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VFLs in the NFL: Week 12 Recap
Week 12 in the NFL was extended through Wednesday.
Two games took place on Thanksgiving to start the week, and the final game was played nearly a week later as the Ravens and Steelers finally faced off.
Several former Vols were in action over the weekend, with a few standout performances mixed in. Here is a recap of how VFLs fared in the NFL Week 12.
VFLs in the NFL recap: Week 11
Week 11 of the 2020 NFL season has came to an end.
Several former Tennessee players were in action last week. Below is a recap of how every VFL performed over the weekend.
See the good, the bad and ugly from the Vikings win over the Packers.
It wasn’t perfect, but it was what the Vikings needed to get back on track.
On Sunday, Minnesota dispatched Green Bay for a victory at Lambeau Field. The Vikings needed a bit of luck, but for the most part, they were the better team.
The weather played a major factor in the game. The wind made it more difficult for kickers and quarterbacks to make plays. That must have helped the run-heavy Vikings.
Minnesota desperately needed a win like this in order to give fans any hope for 2020. The team did just that.
Here is the good, the bad and the ugly from the Vikings game against the Packers:
How do you think Minnesota Vikings punter Britton Colquitt has played so far?
Punter Britton Colquitt is coming off a good 2019, but his initial games in 2020 didn’t reflect that.
Colquitt told the Star Tribune he “honestly had the best year of my career” after a career-high 42.6 net yards on a career-low 62 punts in the 2019 regular season. The Star Tribune rated his season performance a four on a five-point scale.
Vikings special teams coordinator Marwan Maalouf recently talked with reporters about Colquitts’ early 2020 performance. He said Colquitt has gotten better since the initial 2020 games, and now he’s back to his normal self.
“After that first game, I think we got him back to what he does best,” Maalouf said, via the Vikings. “I think he tried to do a little bit too much earlier this season, the first and second game, but I think he’s got his tempo back, and he’s been effective in a positive way, the last two games, especially. And I think we can just build on that.”
On paper, it looks like the Seahawks offense is going to be a very tough matchup for the Vikings defense. Minnesota will need to thrive in other phases of the game in order to compete. Colquitt probably couldn’t win the game for the Vikings, but he could certainly help them pull off an upset.
Do you think the product on the field could be better than it has been in the past? A couple players on the Vikings think so
This has been one of the more unconventional offseasons in NFL history, due to the coronavirus pandemic. The preseason is canceled and teams have had to do a lot of remote work to get ready for the NFL season.
Does that mean that when the regular season comes around, the play will be worse? Not necessarily, according to a couple Vikings players.
“I think the play is going to be better, actually” Reiff told reporters Monday. “There’s less distractions this offseason. Guys were taking care of their bodies, working out and stuff like that. But you know we’re working on limited time, too, so I’m hoping that the product is good.”
Colquitt said he was able to kick just as much, maybe more than he has in the past, and his body wasn’t as worn down.
“In a way, I feel refreshed,” Colquitt told reporters. “First thing I noticed with most of the guys on the team, especially the lineman, is they looked more in shape. They looked rested. They’re pumped about training camp.”
Colquitt said he’s not sitting here saying this is the way it should be necessarily, then he winked at the camera. He went on to say he thinks the NFL product could be better this year.
“I really feel that way,” Colquitt told reporters. “If the product is not better, I feel like the product is not going to be better everywhere, and so it will be an equal playing field. But the way the guys’ spirits are, which is a huge thing. I mean, attitude is everything in life and the way the guys seem physically and not kind of beaten down, I totally agree with you, I think the product will be better.”
The Vikings have a lot of stars, but there are also some key players who don’t always garner accolades and recognition.
From wide receiver Adam Thielen to safety Harrison Smith, there are plenty of Vikings players who garner recognition from fans and experts across the NFL.
However, there are also some key contributors on the Vikings who maybe don’t get the credit that some of the stars do.
This is a list dedicated to those players. Vikings Wire compiled a list of the three unsung heroes on the roster headed into 2020.
Whether it’s thriving on special teams or doing the work that doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, here are some members of the Vikings who are underrated when it comes to national recognition:
The Vikings special teams unit performed well in several different aspects in 2019. Here’s how it can stay that way.
Minnesota has been tormented with inconsistent kicker play for years, but Dan Bailey’s resurgent 2019 helped ease some worries.
Bailey, after making 75% of his field goal attempts for two seasons in a row, went 27-29 last season for the Vikings. If he stays at or near that sort of production, the Vikings won’t have to worry about the kicker position.
The return game is more up in the air, though.
On punt returning, Mike Hughes led the team with 14 attempts in 2019. Hughes, however, might earn a bigger role on the defense after departures in free agency at cornerback.
The team also used Marcus Sherels, who had six returns. Sherels has a 50-50 chance of retiring, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press.
On kickoffs, the Vikings mostly utilized Ameer Abdullah, who they re-signed this offseason. Abdullah led the team with 13 attempts.
The Vikings special teams unit looked good at times in 2019. Here is what should stay the same and what else needs to happen, in order for the Vikings to find success in that area.
Three former Vols remain with current teams after testing free agency.
KNOXVILLE — With NFL free agency in full swing, three former University of Tennessee football players have decided to return to their current respective teams.
Britton Colquitt, Emmanuel Moseley and Jason Croom are all not changing professional addresses.
Colquitt, a punter for the Minnesota Vikings, signed a three-year deal to remain with the Vikings, who made the playoffs last season.
His deal reportedly contains $5 million in guaranteed money, including more than a $1 million base salary.
Moseley had a breakout season for the San Francisco 49ers in 2019. He helped the team win the NFC championship and make it to the Super Bowl where it lost to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Croom, a tight end for the Buffalo Bills, was shelved for the entirety of the 2019 season after a hamstring injury forced him to go onto injured reserve.
According to one report, punter Britton Colquitt is staying with the Vikings.
Punter Britton Colquitt said recently he believed in the Vikings, and according to a report, it seems like the belief is mutual.
According to a source of the Star Tribune’s Andrew Krammer, Colquitt and the Vikings have agreed to a new deal.
It seems like a no-brainer after the year Colquitt had, and how a typical punter’s contract does not command a large salary. There are no salary numbers out yet about the deal, but Vikings Wire will update the article when they are released.
Source: #Vikings, punter Britton Colquitt have agreed to a new contract. He's staying in purple.
— Andrew Krammer (@Andrew_Krammer) March 16, 2020
Colquitt said he “honestly had the best year of my career” after a career-high 42.6 net yards in the 2019 regular season for the Vikings, per the Star Tribune.
This move isn’t a huge surprise, but it’s one of many the Vikings have made on Monday. With the way the salary cap is at the moment, and the number of moves made by the team already, it seems like Vikings fans can gear up for a crazy week.
Britton Colquitt, the punter for the Vikings, thinks players should vote yes on the new CBA.
The CBA voting has been a divided issue for players across the NFL.
Maurkice Pouncey is very vocally against voting yes, telling younger players that if they’re signing for the money, he will take of them.
Vikings punter Britton Colquitt, however, feels differently. Colquitt told the Pioneer Press that he has voted yes on the recent CBA, and that he thinks other players should, too, because there are “a lot of good benefits” available for the players involved.
He added this:
“And I know they feel they should get a lot more, with the beating their bodies take and their brains take, and they should. But there are a lot of benefits (with the proposed CBA), and we’re going in the right direction.”
Colquitt thinks the deal is good everybody. Recently, Kyle Rudolph said on the Pat McAfee show that his printer ran out of ink, in an attempt to print out all 456 pages of the CBA.
#Vikings punter Britton Colquitt on voting yes on CBA 1/3: “Maybe that’s just me being a punter, knowing that I’m playing in all 20 games anyway because of the preseason, where some of these guys, they hardly play in the preseason, and so a 17th game is just crazy to them…
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) March 13, 2020
