DT Sharrif Floyd

[mondry]

Sure he can learn while hes playing he should be starting DAY 1 next to Kevin Williams, nothing teaches you more than playing, he isnt a quarterback, I expect him to be starting day 1 on the other side of K will, along with Xavier on the other side of Cook.

That does make sense, I"m just not sure how well K.will can play Nose tackle, if he can better than the other options I don't see why not.

[Mothman]

That does make sense, I"m just not sure how well K.will can play Nose tackle, if he can better than the other options I don't see why not.

Technically, in this system, neither one of them needs to be a nose tackle.

[Mercy Percy]

Floyd even said he can bulk up another 20 or 30 lbs, but played light in Florida so he could play DE, and other spots on the Line.

[NextQuestion]

Do you mean they aren't the only thing that matters?

No, Cook gets excused because he's a Vikings player and even if he has zero career INTs he'll be a legend in rube's eyes. I am shocked John Carlson isn't a god to the Vikings fans.

[Purple Domination]

Yeah, just like the guys talking about Cook's interceptions people will talk about sacks as the only thing that matters for a defensive lineman.

I hear what you're saying about the double teams. And I am certainly not suggesting that sacks are the only thing that matters for a defensive lineman. But you've got to admit that 4.5 sacks cumulative for two collegiate seasons is low, especially for a guy labeled as a pass rusher. I haven't seen many of his games, but by looking at his stats I figured he was more of a run stopper.

[mondry]

I haven't seen many of his games

Ah, well that explains it, you really gotta see the guy play to get a good grasp on his potential. One thing I will say is that florida moved him around a bit, he was even playing light at defensive end. He was good but the overall result / conclusion is that he's not a "tweener" but best suited for the 3 technique. (or kevin williams position) That's where he settled in and played for 2012 and if you look at the stats separately you'll see he did better in that role.

2011 - 19 solo tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks
2012 - 29 solo tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks

His TFL (tackles for loss) went up and that means he's getting penetration into the backfield even he isn't getting home to the QB. The scouts like what they saw on film in that 3 technique spot.

[Purple Domination]

Good stuff. Thanks for providing some color, Mondry.

[mondry]

Technically, in this system, neither one of them needs to be a nose tackle.

Ah, nice, that's good then.

[PurpleKoolaid]

Do you mean they aren't the only thing that matters?

Yeah INTs are meaningless. Well for the Vikes. At least until Smith showed up and now the DBs all look a bit better. But yeah, forget INTs, meaningless stat.

[Mothman]

No, Cook gets excused because he's a Vikings player and even if he has zero career INTs he'll be a legend in rube's eyes. I am shocked John Carlson isn't a god to the Vikings fans.

I was responding to the comment about sacks...

... and I was joking.

[losperros]

Floyd is going to benefit from playing in one spot, and if the Vikes are smart about bringing him along they'll allow him to learn and play behind Kevin Williams while getting him some snaps in obvious pass rushing situations where they can pair the two up. When Floyd was in college he was moved all over the defensive line. The fact that he remained disruptive and effective doing that is a testament to the guy's athleticism, but I have no doubt that focusing him on a particular position is going to pay big if he's allowed to develop, and given the composition of the defensive line right now, he should be able to do that.

Since I'm a big Florida Gators fan, I saw almost all of Floyd's college games. You're right about him being moved around the DL and he was disruptive from any position. The thing about Floyd is that he's not always the guy that sacks the QB or brings down the RB, but he's usually the guy that sets up the play. The key to Floyd's college game was that he made the opponent's offensive backfield a nightmare, throwing off their timing and breaking up plays.

I think Floyd can play behind K-Will or right next to him and be effective. But the guy is a rookie, so I agree with you that he has to be developed. Seems to me that the Vikings probably drafted Floyd to be K-Will's successor. If that's the case, then yeah, the team needs to focus him on that task.

[King James]

Since I'm a big Florida Gators fan, I saw almost all of Floyd's college games. You're right about him being moved around the DL and he was disruptive from any position. The thing about Floyd is that he's not always the guy that sacks the QB or brings down the RB, but he's usually the guy that sets up the play. The key to Floyd's college game was that he made the opponent's offensive backfield a nightmare, throwing off their timing and breaking up plays.

I think Floyd can play behind K-Will or right next to him and be effective. But the guy is a rookie, so I agree with you that he has to be developed. Seems to me that the Vikings probably drafted Floyd to be K-Will's successor. If that's the case, then yeah, the team needs to focus him on that task.

I agree. I also think Floyd was brought in to replace Williams next season. He will either play back-up or play next to him for a season. I think he'll start at the nose this year and probably rotate to Williams spot when he gets fatigued and then move to Williams spot permanently next season.

[Purple Domination]

The thing about Floyd is that he's not always the guy that sacks the QB or brings down the RB, but he's usually the guy that sets up the play.

Is that because his arms are too short?? Only kidding

[mansquatch]

I think Floyd has potential to be a steal where we got him. Time will tell, but I love this kind of DT talent. With luck it will make up for taking Derrick Alexander ahead of Sapp all those years ago.

I'm really wondering if the run of OL in this draft was as much about GM's playing it safe in the 1st round as it was about Talent disparity. Whatever the reason, at this point it looks like it played well what the Vikes wanted to do.

Time will ultimately tell.

[mondry]

I think Floyd has potential to be a steal where we got him. Time will tell, but I love this kind of DT talent. With luck it will make up for taking Derrick Alexander ahead of Sapp all those years ago.

I'm really wondering if the run of OL in this draft was as much about GM's playing it safe in the 1st round as it was about Talent disparity. Whatever the reason, at this point it looks like it played well what the Vikes wanted to do.

Time will ultimately tell.

I really just think a LOT of teams legitimately had massive needs on the OL and when it really comes down to it, nothing really stops your offense in it's tracks more than not being able to protect the QB. You can't even evaluate your offensive scheme if you can't keep the QB upright. Let's take a look at the picks and how many sacks their team gave up last year.

Chiefs #1 - Eric Fisher OT - 40 Sacks sacks given up
Jaguars #2 - Luck Joekel OT - 50 Sacks sacks given up
Eagles #4 - Lane Johnson OT - 48 sacks sacks given up
Cardinals #7 - Jonathan Cooper OG - 58 sacks given up
Titans #10 - Chance Warmack OG - 39 sacks given up
Chargers #11 - DJ Fluker OT - 49 sacks given up

Then we went a "whopping" 8 picks (too much talent to pass up) without an O-lineman

Giants # 19 - Justin Pugh OT - 20 sacks given up (best in the league, why the reach? Did they lose someone in FA?)
Bears # 20 - Kyle Long OG - 44 sacks given up

As you can see almost all of those teams gave up 40+ sacks last year and almost all of them had mediocre to awful offenses in which giving up pressure played a major role. If you wonder how they compare, the Cardinals were the absolute worst at 58 sacks and all of them are in the top 15 (not the giants who gave up the least) for most sacks given up, the titans were the best of this bad bunch at 12th worst.

I think a lot of the GM's for those teams simply went in early saying "we HAVE to improve the o-line at all costs." Then when O-lineman after O-lineman kept coming off the board most of them realized they weren't going to able to wait until round 2 to do it which just further extended the run on them. Let's say for example you're the Chargers GM and your team just gave up 49 sacks (4th worst) it's pick #11 and 5 lineman already went ahead of you! Yikes!