Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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The fumble was reviewed and ultimately ruled an incomplete pass, but Boone’s effort caught the eye of Zimmer, nonetheless.
“The runners all did well. Boone ran hard, he’s physical – I liked how he went and chased that guy down after they thought the ball was a fumble. He did really well,” Zimmer said. “Abdullah ran hard. Blasingame did a nice job. I thought they all did well.”
Evaluation of roster spots will happen on defense, as well, and young Vikings made their case in front a crowd that contained at least a few familiar faces.
Rookie Anree Saint-Amour was one of the starting defensive ends and proud to play in front of his parents, Manfred and Renise, who made the trip up from Georgia to watch their son.
“It was great. Growing up, you always want to play in an NFL game,” Saint-Amour said. “Being able to … to play in the game, make some plays, you just go out there and play hard – you never know what’s going to happen. It was great having them up here, supporting me.”
Saint-Amour stopped Bills running back Marcus Murphy for a loss of 2 late in the first quarter, helping to stall the Bills drive and force them to settle for a field goal.
In the fourth quarter, he recovered a fumble by Bills 6-foot-7 quarterback Tyree Jackson.
“It felt great to do something productive,” Saint-Amour said after the game.
The fumble was caused by fellow rookie defensive end Karter Schult, who sacked Jackson for a loss of 9. According to press box stats, Schult finished the night with three tackles (two solo).
Schult and Saint-Amour both know they’re part of a deep defensive line group and are hopeful for a shot while equally grateful for being able to develop under veterans in the room.
Saint-Amour said he’s grown “exponentially” as a player since signing with the Vikings this spring.
“Just being here with [defensive line coaches Andre Patterson and Rob Rodriguez], they taught me so much about the pass rush, so much about the run game, about football in general,” he said. “And just having [veterans] like [Everson Griffen], Danielle [Hunter], Stephen [Weatherly], Ifeadi [Odenigbo], all those guys, you pick up so many things – Shamar [Stephen] – everybody.
“You pick up so much from the veterans even though you’re not getting so much in the games, but during practice, you’re learning things and getting better – at least one-percent better every day,” Saint-Amour added. “After a couple days, you’re getting a lot better.”