The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Shane Frederick

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August 11, 2010

Is training camp’s importance a thing of the past?

By Shane Frederick Free Press Staff Writer

— The Vikings will hold their final practice of training camp on Thursday afternoon and leave town following their shortest stay in Mankato since moving the camp here 45 years ago.

When all is said and done, the team will have spent a little more than two weeks here, going through 22 public practices — many in front of a few thousand fans who are more than excited about their favorite team’s chances for a championship in 2010.

There are plenty of reasons for the optimism. Among them are Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson, Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin.

The irony, of course, is that the folks in Mankato haven’t seen much — or in some cases, any — of those players in practice over the last 10 days or so.

We all know about Favre’s situation, and there’s no sense rehashing it here — at least until he rides into Eden Prairie on a white horse or, more likely, in Brad Childress’ Escalade.

Rice has been on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a hip problem since the beginning of camp, and fellow receiver Harvin missed a week of camp following the death of his grandmother and now is battling the migraine headache problem again.

Peterson missed a couple of practices with a hamstring strain and was limited and, in some cases, held out of some full-team sessions.

Add to those issues, an early injury to cornerback Benny Sapp and later ones to starting linemen Anthony Herrera and John Sullivan and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, as well as the progress of Cedric Griffin and E.J. Henderson from last year’s late-season injuries, and it’s a wonder why Vikings fans aren’t in full-blown panic mode right now.

Football fans are hardly known for their patience or rational thinking, especially those of a certain team that lost in heartbreaking fashion in the NFC Championship last January.

But could it be that cooler heads are prevailing amid the heat wave that’s blowing over the Blakeslee Stadium practice fields this week? Maybe they realize that the regular season is still almost a month away.

Or perhaps they’re starting to figure out that training camp — at least in this form — just isn’t as vital as it once was.

Favre certainly proved last season that he didn’t camp to be an effective quarterback, and nowadays, players remain in great shape year around, and they attend mandatory minicamps and even optional team activities to prepare themselves for the next season.

Moving a team to a college town and housing the players, coaches and staff in a dormitory for a two-week preseason cram session seems almost obsolete in 2010.

If the Vikings have another season like last year and even take it a step further — with Favre, Rice, Harvin and the rest —  will prove it.

The first time training camp broke before roster cutdowns seemed a little strange. This year, it will be a little weird to not have the Vikings return to Mankato following a preseason game.

Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like just a matter of time that the Vikings don’t come to Mankato at all.



Shane Frederick is a Free Press staff writer. Read his blog at mankatofreepresshockey.blogspot.com.

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Shane Frederick