More credit where it's due: Riley Reiff
Posted: Mon Dec 04, 2017 9:18 pm
Absolutely LOVE this article from ESPN Twin Cities.
Reiff has done an absolutely GREAT job for the Vikings. I don't know what it was in Detroit that caused him to be so average -- was it him, or was it the scheme or coaching? -- but he has played at a Pro Bowl level for us. Not only that, he is the undisputed leader of that offensive line, as the article indicates. Where would this team be if they had kept Matt Kalil? Oh my gosh, I can't even go there.
Just thought the big boy from Iowa deserved a little love. Glad you're a Viking, Riles!
Read the full article.Letting Matt Kalil walk was a game changer for Vikings
Over a long season, there is never one event or decision that can be credited or blamed with the year’s outcome, but if you were ranking reasons that the Minnesota Vikings’ season has gone much better this year than last, you would put the decision to sign Riley Reiff and let Matt Kalil leave in free agency at the top of the list.
Shortly after Kalil signed a five-year, $55.5 million contract with the Carolina Panthers, he made comments insinuating the Vikings’ offensive line coaches had not pushed him hard enough.
“(Matsko) is the first guy I’ve played for that kind of demands excellence from his offensive line room,” Kalil told the Charlotte Observer.
But that excellence hasn’t shown up on the field this year as Pro Football Focus ranks Kalil 44th of 56 qualifying tackles in pass blocking. They have graded him positively in just three of 13 games. Cam Newton has been sacked 28 times this season. In Carolina’s key matchup with the New Orleans Saints, the 2012 No. 4 overall pick committed two key penalties
Meanwhile Reiff just gave up his first sack of the season on Sunday against Atlanta (and head coach Mike Zimmer said Monday that the sack wasn’t entirely on Reiff). Case Keenum has been sacked just nine times total.
Reiff has done an absolutely GREAT job for the Vikings. I don't know what it was in Detroit that caused him to be so average -- was it him, or was it the scheme or coaching? -- but he has played at a Pro Bowl level for us. Not only that, he is the undisputed leader of that offensive line, as the article indicates. Where would this team be if they had kept Matt Kalil? Oh my gosh, I can't even go there.
Just thought the big boy from Iowa deserved a little love. Glad you're a Viking, Riles!