Two weeks of camp have gone by and the Vikings have had nary a skirmish, but just one day after coach Leslie Frazier said there isn’t anything wrong with a fight now and then, he got one.
At Wednesday’s practice without pads and under a blistering hot sun for the second straight week, QB Christian Ponder hit WR Percy Harvin with a pass over the middle. Harvin put his head down and drove for extra yards as several defenders grabbed at the ball and at his arms, trying to force a fumble.
When Harvin reached the secondary, rookie FS Harrison Smith stood him up with a hit, and Harvin had had enough. He pushed back at Smith, and the skirmish ensued.
The players gathered around pushing, shoving and yelling until some of the linemen came in to break it up. DE Brian Robison picked up WR Michael Jenkins around the waist and carried him away from the minor melee. Jenkins had just been watching, so the move by Robison was taken as a comical maneuver and effectively broke it up the fight.
After practice, Smith downplayed the incident when talking to reporters.
“It was football. Stuff happens,” said Smith. “It’s the game of football; it’s not a passive sport. It’s an aggressive sport, played by aggressive people, so that stuff happens.”
Then Smith agreed that it might be time for the team to play a game and hit someone other than their teammates:
“After a while you kind of get sick of competing against each other,” he said. “You are supposed to be teammates and you want to hit somebody, but you don’t really have a choice.”
Letting off steam: Following Wednesday’s practice, several veteran defenders had a little fun with one of the rookies, DT Chase Baker. They taped Baker to a goal post and doused him with water, ice and a pink liquid that smelled suspiciously like Pepto-Bismol. On a steamy day in Mankato, the post-practice ice bath probably felt pretty good, and Baker came away smiling.
What was his crime? Several players responded: “He didn’t do what we asked. We asked him to sing; he didn’t sing. We asked him to dance; he didn’t dance.”
Time to shine: WR Jerome Simpson is suspended for the first three regular-season games, but he is eligible to play in preseason games. So Friday night against the 49ers will be his first chance to show Vikings fans what he can do. Simpson will start at flanker, but don’t expect any full flips into the end zone like he famously did last season in Cincinnati.
“I've just got to go out there and execute, be the best player I can," Simpson said. "Just work hard and make plays. I am just going to go out there and go to work like I always do, and if my opportunity comes, take the most of it.”
Training camp has been Favre-lous: Vikings training camp has been known for epic distractions in the past, and Frazier was asked how he feels about having a distraction-free camp this season:
“Yes, I sleep a whole lot better at night, no question about it. You want guys to be focusing on football and the team and the message that you’re delivering in that first meeting. You have some of those outside distractions and it takes away from that focus.
“Part of what we do requires great focus and great determination and if you don’t have that it shows up on the field. We’ve had our share of distractions as you know, so it’s refreshing that at this point we can concentrate on what’s important and that’s getting ready to play football.”
Distraction averted: RB Adrian Peterson’s court dates for an incident in a Houston nightclub were recently moved to Sept. 27 and Nov. 15, and Peterson said he doesn’t have to attend them.
“I feel like we’re in a good position right now,” Peterson said. “The most important thing is no more interruptions. So it won’t interfere with what’s going on with the Minnesota Vikings and my team, so we’ll just see how things play out.”
Parked Carr: CB Chris Carr was not participating in practice Wednesday, the final practice before the team leaves for San Francisco. He had not been listed by Frazier following the morning practice as one of the players injured and not playing in the preseason game. He was seen in the afternoon standing on the sideline without a helmet. No explanation was given for Carr sitting out practice.
For the latest news and reports on the Vikings, follow Joe Oberle on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLMIN and @joeoberle.
