bleedspeed177 wrote:Good info. No interest in bringing Andre Smith back I would rather have Sirles or Kerin playing RT. I would be interested in trading for Staley.
If the Best the Vikings can do in FA is Andre Smith I would hope the contract they sign him to would have very little guaranteed money so if Sirles or some other guy beats him out they can cut him. I'd probably rather see what a young guy can do over him at this point.
Fusco is a guy I wonder if they let go. It looks like they can save over 3 million if they cut him. I assume he isn't playing great but I don't know how bad he has been this year. I wonder if there is any concern about his career from anyone with 2 concussions this season.
Kerin is purely an interior guy i would assume. He was a center in college.
The Vikings have a couple somewhat experienced options at RT in Sirles and Clemmings. I'm not suggesting they just roll with one of those guys espcially Clemmings. I am not ready to give up on Clemmings as a RT. It feels like the guy has been here for a while but he turned 25 a few weeks ago and has absolutely been thrown into the fire the last 2 years. He hasn't even played 2 full NFL seasons and if he was supposed to play his rookie year it was at RG not as a tackle. It can be hard to find Tackles so I guess It makes some sense to hold out hope. :p
Clemmings almost has to go in my opinion. He gets annihilated by basic outside speed rushes all the time. I don't know how experience or technique is going to makeup for that lack of athleticism. If we keep him it should be to transform him to a road grader interior guard for the running game where guys can't easily beat him with speed rushes. Otherwise he should go IMO. I don't see a path where he becomes a replacement level tackle in the passing game. We have Boone and Berger and hopefully Harris though who really knows. Everyone else should either be cut or fighting for reps and hopefully we either sign, draft or someone steps up into the open spots.
monsterpile wrote:Yep Clemmings is who he is less than 2 years into his NFL career most of this season playing probably the most challenging spot on the line.
What technique can he learn to get faster feet and not get beat on every speed rush to the outside? He's getting beat by basic rushing techniques. He's too slow of foot to play tackle. It's been the same story for 2 straight years. Keep believing the worst tackle in football is redeemable.
monsterpile wrote:Yep Clemmings is who he is less than 2 years into his NFL career most of this season playing probably the most challenging spot on the line.
What technique can he learn to get faster feet and not get beat on every speed rush to the outside? He's getting beat by basic rushing techniques. He's too slow of foot to play tackle. It's been the same story for 2 straight years. Keep believing the worst tackle in football is redeemable.
To explain a bit where I am coming from in keeping some optimism for Clemmings at tackle let's look at the olineman under contract for next year. The most sure thing might be Sirles as a RT which is um...not too good. After that it might be Clemmings. I can't assume Mike Harris will ever play football again. After that it's former practice squad players. So that's not giving Clemmings a vote of confidence but it also shows how badly the Vikings need Tackles. FA may not have all the answers and the draft might not bring a player ready to contribute either. The oline is a big problem and hopefully the Vikings can get some better players on the roster especially at the tackle spots. Until then I think having some hope Clemmings might be able to be a functional RT doesn't seem to crazy to me but I get he hasn't been all that good so far in his career.
Interestingly my GF sat next to Mike Harris's dad on a flight recently. He made it sound like he Mike Harris would be back next year and has spent most of the year around the team.
I still would have liked to see Boone play LT or RT. I am hoping he would be better then either of the guys we are starting now and it would be good to see if he can be an answer for the team there next year.
bleedspeed177 wrote:I still would have liked to see Boone play LT or RT. I am hoping he would be better then either of the guys we are starting now and it would be good to see if he can be an answer for the team there next year.
I'm not saying Boone as a tackle isn't worth considering but it seems like the Vikings don't think so. There was ample opportunity for that to happen this year and it didn't happen.
