They Got Fries With That

[JustInTime]

[ArizonaViking]

Fries is a frigg'in animal.  A first class intimidator...and we got him for what...5 yrs.

[Canthony]

Fries was the FA I wanted at all costs. The G I wanted from the start. Just a beast. All this talk at the beginning about Smith, that I didn't want, all I wanted was Fries. Had a feeling once we got Kelly that it could very well be a package deal.

[StickierBuns]

This is Brian O'Neill saying this: 'Will is a BIG man....when I shook his hand I was like 'ok'....' and then he laughed, insinuating the guy is a monster. Did you notice Fries taking on the other team's monster DTs one on one? He's a natural 6'6"...what I mean by that is the rest of him is that size as well, not some overpumped up TE body. Uses those long arms to keep guys off his body. And his mentality is to punish defenders. The line will play with more attitude, 100% guaranteed. Penn State O-linemen are nasty. Wouldn't say his movement/mobility is great, but rare is the perfect OG. He's a powerful dude.

The beautiful part is Minnesota should be set at OT (Darrisaw, O'Neill) and at OG (Fries, Jackson) and draft a center next year or maybe a guy emerges from our current roster as the man in 2027 (Jurgens?).

[JustInTime]

Fries is a frigg'in animal.  A first class intimidator...and we got him for what...5 yrs.

5 years and for less $$ than anticipated.     

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This is Brian O'Neill saying this: 'Will is a BIG man....when I shook his hand I was like 'ok'....' and then he laughed, insinuating the guy is a monster. Did you notice Fries taking on the other team's monster DTs one on one? He's a natural 6'6"...what I mean by that is the rest of him is that size as well, not some overpumped up TE body. Uses those long arms to keep guys off his body. And his mentality is to punish defenders. The line will play with more attitude, 100% guaranteed. Penn State O-linemen are nasty. Wouldn't say his movement/mobility is great, but rare is the perfect OG. He's a powerful dude.

The beautiful part is Minnesota should be set at OT (Darrisaw, O'Neill) and at OG (Fries, Jackson) and draft a center next year or maybe a guy emerges from our current roster as the man in 2027 (Jurgens?).

Watershed year for centers. 2 potential first rounders.

[purplefaithful]

Has anyone heard if their running system is changing with the IOL changes?

[MaroonBells]

Has anyone heard if their running system is changing with the IOL changes?

I'm sure they're tweaking things. They did bring on Keith Carter to assist Kuper. He has a reputation for running grueling practices and some of his former linemen hated him for it, so we'll see. I do like how Kuper added some toughness to this group. When he came on board I noticed a much nastier offensive line, with a lot of pancakes and rather surly finishing blocks. We didn't see much of that over the last 10 years. So maybe that increases even more? I hope so. Set a tone and don't let up.

[purplefaithful]

I'm sure they're tweaking things. They did bring on Keith Carter to assist Kuper. He has a reputation for running grueling practices and some of his former linemen hated him for it, so we'll see. I do like how Kuper added some toughness to this group. When he came on board I noticed a much nastier offensive line, with a lot of pancakes and rather surly finishing blocks. We didn't see much of that over the last 10 years. So maybe that increases even more? I hope so. Set a tone and don't let up.

Yah, the press on Carter wasn't positive. Felt a bit counterintuitive to a KOC coaching hire if you believed it. 

I was wondering out loud if they were thinking of a more power running game vs zone scheme as opposed to a tweak.

[MaroonBells]

Yah, the press on Carter wasn't positive. Felt a bit counterintuitive to a KOC coaching hire if you believed it. 

I was wondering out loud if they were thinking of a more power running game vs zone scheme as opposed to a tweak.

I think like most teams they do a little of both, but they're primarily a zone team. I don't see that changing much since our backs are zone backs, and Kelly, Fries and Jackson all come from mostly zone systems, as does Chris Kuper and Keith Carter. I could be wrong but I don't think any of the offenses from the Shanahan tree run power.

[JustInTime]

Has anyone heard if their running system is changing with the IOL changes?

PF, I did a deep dive on this during FA/Draft prep and I can’t find the post. Thought it was in the OL thread, but no joy.

From what I can recall we have primarily been Outside Zone with power/duo/gap getting mixed in. In 25 we ran more man concepts, particularly duo. The Indy boys definitely leaned more towards man concepts as did Coach Carter. 

I’m not sure we’ll get any answers in preseason, but I definitely will be watching this closely. If I’m a betting man, I think there will be a noticeable shift towards more man concepts with duo becoming a staple. I think we’ve got the horses to be more physical.