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Dakota "can't stop calling him DJ" Dozier is the very worst starting guard in the NFL. The Vikings have a backup who played when Cleveland went down named Brett Jones. Jones may not be the future, but he graded higher than any Viking lineman both times he played.
I'm guessing that because Jones is limited athletically, the Viking don't ask him to do much and thus the high grade, but still, if he's not allowing every fat DT and his league-average brother by to harrass your QB, isn't that a good thing?
https://twitter.com/WillRagatz/status/13...84194?s=20
There is something seriously wrong with the coaches on the offense that started Bisi over Jefferson and Dozier over anything...
Zimmer has a woody for some shitty lineman every year since he has been here. Dozier clearly isn't NFL caliber.
JFC...
How sick and tired are you of reading headlines like that?
NFL teams can trip on themselves and find better OG's than the Vikings have fielded - forever...
What a stinging indictment of the scouting and coaching.
Quote: @purplefaithful said:
JFC...
How sick and tired are you of reading headlines like that?
NFL teams can trip on themselves and find better OG's than the Vikings have fielded - forever...
What a stinging indictment of the scouting and coaching.
It's a lot like last year. Elflein couldn't pass protect to save his (or his QBs) life, but instead of seeing what you might have in Samia, Collins, Jones, Udoh...anyone, he just continues on.
I will say this....back in 2017, it was worse. The Vikings had no promising young prospects on the line at all. We had guys like Remmers, Berger, Easton. Some liked Elflein, but his rookie season was WAY overrated IMO.
Since that time, the Vikings have drafted three pretty good looking offensive linemen in O'Neill, Bradbury and Cleveland. All three seem to be at least "hits." So I think the Vikings have turned a corner in that regard. Just need one or two more.
I think the thing that has turned me off from Zimmer the most is his "loyalty" to starters. Think of how hard it is for a young player to move up to starter. Anthony Harris only became a full time starter when Sendejo left (though he had started a number of games when Sendejo was injured). Brian O'Neill got a start only after Hill was injured. Cleveland when Samia was injured. Thielen got his first start when Diggs was injured (Charles Johnson was the other starting WR). Eric Wilson is another example.
Quote: @VikingOracle said:
I think the thing that has turned me off from Zimmer the most is his "loyalty" to starters. Think of how hard it is for a young player to move up to starter. Anthony Harris only became a full time starter when Sendejo left (though he had started a number of games when Sendejo was injured). Brian O'Neill got a start only after Hill was injured. Cleveland when Samia was injured. Thielen got his first start when Diggs was injured (Charles Johnson was the other starting WR). Eric Wilson is another example.
There's definitely something to this. It's just happened too many times. No, you don't want a coach who's constantly pulling players every time they make a mistake, but Zimmer seems to be on the other extreme, letting presumptive starters play poorly game after game after game, without even taking a look at what another player might do in that spot.
Quote: @VikingOracle said:
I think the thing that has turned me off from Zimmer the most is his "loyalty" to starters. Think of how hard it is for a young player to move up to starter. Anthony Harris only became a full time starter when Sendejo left (though he had started a number of games when Sendejo was injured). Brian O'Neill got a start only after Hill was injured. Cleveland when Samia was injured. Thielen got his first start when Diggs was injured (Charles Johnson was the other starting WR). Eric Wilson is another example.
OMG, Charles Johnson, that's a name I had intentionally erased! Great list of players that were kept on the bench too long. Also have to note that Stefon Diggs was inactive for the first 3 games of his career, and the Vikings coaches only let him play when both the esteemed pair of Charles Johnson and Jarius Wright were hurt. How could they believe he was not worth being active and next game could have almost 100 yards?
Thielen is an even bigger head-shaker...I'm sure there was an adjustment to the NFL, but did he need to stay on the bench 3 years? I think they wasted a year or two of his career. If Thielen's breakthrough could have happened in 2015 instead of 2016. would Spielman have forced the pick of Treadwell?
Back on the OG issue: What was so lacking in Josh Kline?? I know he was going to make something like $5M this year, but we're carrying $2.6M of dead cap for him this season, so in terms of cap space, how much would it hurt to have kept him here? Cleveland and Kline would certainly have been better. Of course, if Kline was still here they would probably be starting Dozier and Kline and Cleveland still be on the bench..
The question I have on the OLine is who is actually making the final call on who plays and who sits? If it's Zimmer, it definitely falls in line with his stubbornness to favor veterans and "pet" players over talent and execution. If it's Kubiak making the decision, then his player evaluations are just as head scratching as some of his play calling and game plans. My gut tells me that it's Zimmer making those final calls which may explain why we've had a revolving door for OC's during his tenure due to internal conflicts and differences of opinion.
Zimmer has always said he will win or lose his way. IMO, his way continues to hold this team back on both sides of the ball.
Kline still has little birdies circling his head
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