OL OpEd..

[purplefaithful]

Will Vikings take an offensive lineman in first round of draft?Kubiak, Dennison sizing up current, future personnel.


Zimmer said this week he sought out former Texans and Broncos coach Gary Kubiak as a teacher for new offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski, and sounded hopeful the addition of offensive line coach Rick Dennison — who will also be the Vikings’ run game coordinator — can make things easier for the Vikings linemen.
“I do think we probably have to get a little bit better there [on the offensive line],” Zimmer said. “But I also think part of coaching is helping these guys get better as well. I think scheme can help, I think plays that you call can help. So I think it’s a twofold situation. One of the things I like about these guys when I’m sitting in that room is they’re talking about being able to protect a guy a little bit more if he’s on a better player this week. Just how the scheme can help a player be better. And I believe that’s true at every position, really.”
It remains to be seen what kind of capital the Vikings will invest in their offensive line this year, after the additions of four veteran starters — Andre Smith, Alex Boone, Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers — have produced middling results in the past three years. While the Vikings took center Pat Elflein in the third round in 2017 and selected tackle Brian O’Neill in the second round last year, they’ve taken just one first-round linemen (Matt Kalil) in General Manager Rick Spielman’s 12 drafts, and Zimmer demurred this week when asked if the Vikings might select a lineman at No. 18 overall this year.
“From what Gary says, Rick is unbelievable at game-planning the runs as far as formatting it different ways, getting at this, ideas going into the week,” Zimmer said.
Especially if the Vikings decide not to take a lineman near the top of the draft, or try to fit a free agent into a tight salary cap picture, their new coaching staff could be asked to make a big contribution.
“We’ll address everything in free agency and the draft,” Spielman said. “But since that [the offensive line] is the bone of contention with everybody, there’s some things, not only from maybe improving the personnel up front but also from a schematic standpoint, that we can do to maybe help the offensive line be more efficient as well. It goes hand in hand — the coaching, the scheme. Can we do things differently to maybe help them but also improving the personnel?”
http://www.startribune.com/will-vikings-...506564272/

[Guest]

The offensive line has been offensive for so long at this point I just do not see how it is just schematic problems.  If they do not address it early it will be just more of the same I am afraid.

[Guest]

I think to get to where we want to go offensively, it will need to be schematic and personnel upgrades. I'm hopeful, but now's the time to remind myself of the definition of insanity too...

 

[Guest]

Articles like this, and the quotes that generate them, make me very afraid that the staff and front office are already pitching the idea that the offensive line can be improved from within, 2018 linemen coached up, schematic changes make it all better - in other words, they are going to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse.

Zimmer: "the scheme can help a player be better."Spielman: "maybe improving the personnel up front but also from a schematic standpoint" - I don't care about any BS about not tipping his hand to other teams, only an idiot would think "maybe" should ever be allowed in a conversation about changing the Vikings' OL personnel.

[Guest]

@Jor-El said:

Articles like this, and the quotes that generate them, make me very afraid that the staff and front office are already pitching the idea that the offensive line can be improved from within, 2018 linemen coached up, schematic changes make it all better - in other words, they are going to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse.

Zimmer: "the scheme can help a player be better."Spielman: "maybe improving the personnel up front but also from a schematic standpoint" - I don't care about any BS about not tipping his hand to other teams, only an idiot would think "maybe" should ever be allowed in a conversation about changing the Vikings' OL personnel.

And what if all the FA (of which there really aren't that many) get better offers from teams with more cap space AND let's say they miss out on their primary targets in the Draft?

You're stuck with the same guys fans and media have been crushing. But not the FO or Coaching Staff, who so far have said the right things about potential performance improvement.

When was the last time a Coach or GM just openly ripped an entire Unit? It doesn't happen all that often because it's a negative message to the incumbents whom you may be stuck with again. There's also the younger guys that are still developing to think about. Do you impact their attitude by ripping the guys above them on the Depth Chart? Or the veteran you want to take a pay cut or move into a backup role?

And what they're saying is also potentially the truth. Players improve. D-Flip ran an awfully predictable Offense and apparently didn't faithfully stay in ZBS. Then the tidbit about having tweaks for weeks when a guy might be overmatched.

I get that's it's very easy to be cynical with the team's recent mishandling of the O-Line. And I get that many on here will parse every single thing said by the team regarding that situation and see it through a negative prism. A little more of a middle road perspective is how I choose to approach the Line.

For example, I'm not going to flip out if the team doesn't land a Big Name FA. Nor will I if the 1st Round pick isn't on the Line.

But I howl loudly if the terrible twosome of Remmers & Compton are Starters next year.

[Guest]

I think it’s just acknowledgement that success in this
league is almost always a two-fold process. 
You need guys that have the tools to be able to be molded into what you
need, and you need coaches to do that molding. 
I think we’ve seen a lot of guys come in here and do worse than they’ve
done with previous teams.  We’ve also
seen a lot of young guys with potential that haven’t fulfilled their
potential.  To me that is on
coaching.  We needed to get better with
coaching.  I also think we’re probably
going to be limited in how much we can lean on FA.  I’m not sure if we’re going to be in the
market for $10M+ a year guards.  We’ll
need our young draft picks to hit the ground running.

[Guest]

@FSUVike said:

@Jor-El said:

Articles like this, and the quotes that generate them, make me very afraid that the staff and front office are already pitching the idea that the offensive line can be improved from within, 2018 linemen coached up, schematic changes make it all better - in other words, they are going to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse.

Zimmer: "the scheme can help a player be better."Spielman: "maybe improving the personnel up front but also from a schematic standpoint" - I don't care about any BS about not tipping his hand to other teams, only an idiot would think "maybe" should ever be allowed in a conversation about changing the Vikings' OL personnel.

And what if all the FA (of which there really aren't that many) get better offers from teams with more cap space AND let's say they miss out on their primary targets in the Draft?

You're stuck with the same guys fans and media have been crushing. But not the FO or Coaching Staff, who so far have said the right things about potential performance improvement.

When was the last time a Coach or GM just openly ripped an entire Unit? It doesn't happen all that often because it's a negative message to the incumbents whom you may be stuck with again. There's also the younger guys that are still developing to think about. Do you impact their attitude by ripping the guys above them on the Depth Chart? Or the veteran you want to take a pay cut or move into a backup role?

And what they're saying is also potentially the truth. Players improve. D-Flip ran an awfully predictable Offense and apparently didn't faithfully stay in ZBS. Then the tidbit about having tweaks for weeks when a guy might be overmatched.

I get that's it's very easy to be cynical with the team's recent mishandling of the O-Line. And I get that many on here will parse every single thing said by the team regarding that situation and see it through a negative prism. A little more of a middle road perspective is how I choose to approach the Line.

For example, I'm not going to flip out if the team doesn't land a Big Name FA. Nor will I if the 1st Round pick isn't on the Line.

But I howl loudly if the terrible twosome of Remmers & Compton are Starters next year.

I'm not demanding absolutes from either FA signings or 1st round picks either. But there is a history regarding this team's lack of commitment to that unit, which you acknowledged. How many years has OL been one of the top needs, but after the draft we hear, "Sorry no early picks but it was such a shock that Yankey/Clemmings/Beavers slid to us on day 3, why would no other teams want that guy??" 
I guess many of us really want to hear Zimmer and Spielman saying, "Forgive us, we neglected the offensive line, we see the errors of our ways and promise to change!!" But that's not going to happen. 

[Guest]

I, too, would like to see a day one OL pick, but understand if there is a DT stud at #18.  And I know the free-agency cavalry won't be arriving anytime soon.
But rounds 2 and 3 should get us some value or if we can parlay #18 into more picks on those days.