O-Line Coach Dennison Is Most Valuable New Viking
Mikegreitzer
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With the greatest weakness of the 2018 Minnesota Vikings easily being their offensive line, was the Viking’s’ new OL coach and “run game coordinator”, Rick Dennison, the most vital hire of all?
A few months ago, Vikings’ second year right tackle Brain O’Neill was being interviewed on the TCO Performance Center sidelines as Vikings’ OTAs were coming to a close.
O’Neill, running with sweat and clearly exhausted, fielded a question about the status of the Minnesota offensive line. “These coaches really have their foot on the gas”, O’Neill said, still trying to catch his full breath, “they really want you to get good fast.”
For O’Neill, “getting good fast” may mean several things similar to what may be being said to rookies Garrett Bradbury, Dru Samia and Irv Smith, Jr., things about technique and execution, explosion, hand placement, etc. They may be altogether different than the things that O’Neill’s coach, new offensive line coach Rick Dennison, might be saying to veterans Riley Reiff, Josh Kline, or even third-year guard/center Pat Elflein.
Does it matter? “Getting good now” is the whole idea. If O’Neill did not improve, if this Viking offensive line did not improve–and I mean dramatically–they will be watching the Chicago Bears easily retake the NFC North division in 2019.
What Makes A Good Offensive Line?
Listening to a podcast devoted to the Minnesota Vikings a few weeks ago, I was interested to hear the host speak at length about Vikings’ “run game failures” of 2018.
Subjectivity plays a factor when examining failure. Was it the wrong run-to-pass ratio? Inept play-calling? Or was it just a lack of talent in the players and coaches?
There are facts to support both of these two arguments. In regard to bad play calling and design, you can look at 2018 game situations where rushing opportunities became limited, mostly in the dreaded “third and long”, “long” meaning usually over six yards.
But in accepting that argument, you have to accept that the Vikings also relied on their pass game too much in third-and-medium (4-5 yards) and third-and short (1-3 yards). They did so because their run game was awful and they lost confidence in it earlyquickly in the season.
In 2018, Minnesota rushed the ball 146 times less than in 2017, when the Vikings were the tenth rated NFL offense with a 21st ranked passing offense and a second ranked offense with a lowly 3.9 per carry rushing average. Yes–3.9 yards per carry.
Pat Shurmer, the Vikings’ offensive coordinator in 2017, saw something in consistently running the ball that his replacement did not.
Tough Times
When Tony Sparano died suddenly in July of 2018, he was replaced by tight ends coach Clancy Barone and OL assistant Andrew Janocko. Meanwhile, starting guard Nick Easton was declared out for the season and second year center Pat Elflein, the nucleus of the group, was recovering from surgery on both shoulders.
It certainly was another case of tragic bad luck for the Vikings, and their record from 2017 (13-3), to 2018 (8-7-1), told the tale.
It was clear that offensive coordinator John DeFilippo believed that the Minnesota passing game would compensate for a poor ground game, and it was his design to put out an offense that would pass to set up the run. Not a bad idea, but one that turned out to be both wrong and wrong-headed.
One, it did not work, and two, it put him at odds with his boss, Mike Zimmer, who eventually fired him.
Rick Dennison, working with the 2015 Super Bowl Champion Broncos. (Steve Nehf)
The Tools And The Talent
If we are delivering on the latter point, that talent is the key here in fixing the offensive line, then we must return to an exhausted Brian O’Neill and his quote, “they want you to get good fast.”
This tells me that Rick Dennison, the “run game coordinator”, was, overall, the best choice to add to the 2019 Minnesota Vikings.
With a defense that ranked number one in the league, The Vikings came a game from Super Bowl 52 with a team that featured backups art quarterback and running back.
Let that sink in. Another thing that should surface is the 2015 Denver Broncos, who decided to interrupt Tom Brady’s second series of Super Bowls with a crown of their own. Head coach Gary Kubiak and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison churned out a championship season without a Pro Bowler on the offensive line or in the offensive backfield.
Anyone who takes the time to watch some practice video of the Minnesota offensive line is not going to miss Dennison right in the thick of it, watching his players execute, make contact and finish through each play. If Brian O’Neill was–and is–getting an “accelerated” experience, all members of the line are.
Talent? I’ll match up this Viking squad with the 2015 Broncos. The defensive coordinator of that team was Wade Phillips, no more of a cunning tactician than Minnesota’s Mike Zimmer. The Broncos rode their defense into–and through–the 2015 playoffs with an aggressive mindset and a sense of urgency.
That’s what “getting good fast” means to Dennison. Winning the damn thing, just like Denver did a few years ago.
It’s the reason he and Gary Kubiak are here–to put their foot on the gas.