Once in Nineteen...

[mansquatch]

We'll have to agree to disagree on that because I think the OL was deficient at 4 of the 5 spots this season. The only OL I would say played to potential this year was O'Neill. Bradbury needs time. He has potential and I think he can get there, but he was abused a lot this year. The other 3 spots were all over the map. They had some really solid games, but seemed incapable of dealing with more talented defensive fronts.

I think it's unrealistic for Spielman to completely fix the OL this offseason, but he needs to try. The Vikings have some promising younger players on the roster that could develop, and if they get lucky and a guy like Udoh is ready for next season, it might not be an impossible task to get it fixed this offseason.

I said this in another thread, but I believe 4 of the 5 spots are already set for next year. They will likely try to fix LG, but even there I am concerned. Dennison and co seemed to really like how Elf developed during the season...

You know in retrospect they struggled in both games vs. CHI, the playoff game vs. SF, and the games vs. GB last season. They did the job in NO in the playoffs. There are different circumstances in all of those games that have been gone over. In short, it wasn't just the OL by itself.

With regards to the 49ers, everyone struggled against that unit, it wasn't just us. KC struggled against them last night. Basically their DL won the game for 50 minutes. Then either they got tired or the DC called something different, but the last half of the Q4 was a disaster. This is typical with pass rushes... they get tired.

Also, very reasonable to expect that O'neil, Bradbury, and even Elfline will improve next season. Consider that for O'Neil this is his 3rd season, 3rd OC, and 2nd system. For Elf it is his 4th season, 4th OC, and 3rd offensive system! Bradbury is lucky, he has only had one system. Do not underestimate the impact the lack of coaching continuity has had on the performance of this unit.