Tag: Eric Kendricks

Cook, Mattison practice in full for Vikings; Kendricks held out

Two running backs were back in practice for Minnesota, but there were key defensive players held out.

The good news: The Vikings had their top two running backs as full participants in Wednesday’s practice as the team prepares for the Saints in the wild card round on Sunday.

Both Dalvin Cook (shoulder) and Alexander Mattison (ankle) were full participants.

Other players listed as full participants include cornerback Mike Hughes (neck), safety Jayron Kearse (foot), cornerback Xavier Rhodes (ankle) and defensive tackle Shamar Stephen (knee).

Defensive lineman Ifeadi Odenigbo (hamstring) was limited.

The bad news: The Vikings were without three key defensive contributors. Most notably, linebacker Eric Kendricks was held out with a quad injury. Also out of practice was cornerback Mackensie Alexander (knee), safety Andrew Sendejo (illness) and defensive end Stephen Weatherly (illness).

We’ll see if the Vikings can get any of these players back to practice on Thursday.

3 Vikings make PFF’s 2019 All-Pro Team

The Vikings had three of four players in the NFC North on the team.

The folks over at Pro Football Focus put together their 2019 All-Pro Team and three Vikings were listed, all three on the defensive side of the ball.

Linebacker Eric Kendricks and safety Anthony Harris were both members of the first team, while safety Harrison Smith was part of the second team.

All three players had exceptional seasons.

Kendricks graded as the league’s best overall linebacker per PFF. The fact that he’s not in the Pro Bowl is why the Pro Bowl shouldn’t be taken seriously.

Harris and Smith graded as the league’s second and third-ranked safeties, respectively.

The only other NFC North players to make the team was Packers defensive end Za’Darius Smith,

Report: Vikings leaning towards resting majority of starters

For anyone in daily fantasy leagues, staying away from this game is probably the best move.

The 10-5 Vikings are locked in as the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs making their Week 17 battle against the Bears meaningless as far as the standings are concnered.

Chicago is already eliminated from the playoffs.

With that, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin has reported that the Vikings are leaning towards resting the majority of their starters, including quarterback Kirk Cousins.

It’s a move that makes the most sense. Imagine if a key player to the team was to get injured before the playoffs started in a game that meant nothing.

The team will be resting linebacker Eric Kendricks (quad) and running back Dalvin Cook (chest) regardless.

For anyone in daily fantasy leagues, staying away from this game is probably the best move.

Cook and Kendricks ruled out for Vikings vs. Bears

The game means nothing for the Vikings, who are already locked in as the sixth seed.

We don’t know if the Vikings will play their starters on Sunday against the Bears in Week 17.

We do know, however, that starting running back Dalvin Cook (chest) and linebacker Eric Kendricks (quad) will not play. They have been ruled out due to injury. The two will have another week off before the wild card round of the playoffs.

Running back Alexander Mattison (ankle), cornerback Mackensie Alexander (knee) and safety Jayron Kearse (foot) are questionable.

We’ll know the official status of these players, and likely the rest of the team’s starters, 90 minutes before kickoff on Sunday morning (10:30 a.m. CT).

Vikings LB Eric Kendricks held out of Thursday’s practice

Kendricks hurt his quad against the Packers.

Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks, who injured his quad against the Packers in Week 16, did not practice on Thursday as the team prepares to take on the Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 17.

With the Vikings locked in as the sixth seed, Kendricks will almost surely not play in this one.

The good news is that Kendricks was the only player held out of practice. Running backs Dalvin Cook (shoulder) and Alexander Mattison (ankle) were both limited.

Cornerback Xavier Rhodes (ankle), defensive tackle Shamar Stephen (knee) and safety Jayron Kearse (foot) were all full participants.

We’ll get the official injury designation for players on Friday.

Vikings LB Eric Kendricks ruled out vs. Packers with quad injury

The hope is that the injury isn’t serious considering how important Kendricks is to this team’s defense.

Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks has been one of the best linebackers in the league.

Unfortunately, Kendricks hurt his quad in the first half against the Packers in Week 16 on Monday Night Football and the team announced he will not return.

The hope is that the injury isn’t serious considering how important Kendricks is to this team’s defense.

We’ll know more about the injury after the game and as the team practices next week in preparation for the Bears.

We’ll see Eric Wilson in action as Kendricks’ replacement.

3 Vikings snubbed for Pro Bowl

Minnesota will be represented by Harrison Smith, running back Dalvin Cook and defensive end Danielle Hunter, but there should be more

The Vikings had three players named to the Pro Bowl for the 2019 season, which is great. Minnesota will be represented by safety Harrison Smith, running back Dalvin Cook and defensive end Danielle Hunter.

But there are three notable players who missed out . . .

QB Kirk Cousins

There’s a pretty solid argument that Cousins should be in the Pro Bowl over Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

Cousins has completed 70.5 percent (third in the NFL) of his passes and his averaging 8.4 yards per attempt (fourth). He’s thrown for 3,481 yards (10th) and 25 touchdowns (7th). His QB rating of 111.1 is a career-high and ranks fourth in the league.

All of those numbers are better than Rodgers’!

With an 86.1 (more than five points higher than Rodgers) Pro Football Focus grade, Cousins grades as the fifth-best quarterback in the league, and second among NFC quarterbacks.

LB Eric Kendricks

Speaking of PFF grades, Kendricks’ grade of 90.7 is the best of all linebackers.

The 2015 second-round pick has been the unsung hero on this team since being drafted, but he should have gotten his due as one of the best linebackers in the league. Here’s to hoping he gets a spot as a sub.

S Anthony Harris

In his first full season as starter, Harris has been an analytics stud. He ranks fourth among safeties in the league per PFF, one spot ahead of teammate Harrison Smith.

As we know, the Pro Bowl is somewhat of a popularity contest. With continued play like this, Harris will eventually earn his spot as a Pro Bowler.

The Minnesota Vikings have two of the most underrated stars in the NFL 

Both Danielle Hunter and Eric Kendricks have been absolute studs for the Vikings in 2019.

The Minnesota Vikings are sitting at 10-4 with two more divisional games left in the regular season. The defense has been a talking point with a struggling secondary, but that shouldn’t negate the fact that the Vikings have two of the league’s best front seven players. 

Mike Zimmer, Rick Spielman and the rest of the Vikings’ scouting department has done a fantastic job at not only drafting great talent, but keeping that talent in Minnesota. The 2015 draft is one that comes to mind, with four of the Vikings starters coming out of the draft. 

The four players that were taken in the 2015 draft consists of Trae Waynes (1st), Eric Kendricks (2nd), Danielle Hunter (3rd) and Stefon Diggs (5th). These four have been a huge reason for the Vikings success in recent years, and the biggest play that comes to mind is Diggs’ Minneapolis Miracle play. 

As great as the miracle was, it has gotten a ton of attention by the national media. What two of these four players have done thus far in their careers tends to go unnoticed, but that shouldn’t stop them from getting the exposure they deserve. 

Both Kendricks and Hunter have been two bright spots for the Vikings defense, and for some reason it tends to stay under the radar. 

Hunter is coming off of the most dominant two-game stretch of his career, where he has 13 tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He is also tied for third in the NFL with 13.5 total sacks on the season. Not only has he had a dominant 2019 season, but he also became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 50 sacks in his career, helping him reach his second Pro Bowl. 

Coming out of LSU in 2015, Hunter was looked at as a pass rusher with not many different tactics to get to the quarterback. Vikings defensive line coach Andre Patterson worked his magic with Hunter, and turned him into one of the league’s best pass rushers. If Hunter can keep up at his current pace, his jersey isn’t going to be the only thing on its way to Canton, Ohio. 

The NFL Defensive Player of the Year award should be wide open with some of the big names having down seasons, and another Vikings player should be on that list with Hunter. Kendricks, who should have his name in the running for DPOY,  got snubbed for yet another year not making it to the Pro Bowl. 

According to Pro Football Focus, Kendricks has been the highest rated linebacker throughout the 2019 season. 

 

This is proving the fact that Kendricks is so under the radar, that he doesn’t even make it to the Pro Bowl while having the best season of any linebacker in the NFL. He has two forced fumbles on the season, leads the Vikings in total tackles and broke the PFF record for the most ever passes defended by a linebacker. 

Not having Kendricks get to the Pro Bowl should be considered a crime, but for some reason his play goes unnoticed nationally. He has proven time and time again that he has one of the better noses for the football in both the run and pass game. 

Both Kendricks and Hunter deserve to get more credit than they do, and that should have started with Kendricks making the Pro Bowl. Both of these stars should not only have been shoe ins for the trip down to Orlando, but they should be towards the top of the list for All Pro honors at the end of the season and in the running for DPOY.

Seahawks offense up for tough test against Vikings defense

The Seattle Seahawks offense is very good, but so is the Vikings defense. That sets the stage for a tough matchup in Monday Night Football.

The Seattle Seahawks are among the best teams in this league, and they didn’t get there without respecting their opponents. Led by quarterback Russell Wilson, the Seattle offense is having a great year – but the Minnesota Vikings won’t be a cakewalk.

The Vikings defensive unit is a stout one with a lot of very solid players. Add in the fact that Wilson has been sacked 11 times over the last two games and things get even more interesting.

Even with the dynamic game of Wilson, there are a lot of players on the Vikings defensive unit that can be a big problem.

“They’re such a veteran group,” Wilson said of the Vikings defensive unit. “They got everything you could want on defense. They got a great defensive line. Great linebackers. These guys are flying around making tremendous plays.”

There are a lot of names on the back of those purple jerseys to watch out for. Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks wreaked havoc as linebackers at UCLA, now they are doing the same as members of the Vikings. Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen are tough up front. However, it’s a defensive back that Wilson remembers most.

“Harrison [Smith] is is arguably one of the best in the game,” Wilson said. “I remember coming in into the 2012 class with him. Just a tremendous football player and just a guy who had the right attitude, was first in line at every drill. Just a guy who was a great leader. You really sensed that from the beginning.”

Smith is listed as questionable for Monday’s bout, but all signs indicate he is likely to suit up for the Vikings.

The Seahawks offense is no slouch. It’s gearing up to be a fun matchup to watch between offense and defense. That is what Wilson is anticipating anyway.

“It’s going to be a great battle and they coach extremely well,” Wilson said. “It’s going to be a tremendous feat. We’re looking forward to it.”

Wilson and the rest of the offense has their work cut out for them in this game. The Seahawks enter the game in search of their 10th win of the season and a spot atop the NFC West against the surging Vikings, who have won six of their last seven, losing only to the Chiefs in that stretch.

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