Minnesota Vikings
The road has begun for newly Vikings’ starter Matt Cassel. Cassel had out performed back-up quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Both quarterbacks rose to the challenge of looking exceptional and sharp in the preseason games they had played in, but the Vikings’ organization had felt that Cassel could take the Vikings in the direction that they are trying to go into. At the press conference Cassel had a humble approach about becoming the starter for this organization.
”I’ve been through a lot in my career,” Cassel said. ”I’ve been through the ups and downs. I’ve been through the highs and the lows. At this point nothing really surprises me in my career. Because of experiences, it callouses you to different situations that as a younger player I might not have taken it as well.”
Vikings’ head coach Mike Zimmer had this to say as well. ”I told Teddy this morning that I’m so happy Matt is here with us,” Zimmer said. ”I’m glad he’s the guy we picked. I’ve loved everything that he’s done. It wasn’t anything that Teddy did or didn’t do. Teddy will be, still in my estimation, a great player for this franchise for years to come.”
With the preseason almost unwrapped Cassel understands that he is the leader of this team and it starts with him. He wants to take the Vikings as far as he can, but he knows that it will be a progression phase.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers are not slowing down there no huddle because of an injury to a key center. Rookie Correy Linsley has took over the center position because JC Tretter had tweaked his knee in a preseason game. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers have felt comfortable with Linsley snapping the ball in practice, but Rodgers wants to make sure that the communication between ball handler and quarterback is precise.
He’s going to be expected to play at a fast tempo and he’s got sideboards on both sides who know exactly what they’re doing and what everyone is doing up front,” Rodgers said. “Josh and T.J. are going to be very important to Corey, playing as fast as possible, but we have a lot of trust in Corey. He’s played center his entire career.”
Green Bay’s head coach Mike McCarthy had hinted that Linsley might be on the field against the Kansas City Chiefs, but he do not want to overwork Linsley. “The mental part of it, we’ll be able to sharpen his blade there,” McCarthy said. “But to go out there and totally overdo reps because you’ve got one player that’s going to start, I’m not going to do that, because if I have to do that, he’s not the right guy. Corey will be ready to play.”
“We’re into the last preseason game, we’re less than two weeks from the opener, and things pick up after this final game,Rodgers said. “It’s a call to those guys to start stepping up their play, because it’s going to start mattering here really quick.”
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions have finally secured a kicker. Rookie Nate Freese has finally been selected as the starting kicker for the Lions. This is the third time since 1980 that the Lions will start a season with a rookie kicker. There have been times in preseason games where Freese have missed a couple of chip shots, but he seemed to regain his 
poise and kicked more accurately when he got his chance.
Lions’ head coach Jim Caldwell had expressed why Freese was the better choice. “Obviously it was a tough competition. It was a very, very difficult decision and Giorgio Tavecchio did a nice job,” Caldwell said. “I think both guys took this thing on in a professional manner and Nate Freese ended up edging him out. I think they are both very capable guys, but as we look at all the factors Nate Freese was the best one for us at this time.”
“He made some tough kicks,” Caldwell said of Freese. “Particularly the one in Oakland was a very, very difficult one, under tough conditions off the dirt. We made all those factors, took a look at them and ironed them all out. We just felt he was the best choice for us at this time.”
Caldwell said Freese is his guy heading into the season and the team isn’t looking to pursue any veterans on the open market or any kickers who might be cut during the final roster trim down this weekend.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears have finally decided to go with Jimmy Clausen as the back up quarterback. Clausen had edged out Jordan Palmer because of his youth and his experience in the NFL.
Coach Marc Trestman explains his reasoning on why Clausen was the better fit. “He stood up tall through a lot of tough times in Carolina and gained the respect of his teammates and the team there with the way he handled himself in a very difficult year,” Trestman said. “He went through a lot of adversity. Jimmy started out a rough go. He was put into a starting position. He was knocked all over the place, took a lot of hits, and continued to stand tall and try to help his football team win. That’s only going to help him in the future.”
Clausen on the other end was very optimistic about being in the Bears’ organization. “I studied really hard when I first got here,” Clausen said. “I was playing catch-up and I was playing catch-up when I was back home getting ready for training camp. I grasped the offense pretty well, but I’m still a long ways away from where I want to get to.”
“He’s worked very hard to get in this place,” Trestman said. “He came in here and really worked hard to learn this offense; spent a lot of time learning the system. He’s extremely detailed. I think that really helped him get up to speed quickly to be part of this competition with Jordan.”
