Samia...

[purplefaithful]

Can this kid beat Kline out at some point year 1?

[Guest]

That wouldn't surprise me at all. 

[Guest]

I believe he will. 

[Guest]

I watched his interview with Wobby yesterday on Vikings.com and I already LOVE this guy.  At least his personality.  He doesn't consider his playing style "sexy" but believes that the Vikings got the "nastiest player in the draft".  He's got a bit of the Alex Boone vibe attitude to him.  At least with his mouth/personality.  I guess we'll see if it can translate to his play on the field.  That said, I think Kline is going to be better than most fans believe.  Last year he played in a scheme that didn't fit him at all and his play reflected it (One of PFF's worst rated G's for the year).  But, in 2017 he was one of PFF's top graded G's for the entire year.  The difference?  A change from a zone scheme to a power scheme in 2018.  The Vikings are running a zone scheme, which history shows, is right up Kline's alley and should give us hope.  I think Dru will need at least a year to beat Kline out as a starter.  But I also think we probably have a very good backup as he starts his career.  I think he's also going to give Elf a run for his money IF he moves to guard, while Bradbury takes over the starting C duties.  We should be excited for the possibilities this year on our line.  The cupboard has been restocked with some good potential talent at several positions.  If history holds course, we'll end up needing that depth as injuries start to mount up.  

[Guest]

@AIIBS

That's what I was thinking. Listened to PA yesterday talk about how athletic Elflein was and how great it was to now have great athletes like Brad, Elf and O'Niell playing next to each other. 

Elflein is not athletic at all. It could even be argued that he doesn't even fit very well in this scheme. He struggles getting to the 2nd level, he struggles with reach blocks. Last year he struggled big time in calling out blocking assignments. Bradbury will be a huge upgrade from Elflein in all three areas. 

The question then becomes who are the three best inside? And is Elflein even part of that? Is Collins an option?

I know there's more to it than just athleticism, but the most purely athletic line might be O'Neill, Collins, Brad, Samia and Udoh. 

[Guest]

Samia has yet to play a down and he's far from having earned a starting job, let alone a gold jacket, but it's shocking to me how much better this pick is than Willie fucking Beavers was in the same round 3 years ago.

What the hell were we thinking then? Who was it that lobbied for him? I think it might've been the OL coach who told Rick he "dents people." What the hell does that even mean? PFF ranked him dead last among 70 guard prospects and then he got his ass kicked in the Senior Bowl. Oh let's take HIM! 

[Guest]

@MaroonBells said:
@AIIBS

That's what I was thinking. Listened to PA yesterday talk about how athletic Elflein was and how great it was to now have great athletes like Brad, Elf and O'Niell playing next to each other. 

Elflein is not athletic at all. It could even be argued that he doesn't even fit very well in this scheme. He struggles getting to the 2nd level, he struggles with reach blocks. Last year he struggled big time in calling out blocking assignments. Bradbury will be a huge upgrade from Elflein in all three areas. 

The question then becomes who are the three best inside? And is Elflein even part of that? Is Collins an option?

I know there's more to it than just athleticism, but the most purely athletic line might be O'Neill, Collins, Brad, Samia and Udoh. 

I know you're not a fan of Elflein, Maroon...  but he can get out in space and lay down blocks.  It's not pretty, but he if he can find his landmark, he gets the job done. 

Here he is laying down a block on a screen pass that busts this wide open for McKinnon.



I do agree though that he's probably not an ideal fit in an outside ZBS.  It'll be interesting to see how things shake out.  Initially, we all expected Elfelin and Kline to be our LG and RG.  Maybe it'll be Collins (LG) and Samia (RG)?

The best part is we will have an actual competition at those spots and our depth should be capable starters instead of below average players like Compton and company.

[Guest]

@Wetlander said:

@MaroonBells said:
@AIIBS

That's what I was thinking. Listened to PA yesterday talk about how athletic Elflein was and how great it was to now have great athletes like Brad, Elf and O'Niell playing next to each other. 

Elflein is not athletic at all. It could even be argued that he doesn't even fit very well in this scheme. He struggles getting to the 2nd level, he struggles with reach blocks. Last year he struggled big time in calling out blocking assignments. Bradbury will be a huge upgrade from Elflein in all three areas. 

The question then becomes who are the three best inside? And is Elflein even part of that? Is Collins an option?

I know there's more to it than just athleticism, but the most purely athletic line might be O'Neill, Collins, Brad, Samia and Udoh. 

I know you're not a fan of Elflein, Maroon...  but he can get out in space and lay down blocks.  It's not pretty, but he if he can find his landmark, he gets the job done. 

Here he is laying down a block on a screen pass that busts this wide open for McKinnon.



I do agree though that he's probably not an ideal fit in an outside ZBS.  It'll be interesting to see how things shake out.  Initially, we all expected Elfelin and Kline to be our LG and RG.  Maybe it'll be Collins (LG) and Samia (RG)?

The best part is we will have an actual competition at those spots and our depth should be capable starters instead of below average players like Compton and company.

i think the larger point may be that Elf is not healthy. he sucked last year. wtf happened to the rookie year elf?  

Elf is a starter today, prolly at LG.  lets hope the 2017 elf shows up there

[Guest]

Need to keep in mind that the line as a whole was a mess last year,  flippers shit mess of an offense certainly couldn't have made the centers job very easy if it was as screwed up as it has been reported. 

[Guest]

The exciting thing for me is that Dru has a higher Floor AND a higher Ceiling than Isadora.

Think about the nterior depth now. Jones is a League Average Center who was completely mishandled by the doofuses that replaced Tony. Kubiak and Dennison doubtlessly had a hand in him coming back as I'm sure they see that he still has value. And a Veteran presence for the young guys. That’s a luxury to have as a backup that most teams don't have. And Edison may develop.

Elf has Samia and a hopefully healthy Collins to push him. Kline also has Samia to push him. I see no spot for Izzy on this team now.

To me there are now 3 keys and they're all at Tackle. Can Reiff stay healthy? Can Gary & Rick coach up Hill to be a better replacement when Riley inevitably gets hurt?  Could Udoh step in on a short-term basis at RT if needed this year?

If the answer is yes to any two of the three questions things are finally looking up on the O-Line.