Vikings Offensive Line Battle About Finding Right Fit
MANKATO, Minn. (WCCO) – No quarterback in the NFL was pressured more often than Teddy Bridgewater last season – nearly half of his pass attempts. So go figure upgrading the offensive line was the Vikings' biggest priority this offseason.
They fired their offensive line coach and brought in a new one, along with a whole slew of new players. Now here in camp, it's all about finding the right starting five.
"Yes, as soon as possible, but it may be this week, it may be next week , I don't know," said head coach Mike Zimmer. "We still have some combinations we want to look at."
Through two days of camp, Zimmer has already been tinkering with those combinations. Zimmer said before camp that probably only guard Alex Boone had a starting job locked up, and it appears he's sticking to that.
"Boone brings a ton of aggression. [Tackle] Andre [Smith's] very athletic," said center John Sullivan. "They've both been starters, Pro Bowlers I think, All Pros. Obviously you want to add guys like that to the room. It's going to help us be better."
Especially after right tackle Phil Loadholt retired and guard Mike Harris landed on the non-football illness list, which thinned out the competition a little bit. But Sullivan, the elder statesman of the group, is confident all the revamping will lead to better results.
"As long as it's an adjustment that moves us in the right direction it's great. And we're used to that," Sullivan said. "It's not like I've been here with one head coach my entire time and this is the first change of position coaches we've had. We've had turnover here in the past."
It's the biggest storyline in training camp for a reason.
