Tag: Brian Asamoah

Vikings 2022 season preview: Inside Linebacker

We continue our 2022 season previews with the inside linebackers

In a similar vein to how fans felt when Mike Zimmer took over for Leslie Frazier, the excitement is palpable for the beginning of the Kevin O’Connell era.

While the team prepares for the season, we are doing the same at the Vikings Wire. We will be producing previews breaking down both each position and the team as a whole.

Today, we continue with our preview series by talking about the defensive line.

Quarterback Preview
Running Back Preview
Wide Receiver preview
Tight End Preview
Offensive Tackle Preview
Defensive Line Preview
Outside Linebacker/Edge Preview

Brian Asamoah wins Mr. Mankato

The battle for Mr. Mankato was a close one this year

The prestigious Mr. Mankato award was won by rookie linebacker Brian Asamoah.

The award was created by Vikings analysts Judd Zulgad and Phil Mackey from SKOR North back in 2014. The rules are as follows:

1.) Player MUST be a 3rd round draft pick or later (undrafted/signed from a practice squad counts)

2.) Player must not be an “established NFL player”

3.) If a player does not fall into category 1 or 2, a committee member may put that player up for review — and that player must receive more than 50% of the vote to be put on the ballot

4.) The competition runs through the entire preseason-not just the Mankato portion. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Even though the Vikings don’t attend training camp in Mankato anymore, the heart of the award remains intact.

Asamoah was a stud on defense for the Vikings in both preseason games and at practice. His explosiveness and instincts showed up in a big way.

His biggest competition was running back Ty Chandler, who looked fantastic in all three preseason games with his elite explosiveness and surprisingly powerful running style.

With the Mr. Mankato competition finished, the future is bright for the Minnesota Vikings.

Oklahoma among overrated teams in CBS Sports’ 2022 Big 12 preview

With big turnover this offseason, the Sooners have a lot to prove and are among Big 12 teams considered overrated in CBS Sports 2022 preview.

Oklahoma is less than a week away from the start of its 2022 campaign. While there’s been heaps of optimism and positivity coming from the camp in Norman all summer, elsewhere, people aren’t as sold on Oklahoma’s potential this season.

Some of the writers at CBS Sports shared their thoughts on the Big 12  heading into 2022. The conference’s flagship programs, Oklahoma and Texas, were deemed two of its most overrated teams. Shehan Jeyarajah had this to say about the Sooners.

The Sooners have been the model of consistency over the past six years, but they’re entering a new era. More than 40% of the roster is new, according to Venables. Gone are the top two quarterbacks, leading two rushers, four of the top five receivers, and the top three sack leaders from last season. There’s plenty of new talent to replace the losses, but they haven’t played together. The coaching staff is new, and the scheme and philosophy are new. This isn’t a turnkey operation, and we won’t see the best of Oklahoma until November. – Shehan Jeyarajah (also Barrett Sallee), CBS Sports

There’s validity in the belief Oklahoma will not look like last year. The thing about that particular idea is Oklahoma, especially offensively, didn’t look good at all for multiple stretches last year.

Spencer Rattler struggled. The offensive line struggled. The switch to Caleb Williams in the middle of the season infused new life for a while. But the team still struggled with some of the same larger issues that plagued it when Rattler was under center.

The offensive talent that was lost, outside of running back Kennedy Brooks, isn’t that big of a deal, considering they now have an entirely new offensive system, and the offensive line has a new blocking scheme as well. The Sooners are bringing back three starters along the offensive line, their best wide receiver Marvin Mims, and Theo Wease is returning from missing most of 2021.

Adding to that is new starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who’s had success in Jeff Lebby’s offense, which resulted in freshman All-American honors in 2019.

Defensively, the losses the Sooners suffered may be more significant, at least right now. Nik Bonitto, Isaiah Thomas, Perrion Winfrey, Brian Asamoah and the safety duo of Pat Fields and Delarrin Turner-Yell, had the experience and production combination that can’t easily be replaced. Potentially more important, most of those guys were leaders in the program as well as leaders for the defense. They lost six starters on a defense that needs to be better in 2022 than last year.

DaShaun White, David Ugwoegbu, Woodi Washington, Key Lawrence and Jalen Redmond will have to take big steps forward in production and leadership to help maximize Oklahoma defensively.

All in all, the belief that Oklahoma may be overrated may be a slight exaggeration. Its games with Baylor, Texas and Oklahoma State will tell us a lot about who the Sooners are. If they go 0-3 or 1-2, it’s safe to say they were overrated, but winning two of those or sweeping that trio of teams would likely be enough to get back to the Big 12 championship game. An appearance and win there would pull them from the overrated category in a heartbeat.

[listicle id=69732]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Instant analysis from the Vikings 23-13 loss vs the Broncos on Saturday

The Vikings lost a tough game to the Broncos, dropping them to 0-3 in the preseason

The Minnesota Vikings played well at times but lost a tough game to the Denver Broncos 23-13.

The focus was on the quarterbacks, as the Viking acquired Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday morning. He did not get into the game, so we got Sean Mannion in the first half and Kellen Mond in the second half

Both guys struggled throughout the game. Mannion went 9-of-16 for 121 yards and had the worst play of the game for the Vikings. He was strip-sacked and Baron Browning took it for what ended up being the game-winning touchdown.

When Kellen Mond took over in the second half, things didn’t get any better. He finished 10-of-17 for 102 yards while looking lost and uncomfortable in the pocket during the entire half.

The biggest takeaway regarding the quarterback position is it shouldn’t have either Mannion or Mond rostered as neither has proven that they can be a quality NFL quarterback.

Running back Ty Chandler looked like the best Viking on the field, showcasing his elite burst and speed with great vision. He finished the day with five rushes for 44 yards at a staggering 8.8 yards per rush.

The defense had a lot of ups and downs. Some of that was due to the injuries that the unit sustained. They also got caught over pursuing consistently, including on a reverse touchdown for Montrell Washington.

Myles Dorn was the highlight of the defense. He was all over the field on Saturday night with six tackles and two passes defended. With Metellus getting injured early on, Dorn might have earned himself a roster spot.

Now that the preseason is done, the Vikings look toward two dates: cut down day on August 30th and week one against the Green Bay Packers on September 11th.

Finishing winless in the preseason isn’t ideal, but the development of players and talent evaluation is more important. The Vikings have a lot of decisions to make over the next 72 hours and you can keep track of all those decisions here.

Two Vikings ruled out with injuries

Tough news for the Vikings in their final preseason game

Injuries have hit the Vikings hard in the first quarter against the Denver Broncos.

First, linebacker Brian Asamoah limped off the field on his own power on a screen pass. He did return to the game on the next possession.

Shortly thereafter, two Minnesota Vikings were ruled out with injuries. T.Y. McGill (ankle) and Troy Dye (foot) both will not return.

On the second drive, safety Josh Metellus also went down with an injury. The Vikings only suited up 52 players, meaning their options at each position are limited just like a regular game.

Not what you want to see for the Vikings.

Brian Asamoah goes down with a leg injury

Not what you want to see as a Vikings fan

Brian Asamoah pursued former Vikings running back Mike Boone on a screen pass and ended up injuring his leg.

After fellow rookie cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. injured his ankle in the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers, this is not what you want to see.

Asamoah was having a standout preseason thus far for the Vikings, showing his athleticism and explosiveness.

As Tomasson referenced in the above tweet, Asamoah did walk back on his own power, but it will be worth monitoring to see if he returns and how severe the leg injury is.

Vikings Film Room: Brian Asamoah

The future is bright for the Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings might have found a gem in Oklahoma LB Brian Asamoah in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.

An explosive player at the linebacker position, the prevailing thought about Asamoah was that he would need a year or two to be fully ready for a starting job in the National Football League.

After a couple of preseason games, it’s clear that he is closer to being ready than we initially thought.

During Saturday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers, I identified five plays that show where Asamoah currently is and why Vikings fans should be excited about his future.

This play showed off Brian Asamoah’s ridiculous sideline-to-sideline speed

Brian Asamoah turned on the jets to blow up this play.

Minnesota Vikings rookie linebacker Brian Asamoah is going to be a problem in the NFL at some point. He was already a problem for the Las Vegas Raiders in Sunday’s preseason opener at Allegiant Stadium.

Opportunity came knocking at linebacker with Eric Kendricks being listed as one of the 10 Vikings starters that were inactive for the game.

And Asamoah answered with authority.

In the waning seconds of the first quarter, the Raiders called a toss to running back Zamir White. Asamoah read it the entire way and came screaming into the backfield to force the runner down behind the line of scrimmage.

His explosiveness has flashed throughout the spring practices and training camp. So it was nice to see him pop in an actual game situation.

Kendricks and Jordan Hicks are still expected to be the starters when the season is underway. But don’t sleep on Asamoah’s ability to slowly start eating into some of those snaps.

The future is bright for the third-round pick out of the University of Oklahoma.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbyjpbajmjvnqmj player_id=none image=https://vikingswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

[listicle id=65831]

Winners and Losers from Vikings preseason loss to Raiders

Winners and losers from the Vikings’ preseason opener.

The Minnesota Vikings just completed their first preseason game, a 26-20 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday night.

While you want to win preseason games, the most important part of them is seeing growth and development from your young players. For the Vikings, they also are using this time to install a new scheme on both sides of the football.

Within the game, there were definite winners and losers based on their performances in the matchup.

Vikings Madden NFL 23 ratings for rookie draft picks

How do the Vikings’ rookies stack up on Madden NFL 23?

Madden rankings are not the be-all, end-all, but they do mean something.

The rankings are an algorithm that takes each metric and aggregates it to an overall number. The higher certain metrics are, the higher your overall rating is.

Some mean more than others. For example, throwing accuracy means a ton for a quarterback’s overall ranking but next to nothing for a tight end. Because of that, a really good player might be ranked lower than you think he should be.

The other element of these rankings are that Madden usually is a year behind players. One example is Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase who, despite a major breakout season, was ranked as an 87.

A long track record of success is the best way to receive a higher ranking. The same theory goes with rookies. Their rankings are inherently lower because they haven’t played a snap in the league. Each of the 10 Vikings draft picks now have their first ever Madden Ranking.

Here’s how they ranked amongst each other.