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Brian O’Neill’s first NFL action came at the drop of the hat and on the biggest stage.
When starting right tackle Rashod Hill went down with an ankle injury just over five minutes into the third quarter, the Minnesota Vikings’ second-round pick was forced into action. He played a total of 32 snaps and gave up one QB pressure, according to Pro Football Focus.
A closer look at his pass blocking reps reveals that O’Neill showed promising signs for his future and some of the reasons why the Vikings decided to start Hill and let their rookie grow before putting him up against some of the league’s best rushers.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/0...lls-debut/
He's made some very good incremental growth, which only came because he was forced into action. His upside looks to come sooner rather than later, which is pleasantly surprising considering very early reviews. I think the game isn't too big for him, which is awesome. Fiery.
Strikes me as a very cerebral kid. I think just because he needs to build "good strength/weight" they wont press him into duty this year.
All bets off year 2 though...
Too bad kickers don’t get to soak it in for a year, or at least a few games, before being thrust into the middle (or the end) of a high profile, high pressure situation. Carlson may turn out to be a really goid kicker. But he was not ready for prime time just yet.
And O’Neill played really well. I saw him get pushed back into Cousins once. And when he came in we were way behind and had to pass a lot. I would like to see him in run blocking some more, but he looked really good. He handled stunts and blitzes with Remmers like he’s been doing it for years.
I expected O'Neill to struggle with the bullrushes as he tends to get a little high in his stance, but I only saw him get pushed back into the pocket once that affected the QB. That's where he'll need time to develop strength in his core.
What I was impressed with was how Packers immediately tried to pressure him with stunts and twists. He'd pick up Matthews on an inside rush, then release him as the DT was looping around and he never let anyone past him. Showed great feet in pass pro. He's also very good at run-blocking in terms of getting to the 2nd level. I think that's where Brett Jones has been very limited, he struggles in space.
O'Neill may end up starting soon, he's looked better than I anticipated at this point.
At this time Hill may better help us utilize Cook and Murray but O'Neill helps us better utilize Cousins, Thielan, Diggs, Rudolph, and Cook. Even though "the book" says your RT is a better run blocker, I think for this team we need the better pass blocker.
A good look at his debut and I think it was good for his development. But I would say he still needs plenty more. The one stunt he picked up was barely made. He got by on his athleticism to recover in time to barely get enough of Clark.
The article shows a few examples of being bull rushed. one was a good anchor and the other 2 not so much. (I had to chuckle it quoted the source saying the Packers lack a dominant pass rusher while highlighting Matthews against O'Neill) But if you listen to the podcast by Sirles that I posted, he brings up some interesting points about anchoring. He states that isn't so much about dropping your weight and your strength, but about balance and the initial strike. IMO any NFL defender could bull rush a tackle if the tackle was not allowed to disrupt the approach. The punch is about disrupting the approach, getting the defender's pad level up. But it has to be done with balance and timing otherwise we see a TJ Clemmings type of fail.
The one good anchor, O'Neill has a successful punch and it stands Matthews up, which ends it for a rusher. On the other two, it doesn't look like he even attempts a punch, but tries to grab and hold which allows the defender to keep his lower leverage and drive him back.
So, I agree with the source on this one, it was a good showing, he has the mental abilities, but I think he needs seasoning before he is ready to be thrown in there. And the other caveat is that he was a backup coming into the game. The defenders had not watched film of him to find his weaknesses. If he were to play for a few games, there is no doubt that defenders would have a field day with the rookie. That said, nothing brings teaching home like actually doing the job. So he got a taste and will be a better student for it.
At this point I still feel better with Hill there. But it's good to see the rookie playing and not really hurting us. I find it hard to imagine that NFL teams aren't aware of O'Neill's glaring weakness, but maybe so. I think Matthews' go-to is "around" and not "through" given that he's a linebacker, but he caught on pretty quickly. As the article states, bigger 4-3 ends are much more likely to exploit O'Neill's lack of anchor.
Just as predicted after watching him in preseason...he will be a starting RT for us this year! Everyone just repeated what the draftniks said that he was a two year project...wrong, he is a first year starter!
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