Has Minnesota Found Their Solution at Guard?
K. Joudry
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Vikings fans, by and large, expect failure from the big dudes up front. Consistent incompetence from the offensive line will do that to a fan base.
After the opening week, we again bought into the “Here-We-Go-Again” mentality, and for good reason. Every one of our o-linemen struggled. Perhaps most discouraging was that their errors were mostly of the mental variety. The false starts, holds, and unnecessary roughness penalties consistently put our offense behind the sticks. Here we go again, indeed.
Last week was different. No one was more surprised than me. I was among those prophesying about how Chandler Jones would be doubling his already gaudy 5-sack season total as J.J Watt similarly wreaked havoc. In fairness, Jones did get a sack and accumulate several pressures. Even still, it was a good day for the Vikings’ OL. Lil’Kub gave the OL a fair amount of help by calling more run plays and by ensuring Kirk got the ball out quickly, but that shouldn’t nullify what was a good day up front.
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A large part of their success last Sunday was because of the improved play at LG and RG. In Ezra Cleveland and Oli Udoh, the Vikings may have found some solutions for their iOL.
Currently, both Cleveland and Udoh are ranking as tier-1 guards in PFF‘s rankings. Cleveland is 10th overall and Udoh is 28th out of 69. Cleveland is even playing as a high-end option. His 74.5 run blocking grade is particularly impressive. We’re currently pretty far from Dakota Dozier – Dru Samia territory, folks.
If Darrisaw can come back and become the LT we’re all hoping he’ll be, Minnesota will be well-positioned to make meaningful progress along the offensive line. Garrett Bradbury is approaching bust status, but the left and right sides give us reason for optimism. An O’Neill-Udoh right side offers both ruggedness and athleticism. A Darrisaw-Cleveland left side offers upside in both the run game and with screens. There’s potential here, folks.
Of course, it’s still too early to get into really definitive conclusions. The Seattle game is of crucial importance; our offense usually struggles against their defense. If we can take another step forward in the trenches, perhaps we’ll finally arrive at a different outcome against Seattle.