Vikings focus on the details, Sen. Franken stops by camp

MANKATO, Minn. (KMSP) - It's the same guys, same practice times and the same types of drills, but through the repetition, there still is reason, as the Vikings maintain a certain edge after a week of camp.

This stage of training camp is more about the small details. That's especially true for the defense. After learning the system for two years, they say one on field attribute is improving right now: communication.

Of the hundreds of fans in Mankato, one stole the show on Friday. Senator Al Franken came down to Vikings camp today and the former SNL star, says this team is no joke! But even with his optimism, he knows there’s still a long road ahead.

With just one week exactly to go before the Vikings kick off the preseason against the Bengals, the team is getting players healthy and back on the field.

On Thursday, it was Cordarrelle Patterson and on Friday it was Jerick McKinnon, who was chomping at the bit to get back to practice.

Both McKinnon and Patterson are being smart about things and neither one of them participated in the 11-on-11 drills Friday afternoon.

McKinnon is nursing a lower back issue, but he says it is something new and it’s connected with his previous back injury the year before last.