Rookie Brian O’Neill becoming valuable part of Vikings’ O-line

[purplefaithful]

If the last few years have proven anything, it’s that injuries on the offensive line can bring down an entire season. But when the Minnesota Vikings have seen both tackles Riley Reiff and Rashod Hill go down at different times, rookie tackle Brian O’Neill has stepped in and performed admirably. O’Neill has also shown the high-end potential that impressed the Vikings on Draft Day.“He’s progressed an awful lot,” head coach Mike Zimmer said. “I thought he played pretty well yesterday. He battled, very smart, picked up a lot of the things that they were trying to do. He’s getting better all the time.”

The Vikings’ second-round pick from Pitt started his first game against Arizona in a 27-17 win and allowed just two pressures on Kirk Cousins. Previously he appeared at right tackle in relief against the Packers, Bills and Eagles. Overall he has not given up a sack, allowed three QB hits and seven pressures in 140 pass blocking snaps.
“He’s doing a really good job,” guard Mike Remmers said. “You can just see how much it means to him. He comes in every day early, staying late, asking questions and working out in the gym and he’s constantly working his technique and everything so he’s overall as a player has grown a lot.”
O’Neill has the highest run blocking grade on the Vikings from Pro Football Focus — though the Cardinals entered as one of the NFL’s worst run stopping teams.
After several solid performances, the question now is whether he should remain the starter at right tackle when Riley Reiff returns from a foot injury. The reason O’Neill didn’t win the starting job out of camp was that the Vikings saw him as a player who needed to continue to add strength and develop his technique against the bull rush.
No doubt opponents have attempted to plow into him — and sometimes with success — but his quick processing, blocking in space and athleticism might be too appealing to ignore, especially if he continues to make progress with his technique. A source told KSTP-TV’s Darren Wolfson that a decision has not been made on whether O’Neill or Rashod Hill will start when Reiff comes back.
Hill has given up four sacks and 21 total pressures in 225 pass blocking snaps between right and left tackle. While he struggled last year in the postseason, Hill largely played well when called upon to start, giving up just one sack in 323 pass snaps during the regular season.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/1...gs-o-line/

[Guest]

@"purplefaithful" said:
. A source told KSTP-TV’s Darren Wolfson that a decision has not been made on whether O’Neill or Rashod Hill will start when Reiff comes back.

Hill has given up four sacks and 21 total pressures in 225 pass blocking snaps between right and left tackle. While he struggled last year in the postseason, Hill largely played well when called upon to start, giving up just one sack in 323 pass snaps during the regular season.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/1...gs-o-line/

About time they start thinking this way. I hear all the bullshit about 'we are always looking to improve' and 'we want the best guys out there'. Prove it and start O'Neill. Is he still learning? Of course. But his aptitude and incremental improvement has surprised everyone, so let the kid start and in 3-4 games, he'll surpass Hill's ability consistently and there'll be no looking back. The more the kid plays, the better he gets. 

[Guest]

Yep, as predicted watching O'Neill play in preseason.  He will take over RT from Hill this season and never look back with Hill on the bench.  Then down the short road and Reiff's contract is up O'Neill has the ability to move to LT with those quick feet.

Elflein played much better last week so that is also a good sign for the interior because both our guards suck.  Would like to see some new blood in there as well.

[Guest]

So... our best OL this year are Reiff (a first round pick, I believe), Elf (high 3rd round) and O'Neill (2nd round).  Gee, I wonder if it's any coincidence that our best OL are the ones drafted higher?  We spend so much draft capital- every year- on the defense... and all it would take is ONE high draft pick (top 3 rounds) each year: and we'd have a good OL.  No, not every pick is going to work out- which is why you take one every year.  They won't all become stars... but we've got a better chance of protecting Cousins and opening holes for Cook if we invest a little more draft capital into our OL.

[Guest]

@"pumpf" said:
So... our best OL this year are Reiff (a first round pick, I believe), Elf (high 3rd round) and O'Neill (2nd round).  Gee, I wonder if it's any coincidence that our best OL are the ones drafted higher?  We spend so much draft capital- every year- on the defense... and all it would take is ONE high draft pick (top 3 rounds) each year: and we'd have a good OL.  No, not every pick is going to work out- which is why you take one every year.  They won't all become stars... but we've got a better chance of protecting Cousins and opening holes for Cook if we invest a little more draft capital into our OL.

Preach it. ^

[Guest]

@"pumpf" said:
So... our best OL this year are Reiff (a first round pick, I believe), Elf (high 3rd round) and O'Neill (2nd round).  Gee, I wonder if it's any coincidence that our best OL are the ones drafted higher?  We spend so much draft capital- every year- on the defense... and all it would take is ONE high draft pick (top 3 rounds) each year: and we'd have a good OL.  No, not every pick is going to work out- which is why you take one every year.  They won't all become stars... but we've got a better chance of protecting Cousins and opening holes for Cook if we invest a little more draft capital into our OL.

Well there was that one guy that is in Carolina now...

Not saying you are wrong, but that one didn't work out. 

[Guest]

@"StickyBun" said:

@"purplefaithful" said:
. A source told KSTP-TV’s Darren Wolfson that a decision has not been made on whether O’Neill or Rashod Hill will start when Reiff comes back.

Hill has given up four sacks and 21 total pressures in 225 pass blocking snaps between right and left tackle. While he struggled last year in the postseason, Hill largely played well when called upon to start, giving up just one sack in 323 pass snaps during the regular season.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/1...gs-o-line/

About time they start thinking this way. I hear all the bullshit about 'we are always looking to improve' and 'we want the best guys out there'. Prove it and start O'Neill. Is he still learning? Of course. But his aptitude and incremental improvement has surprised everyone, so let the kid start and in 3-4 games, he'll surpass Hill's ability consistently and there'll be no looking back. The more the kid plays, the better he gets. 

I doubt there's some sort of qAnon or illuminati reason why the team would start Hill over O'Neill. If they think O'Neill would be better, they'll start O'Neill. I think we all hope it's O'Neill because of his obvious upside and versatility as a downfield blocker or even a pass catcher, but let's not forget that whoever starts at RT, he has an intimate date with Cameron Jordan and his bull/swim move in 11 days. 

It's really good to hear about O'Neill's work ethic. That bodes well for his upside. 

[Guest]

'An offensive line nightmare'Brian Mihalik discovered Jordan's pass-rushing prowess in painful fashion last week.
Mihalik, the Detroit Lions' backup tackle, had been in the game for just seven plays as a replacement for injured right tackle Ricky Wagner, and he made a crucial mistake. Mihalik decided to sit back and wait, allowing Jordan to get a full 5 yards of steam going before he put both hands in the middle of Mihalik's chest and shoved him hard once, then twice, launching the 6-foot-9, 315-pound Mihalik into Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford.
"I'm an offensive lineman, and that is an offensive line nightmare," Saints left tackle Terron Armstead said, shaking his head and smiling. "I'm telling you, that is a bad dream."
Sacking a quarterback with his own offensive lineman is an unbelievable display of power. A successful bull rush typically ends with the defender disengaging to wrap up the passer; few are capable of using the blocker as a projectile.

[Guest]

@"greediron" said:

@"pumpf" said:
So... our best OL this year are Reiff (a first round pick, I believe), Elf (high 3rd round) and O'Neill (2nd round).  Gee, I wonder if it's any coincidence that our best OL are the ones drafted higher?  We spend so much draft capital- every year- on the defense... and all it would take is ONE high draft pick (top 3 rounds) each year: and we'd have a good OL.  No, not every pick is going to work out- which is why you take one every year.  They won't all become stars... but we've got a better chance of protecting Cousins and opening holes for Cook if we invest a little more draft capital into our OL.

Well there was that one guy that is in Carolina now...

Not saying you are wrong, but that one didn't work out. 

All the more reason to keep drafting them "high" each year.

[Guest]

now if we could get some competition between Compton and Isodora at LG. We could improve to league average in both pass and run. 

that would be enough to produce a top 5 offense with these weapons