In August, it was a great time to be a follower of the Minnesota Vikings. Mike Zimmer brought a new style of coaching to the team and they responded with an undefeated preseason. Never mind that the games didn’t matter, Zimmer needed to wipe the taste out of everybody’s mouth after a 5-10-1 season that brought frustration throughout the organization.
Fast forward a couple months later and that optimism has vanished. With back-to-back losses to division rivals Green Bay and Detroit, the Vikings find themselves with many holes throughout the roster. The perception that the offense was going to be the strength of this team has vanished and the team is looking for answers.
Of course, you could blame that on the offensive line.
The offensive line was brutal once again as the Lions heralded defensive front blew past them for eight sacks on Sunday afternoon. The latest in a line of lackluster performances brought their season sack total to 22, the second-most in the league behind the Jacksonville Jaguars (27).
“They kicked our butt.” Said an agitated Mike Zimmer after the game. “We didn’t protect the quarterback, we didn’t block guys and until we figure out that this game is about blocking, tackling and catching the ball…we’re going to have more results like this.”
While many Vikings had their issues on Sunday, his comments seemed to veer towards the performance of the first line of defense for Teddy Bridgewater.
Since the beginning of the season, the ire of the fan base has been thrown at Matt Kalil, who grades out as worst tackle (left or right) in the league according to Pro Football Focus. Even if Zimmer doesn’t believe in those grades, the tape shows that not only is Kalil getting beaten like a tied up goat, but the rest of the line as well.
Phil Loadholt hasn’t been as dominant as in years past opening the running game and Charlie Johnson continues to prove himself to be a replacement-level talent. While the interior has lost Brandon Fusco, John Sullivan and Vladimir Ducasse are having issues keeping opposing run stuffers at bay.
These issues have resulted into a four way free-for-all toward the quarterback since the season began and might have been a key reason why Matt Cassel is out for the season after the New Orleans Saints turned his foot into a flesh-covered hacky sack.
This regression comes as a shock to everybody involved. Nobody was talking about the offensive line as a weakness back in August and general manager Rick Spielman spent a ton of money making sure that the unit could stay together. The result is a group of underachievers locked in until Kalil becomes a free-agent after the 2015 season (if the Vikings decline a fifth-year option for 2016).
Zimmer seems to believe that the issue at hand is a lack of motivation and professionalism. The rookie head coach revealed during his presser that he fined several players for tardiness during the week and would be turning those fines up a notch after this performance.
This suggests that the players may simply be banking on their reputation of past of Pro Bowl appearances and high draft selections rather than focusing on the present. It’s an issue that could have been left over from the Leslie Frazier era where the inmates were running the asylum.
“I’m not going to let them slide.” Zimmer grumbled. “It’s not that hard of a game. You block. You catch the ball. You throw the ball…we’ve got to do those things, and hopefully they’re disappointed, because I’m extremely disappointed…Until we stop beating ourselves we won’t beat anybody.”
For the sake of the season and not turning Bridgewater into David Carr, the offensive line needs to see things the same way their coach does.
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Chris Schad contributes to 105 The Ticket and has had his work featured on the Bleacher Report and Yahoo Contributor Network. He serves as the Vikings Lead Writerfor Pro Football Spot. Find him on Twitter @crishad. |