The offensive line, no longer offensive

[dukes]

What the experts do not seem to understand, is the Viking offense will be better in2017 simply by the change of philosophy. The biggest reason, as good as Peterson was, there will no longer be a nine man-front on the line doing a simple run blitz to quarterback. Now, defensives have to cover the whole field ,not just Peterson.
With that being said, all the tackles have to do is give Bradford 1 second longer to execute the play.  Reiff and Remmers will be able to give that 1 second with no 9-man front. Plus, the Vikings will not be telegraphing their plays the way they did with Peterson.


This is going to be the year we have been waiting for our entire lives.

[Guest]

I think it will be really, really  interesting to see how Shurmur uses all these pieces. Hoping the D can get back to 2015 form and the offense to around 24 pts a game avg. 

that should get this franchise to double-digits in the win column and a chance for a berth in a home-town SB. 

[Guest]

I want to believe the OLine is improved, but I want to see it on the field first before I believe it.  We did get 2 new right tackles, but they were largely not pursued by their former teams.   Berger is old as the hills, but like the Elfien pick.  Boone is largely unproven to me.  He looked very over-0matched last season at times.  He sure talked like an All-Pro, but his nasty streak seemed more confined to his comments to the press who dogged a bad OLine last year, as opposed to him truly taking charge on the field.

Prove it guys!

[Guest]

I think our OLine is going to play average, and people are going to wonder how all of our skill position players came out of nowhere at the same time.

[Guest]

I want to hope for the best with the new tackles but as Tom said lets wait and see the product on the field. I'm still thinking offensive linemen will be a pretty high priorty in next years draft.

[Guest]

@Purplemachine said:
I want to hope for the best with the new tackles but as Tom said lets wait and see the product on the field. I'm still thinking offensive linemen will be a pretty high priorty in next years draft.

Agree about next year's draft.  We must not have been in love with most of this year's top OL because a couple fell into the early second (Cam Robison and the goodball who carried his baby around like a load of bread)  and I don't think we even thought about moving up for one of them over Cook.  Then two top Tackles, who also played Guard/versatility went with the last two picks of the second round on other team move-ups - Dawkins and then Moton.

I have to admit I really wanted Dawkins and I really thought we would be grabbing at least 2 OT's and a Guard.  I was way off on what I thought we needed and what we did because I thought Easton looked fine at Center.  So even Elflein in the 3rd surprised me.  

After watching Kalil/Load the last few years and then the steaming pile all of last year it is clear that the demand far outmatched the supply of even decent Tackle play (both Left and Right).  The fact that Detroit made the inconsistent Taylor the highest paid RT was surprising to me.  Then what the Panthers paid for Kalil was shocking and we were actually looking at resigning him for decent money as well - which shows the lack of depth.  

We are still very thin at the Tackle positions.  Hill is a complete unknown, Sirles is a project that I think they are switching to Guard, Clemmings, yikes and darn if I know.  Sure Reiff and Remmers bring average to slightly above average play but we are going to really need both to stay healthy.  

[Guest]

One thing I noticed is the team went after OL, both in the draft & in free agency, who have a history of durability. Availabllity is a huge asset & shouldn't be overlooked.

[Guest]

I agree. The thing is who and when does Rick value a player enough to pull the trigger to select him. I thought we got some fine players this year to fill holes at a couple spots. But I think we really need to do a "Dallas" and pay serious attention to our o-line sooner rather than later.

[Guest]

@Kentis said:
One thing I noticed is the team went after OL, both in the draft & in free agency, who have a history of durability. Availabllity is a huge asset & shouldn't be overlooked.

Nice angle Kentis. I agree. And for us availability has been the biggest problem we have had. Never mind whether or not our OL have been worth a shit.... They weren't even on the field to find out!

[Guest]

I am also cautiously optimistic. Is there really a way that the O-line can do worse than they did last year??? My Lord that was baddddd...

I will say this--a lot of other teams had injuries to their lines this year and somehow managed to plug in guys to get the job done....Green Bay comes to mind....and so I'd say that if we still bomb out I have to be looking at Sparano. Marginal improvement is less than fine, and this guy needs to get the line we have to at least league average. Even that would be a vast improvement!