we’d like to but it is also an important one when it comes to camp. From regional tryouts to Vikings tryouts, it was quite a road to Vikings stardom for the Detroit Lakes, MN native. Thielen has turned that into 105 NFL games with 397 receptions, 5240 yards and 39 TDs including 14 in 2020. Thielen will turn 31 on August 22nd, but he is not as seasoned as most in the league at that age. Thielen’s story is a great example of why
Adam Thielen Stats | Pro-Football-Reference.com