So, About that OLine...

[HappyViking]

How'd they do?  Anyone notice any improvements from last season?  B)  It's fun to see Sam drop back and have time to find his receivers.  They actually looked like a real offense out there!

It was a struggle on many running plays, but Sam easily had enough time to go down field starting in the 2nd quarter.  I'd say they played pretty solid; especially for the first game.  Hopefully they stay healthy, and keep improving. 

[Guest]

The offensive line looked the opposite of what many expected (including me)...  at least for tonight.  I thought we really struggled to run the ball and open up holes for much of the first half.  Even in the second half, there were too many rushing attempts that went for 1 or 0 yards but Cook was able to spring a couple chunk plays.  I figured this line would be much better at run blocking this season, but they looked phenomenal in pass protection.  It was crazy to see graphics showing Bradford having 3+ seconds to scan the field and find the open WR downfield.
It was a great start to the season and I hope the offensive line can stay healthy and continue to grow...  best offensive performance I've seen since the Houston game last season.
BOOM

[Guest]

I think this was the biggest and best surprise for me.  After the preseason I thought we would suck on offence again this year. 
Sam said that people outside the facility didn't have confidence and I was one of them as I saw nothing going right.  I just hope they can keep this kind of play going all year. 
The Saints O line was suffering too so maybe this was not a fair test but it sure felt good.  Finally!!

[Guest]

Fantastic improvement, I am happily surprised.

However...Remmers looks like a weak link.

[Guest]

Still had trouble run blocking. Cook got hit in the backfield more than he should have, but it was really nice to see Sam having a normal amount of time back there. Great first game from this rag tag bunch of misfits.

[Guest]

Other than Remmers with the holding penalty, the OL seemed to get better as the game progressed. Considering they haven't really played together, they came together quite nicely tonight. There were some running lanes for Dalvin and Sam had time to see the field without having to worry about pressure bearing down on him. It was nice to see Sam celebrate some of those big plays. 

[Guest]

It was vs. the Saints lousy D, but at least they consistently looked like they had a clue, which is a step up. 

On the road vs. Pittsburgh will be dicier, but at least now I'm not cringing in advance.

[Guest]

They played very well.

[Guest]

It was a much bigger improvement than I expected to see from the line. Hopefully, they can keep up with the improved pass protection, because Bradford with time and options down field is a very different player from what we saw last year. I also think Cook deserves recognition for his great work in blitz pickup, definitely a night and day difference from Peterson's shaky protection.

As for the run blocking, that was more up and down. A lot of short run, but it was encouraging to see them open up some big rushing lanes at times and I liked seeing Elflein pull and make some blocks downfield. While not a blocking thing, it was interesting to see more east-west running plays, just not plays that I'm used to seeing the Vikings, but Cook was able to break some big runs horizontally. I don't think he'll be the home run threat like Peterson was, since running laterally requires him to cover a lot more distance than a north-south runner like Peterson, but he did show that he's capable of picking up big chunks of yards. It will be a very different offense with Cook on the field.

[Guest]

Played much better than I thought they would.