Vin+ 3,121 Posted September 10, 2016 STATS LLC Associated Press Sep 07, 2016 NASHVILLE -- Shaun Hill will probably take the first snap Sunday when the Minnesota Vikings open their season against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. But if two NFL games 21 years apart mean anything, Hill might not finish. Either way, the Vikings aren't planning to publicly stack the quarterback depth chart before Sunday, coach Mike Zimmer said Wednesday. Titans coach Mike Mularkey was blunt when asked if he expected Sam Bradford to start Sunday. "The number of starts (Bradford) has, he's a very intelligent quarterback, he's faced this defense before," Mularkey said as he listed the reasons he believes that Bradford will be the starter. "They wouldn't give up a 1 (first-round pick) and a 4 (fourth-round pick) to have him sit very long. "He's had a very good preseason -- really, both the quarterbacks had good preseasons. I would anticipate (Bradford) starts, and if he doesn't, it's not going to change how we prepare." In 1993, when current Minnesota offensive coordinator Norv Turner owned the same position with the Dallas Cowboys, starting quarterback Troy Aikman sat out a game against the Cardinals because of a hamstring injury. Jason Garrett started, but Bernie Kosar, signed five days before the game after being canned by Bill Belichick in Cleveland, was the backup. Before the first quarter was finished, Kosar was in the game and played its remainder, completing 13-of-21 passes with a touchdown in Dallas' 20-15 win. Two years ago, Hill started the opener for St. Louis after Bradford went down with a season-ending ACL tear in the third exhibition game. Hill lasted a half, going 8-for-13 for 81 yards and an interception before a thigh injury knocked him out. The Rams were 34-6 losers that day to ... the Vikings, whose Turner-run offense extracted an efficient day from quarterback Matt Cassel while getting help from a defense that contributed an interception return score. Two years later, the 36-year old Hill again plays the role of veteran backup filling in for young franchise quarterback, in this case Teddy Bridgewater, who will have surgery on his torn ACL Thursday. To complete the circle, Minnesota opted to fortify the quarterback position last weekend by acquiring Bradford from Philadelphia for a first-round pick in next year's NFL Draft and a fourth-round pick in 2018. Turner will have had eight days to acclimate Bradford and perhaps make him functional if Hill struggles or is injured. Speaking after practice Wednesday, Bradford is happy with the progress he's making picking up the offense. "Obviously, I'm much more comfortable today than I was on Sunday," he said. "It just helps getting reps at practice. I've been studying more of our playbook this week, making sure I'm comfortable with what we're doing." Tennessee's quarterback has no such issues. Marcus Mariota enjoyed a good rookie year despite missing time with injuries, and has looked sharp during training camp and exhibition games. Mariota completed 23 of 31 passes in exhibition games for 319 yards, playing to a QB rating of 104.1. The Titans' preseason, unlike Minnesota's, has been mostly positive. Coach Mike Mularkey's run-first approach appears to be taking shape as the line has shown signs of being physical, while backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry could be a dangerous 1-2 punch. Murray has looked more like the guy who led the NFL in rushing and won Offensive Player of the Year honors two years ago as Dallas won the NFC East, while Henry appears to be a second-round steal, based on averaging more than six yards per carry in exhibition play. "It's time to do what we came here to do," Henry said of making his NFL debut. While Tennessee plans to run first and then take its chances in the air off play-action, the Vikings also have a capable weapon at running back. Adrian Peterson is their go-to guy in most circumstances, and even more so now with the loss of Bridgewater. Peterson recorded his seventh 1,000-yard season in 2015, with 1,485 yards and 11 touchdowns, and although he's ancient by running back standards at 31, he shows no signs of slippage. The former MVP enters the season with 11,675 yards in nine years, one of which was shortened by injury and another that was ended after Week 1 in 2014 due to legal trouble. "Teddy's a phenomenal player, but even when he was in there, it all starts with Adrian," Titans defensive end Brian Orakpo said. "We've got to be sound against the run. We've got to hit our run fits and do a good job against 28 (Peterson). He's been doing it for years." This will be the first time the teams have met since 2012, when Minnesota whacked Tennessee 30-7 in Week 5. This will be the Vikings' first visit to Nashville since 2008 and the first time these teams have opened against each other since 1989, when the Titans were doing business as the Houston Oilers. You gotta figure with Teddy getting hurt that it's now set up pretty well for the Titans to get a win, but who knows. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ATL_Predator+ 1,196 Posted September 10, 2016 17 14 If this game would've happened 4 weeks ago...I'd say the Vikings take this one with somewhat ease. Everything changes now. You have Terry Robiskie calling the offensive shots and you better believe Dick Lebeau is going to bring the heat and stack the box with whoever is behind center in Minny. Yes, AP is still there but who in their right mind is going to honor that Vikings passing game until it's proven they can beat you in the pass game deep. I expect the Titans to come out aggressive on both sides of the ball. Ground and pound. This game will be the definition of it for both teams, whoever is more efficient, will win. Titans have more upside on offense, and I think they take this one in a close one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cherry 1,302 Posted September 10, 2016 21 14 Barring AP falling off a cliff, I expect the Vikings to bully the Titans. I don't have faith in that team yet defensively. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted September 10, 2016 Minnesota is not great against the run. Tennessee has a chance to get off to a good start, here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted September 10, 2016 Titans are extremely good at winning home openers and nothing else so... 20 16 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bay 2,003 Posted September 11, 2016 Don't sleep on the Tits. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted September 11, 2016 Don't sleep on the Tits. That is horrible advice you should be ashamed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted September 11, 2016 Xavier Rhodes is inactive. That is not good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted September 11, 2016 (edited) Fuck Blair Walsh, man. This should be a one possession game but he has the mental toughness of a gnat. Robbie Gould, please. Edited September 11, 2016 by BwareDWare94 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bay 2,003 Posted September 11, 2016 Just so Bware doesn't triple post... lmfao kickers 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted September 11, 2016 Adrian Peterson looks old and slow. Pair that with the fact that he's a mouthbreather, and you've got an ineffective running back. Moar McKinnon! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted September 11, 2016 Titans are actually looking pretty good, hopefully this isn't just the Vikings having a shitty game Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted September 11, 2016 Vikings will probably have a new kicker by this time tomorrow Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted September 11, 2016 Well this game went south in a hurry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BwareDWare94 723 Posted September 11, 2016 (edited) The Titans are trying to be too fancy. I don't care what Mariota excels at--this shit goes south in the NFL. Line up in the eye and run normal running plays. Edited September 11, 2016 by BwareDWare94 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted September 11, 2016 This isn't a matter of getting too fancy, we're screwing up basic shit Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
.AirMcNair. 1,232 Posted September 12, 2016 Mariota imploded. He's pretty much the sole reason we lost this game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56AceInDaPlace 110 Posted September 12, 2016 That and some of the playcalling. The big killer was Mariota throwing that pick six. Both fumbles were on Murray too. As a team we just kept blowing our chances. Besides that, we looked like we are headed in the right direction. We can move the ball and in big chunks too. Limit the turnovers and run a standard power scheme. Not these little trick plays or short passes all the time. I will say the defense at times looked off. I do know I questioned some of the pre snap positions. On a 3rd and long a few times we had nobody covering downfield. Everybody was up close and couldn't get there fast enough. Stubborn coaching doesn't help either Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted September 12, 2016 Are the Titans really this bad? And I agree, the NFL isn't letting Minnesota lose it's first home game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
