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There's a lot of talk about how Spielman has consistently whiffed at the QB position, but most of us are ignoring another critical selection of his -- the "franchise left tackle." Kalil was taken in the top four of the NFL draft. When you take an offensive lineman at one of those spots, you better hit on a real star. So far, I think his productivity has been less than stellar, to say the least, and if anything he regressed in the past year.

I realize that our QB situation is dire and our D is terrible, but let us not forget that the most important unit on a football team is arguably the offensive line, and right now, this is not exactly a team strength. If we are going to build a contender -- and I mean a contender for the World Championship, not just for that elusive division title in a mediocre division -- we're going to need upgrades on the OL and I mean major upgrades. Hopefully, Spielman will address this area either during free agency or through the draft.

Not going to happen. Retaining Jeff Davidson as offensive line coach spoke volumes about how satisfied the Vikings are with their offensive line.

They'll most likely draft a guard or sign a free agent fill in Charlie Johnson's spot, but I don't expect any other changes beyond maybe a shuffling of backups.

Kalil was a mystery at the beginning of last season. It seemed to me that he had been lazy in the off-season and started the season lazily, slow and underprepared. He got his rhythm and conditioning back by mid-season, but it is not a good sign that he seemed so complacent (or at least average) at to start the season.

Kalil will be just fine and we will be a better team for having him.

Kalil was a big let down for me, even though he got a good grade, last season. But Loadfat is a much bigger problem. Why Rickie extended his contract is beyond me. I know good OT are hard to find, but Phil isn't too good. AD doesn't need much of a lane to run through, Loadfat just needs to fall forward.

Texas Vike wrote:Kalil was a mystery at the beginning of last season. It seemed to me that he had been lazy in the off-season and started the season lazily, slow and underprepared. He got his rhythm and conditioning back by mid-season, but it is not a good sign that he seemed so complacent (or at least average) at to start the season.

I seem to recall a fair number of media reports during last off season about how hard Kalil was hitting it in the weight room, determined to come into camp 10 or 15 pounds heavier and not struggle to keep his weight up during the season. So I'm not sure that a lack of preparation had much to do with his performance. Maybe with his style of play he needs to play at closer to 300 lbs, although that would be unusually light for a 6'7" offensive tackle in today's league.

There's no question that this is going to be a critical season for Kalil, but let's face it, however the season goes, he's going to be the Vikings LT for years to come. Whether he's going to be a long term Pro Bowler, or if he's going to turn out to be just an adequate lineman is the question.

PurpleKoolaid wrote:Kalil was a big let down for me, even though he got a good grade, last season. But Loadfat is a much bigger problem. Why Rickie extended his contract is beyond me. I know good OT are hard to find, but Phil isn't too good. AD doesn't need much of a lane to run through, Loadfat just needs to fall forward.

That's seriously your take? You think AD pleaded w/ management to resign Phil just because he's buds w/ him? The guy is a mauler in run blocking. He needs work in pass protection.

Eli wrote: I seem to recall a fair number of media reports during last off season about how hard Kalil was hitting it in the weight room, determined to come into camp 10 or 15 pounds heavier and not struggle to keep his weight up during the season. So I'm not sure that a lack of preparation had much to do with his performance. Maybe with his style of play he needs to play at closer to 300 lbs, although that would be unusually light for a 6'7" offensive tackle in today's league.

There's no question that this is going to be a critical season for Kalil, but let's face it, however the season goes, he's going to be the Vikings LT for years to come. Whether he's going to be a long term Pro Bowler, or if he's going to turn out to be just an adequate lineman is the question.

That's right. Forgot about that. I'd imagined him as overly content w/ his life and laying around getting fat and unfocused. It was speculation on my part based on his slow start--he seemed unmotivated to begin the year.

Texas Vike wrote: That's seriously your take? You think AD pleaded w/ management to resign Phil just because he's buds w/ him? The guy is a mauler in run blocking. He needs work in pass protection.

No, I mean I don't think Phil was even that good of a run blocker. He leaned forward, feel down, and that's all AD needed to get through. Quite frankly I don't think any linemen we have are good run blockers. But then most linemen don't see the numbers in the box, nor the amount of run blitzes, that the Vikings see. My point was, Loadfat isn't a good run block and is horrible at pass protection. But he has one fat contract thanks to Rickie.

Pro Football Focus graded Loadholt very well, he was their All Pro at right tackle this season. I understand some don't value PFF as a evaluation service, which is fine. I just feel film is the best way to evaluate a player. Supported what I saw on the field. Loadholt is a dominant run blocker. His pass protection has improved, and could still use some work, but not nearly as bad as some folks think. It's a good tale though, helps support the anti-Spielman fad.

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frosted21 wrote:Pro Football Focus graded Loadholt very well, he was their All Pro at right tackle this season. I understand some don't value PFF as a evaluation service, which is fine. I just feel film is the best way to evaluate a player. Supported what I saw on the field. Loadholt is a dominant run blocker. His pass protection has improved, and could still use some work, but not nearly as bad as some folks think. It's a good tale though, helps support the anti-Spielman fad.

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Speaking personally, I wouldn't call Spielman bad at his job, but one wonders if he is good enough to turn this team into a contender. Kalil, for example, is a legit NFL player, but he doesn't appear to be as good as he would have needed to be to justify such a high draft choice. Last year, he didn't even play like one of the better left tackles in the league. As for Loadholt, I put him in the middle of the pack -- stout in run support, but not so good in pass protection. I think even less of the guard play than of the tackle play.

Texas Vike wrote: That's seriously your take? You think AD pleaded w/ management to resign Phil just because he's buds w/ him? The guy is a mauler in run blocking. He needs work in pass protection.

That in a nutshell sums up Loadholt for me.

80 PurplePride 84 wrote:The only thing we need on the OL is a LG.

Sullivan is a Top 5 C.
Kalil is a franchise LT even though he struggled a bit last year.
Fusco is solid and arguably was our best lineman last year and
Loadholt while frustrating at times in pass protection is a mauler in the run game.

We could use some depth too but DB, MLB, SLB, DT and QB are much bigger needs. DE may even become one if we lose Griffen.

Wow our Oline is that good, yet AD didn't have an AD type year, and when Ponder and Cassel wearnt getting balls batted down they were running for their lives. Trust me, it wasnt all Charlies fault.

PurpleKoolaid wrote: Wow our Oline is that good, yet AD didn't have an AD type year, and when Ponder and Cassel wearnt getting balls batted down they were running for their lives. Trust me, it wasnt all Charlies fault.

Maybe it was AP's fault? He was nursing some injuries most of the season. There were commentators during some of the games where they stated that 2012 AP would have made a 20 yard run 50 yarder, but his injuries were holding him back.

I'm sure that wasn't the only issue, given it is a team sport and all of that...

I think Kalil's injury played a bigger role than some think. He did improve as the season went on and also had a strong rookie year. I wouldn't write him off just yet.