Minnesota Sports Forum

I have never seen someone look so great and then totally shit the bed.

Every Viking fan is asking the same question. I'll say this he plays a VERY tough position that lines up against the top pass rushers all game. He also plays next to the guy thats largely accepted as the weakest player on the line before the Fusco injury in Charlie Johnson. I'm not saying Kalil hasn't struggled at times becasue he has, but I think there are alot of plays he does just fine and its a few plays that really make him look bad including some false starts. In addition all the Minny QBs have Pondered themselves into sacks where Kalil was blocking ok and moved to the wrong part of the pocket and ran into the sack. Ponder is the mater of that skill.

I hope Kalil can become more consistent, but the people that want him just cut or replaced need to calm down I don't anyone is gonna actually do alot better. Thats a position teams value highly for a reason. The whole line has kinda sucked and honestly it was amazing how they were able to perform as have decent as they did with Sully and Ducasse out. Berger and Smith are pretty solid depth guys but yeah. Really one of the questions I've been asking is whats up with the offensive line they underachieved as a group last year I thought and they were doing that this season BEFORE Fusco got hurt. I don't want to make too many excuses for Kalil, but I do think his strong play his rookie year is making him look worse than he is because we expect him to be good and it would come in handy helping the QB stay upright. Maybe next offseason he needs to go train with Morris like Birk did. =)

To cheer us up lets talk about a bright spot Jerick McKinnon. He put up his first 100 yard game on what was the top rushing defense in the entire league before this week (some credit needs to go to the Vikings o-line) but man he looks the part of a pretty good NFL RB. He has speed can make guys miss has neough power to break tackles and get some extra yards. Pairing him with a big back for short yardage might be good, but I'm pretty impressed with him and I believe he was selected with the pick we got from the Harvin trade which looks more and more like a genius move all the time.

I am going on what Mike Morris said on Kfan, after his rookie year there was film on him and apparently Kalil likes to lean forward when he is pass blocking, something he has always done. Coaches have told him and have tried to fix this but apparently Kalil does not feel comfortable in this new stance, and he reverts back to old habits when in games, and now DE, which some are elite in their own right have learned how to beat him. This is the thing that hurts the most because I don't want to use another early first on a LT, but it might have to happen.

Kalil has made some glaring mistakes this year and last, but he is still by far the best option we have at left tackle. But it's one of the most important positions, especially with a rookie QB, so he needs to be more consistent. It's difficult to focus too much on Kalil when I want to see how McKinnon and Bridgewater are doing, but I sense that he is getting somewhat of a bad rap. Yes, he needs to improve, but he's not the devil many fans are depicting him as.

I was also surprised how well the offensive line performed with so many injuries, especially against such a highly rated defensive line. McKinnon seemed to have some room to run, and although his was rushed several times, Teddy had more time than he did against the Lions.

Entertaining game, with a tragic result. Rhodes was right on his man on that 4th and 20, but you have to tip your cap to the Bills for a great play.

I want to keep him. But he looked like a perennial all pro and the anchor of our line. I assume he has been resting on his laurels. Whether it is technique or scheme or whatever, his mistakes have been glaringly bad. The way he got burned yesterday was depressing. For me it was hard to not notice Kalil when I wanted to watch Bridgewater and McKinnon because of the bad penalties and absolutely getting burned in key situations.

kekgeek1 wrote:I am going on what Mike Morris said on Kfan, after his rookie year there was film on him and apparently Kalil likes to lean forward when he is pass blocking, something he has always done. Coaches have told him and have tried to fix this but apparently Kalil does not feel comfortable in this new stance, and he reverts back to old habits when in games, and now DE, which some are elite in their own right have learned how to beat him. This is the thing that hurts the most because I don't want to use another early first on a LT, but it might have to happen.

Interesting thanks for that info. Here is a little writeup from PFF on Kalil after the KC preseason game with 3 video clips.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/08/24/tamba-hali-vs-matt-kalil-in-focus/