Letting Matt Kalil walk was a game changer for Vikings

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@comet52 said:
For a guy who's game essentially left town when his knees deteriorated after one year, he sure got paid a lot to be mediocre.   The OL upgrade is the biggest Viking story this year even if Keenum is overshadowing it.  And the game changer to me was cutting Boone in camp.   

Exactly what I was thinking.  Bye Kalil, Bye Bye Boone.  Two awesome additions by subtraction.

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“That’s a tight knit group over there,” head coach Mike Zimmer said. “I
really like the demeanor that they play with….I think that’s a lot of
it. And ya know, you don’t have to be a rah rah guy to be a leader.  You
have to be able to do your job and people respect you and do what you
say you’re going to do. That’s usually the litmus test.”

I think that is the big difference between this years group and last year.  Boone and Kalil were paid to be top players.  Boone talked like he was.  But the on-field result wasn't there.  And so the respect wasn't there.  And with Boone, it probably was even worse because he talked so much.  The other linemen probably had trouble respecting them and the unit suffered.

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@JimmyinSD said:
I cant believe the put that sack on Reiff on Sunday,  that was clearly a matter of him trying to block 2 guys at the same time and he rightly took the inside guy because Easton couldnt get out of his stance quick enough.  IMO that sack should have been on Easton.

Agreed.  Or Elflein.  Something was off, whether it was the call, or a back should have picked that up.  The DT seemed to loop outside Easton leaving Reiff with two guys.

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@"BarrNone55" said:
Boone was great for sound bites...other than that... he appears to be the polar opposite of Reiff...

Bingo.  All talk and no walk. 

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@Maple Surple said:
https://247sports.com/nfl/minnesota-vikings/ContentGallery/Matt-Kalil-of-Carolina-Panthers-trashed-by-fans-after-double-penalty-on-Sunday-111678663

I don't care for slideshows, but they are funny

"Matt kalil with two penalties in one play while still allowing cam to get hit? Elite"

one tweet comparing Remmers and Kalil, the response was "One of them is on the best line in the NFL, the other is Matt Kalil."

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I think the other thing about cutting Boone was it sent a clear message that the staff and front office were in lock step...if you don't play up to snuff, we'll cut your ass and suffer the cap consequences...

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Need to thank Carolina for making such a strong push to sign Matt. Word was the Vikings were willing to give Kalil another shot at LT. Thankfully, Carolina made him an offer he could not refuse.

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@dadevike said:
Need to thank Carolina for making such a strong push to sign Matt. Word was the Vikings were willing to give Kalil another shot at LT. Thankfully, Carolina made him an offer he could not refuse.

I think Minny was in on a low offer for Kalil,  kind of a we will keep you,  but not at a level that will prevent us from replacing you if something better becomes available.

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@JimmyinSD said:

@dadevike said:
Need to thank Carolina for making such a strong push to sign Matt. Word was the Vikings were willing to give Kalil another shot at LT. Thankfully, Carolina made him an offer he could not refuse.

I think Minny was in on a low offer for Kalil,  kind of a we will keep you,  but not at a level that will prevent us from replacing you if something better becomes available.

And that was what Kalil meant when he said Carolina demands excellence.  He meant, they pay excellent.

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