Vikings coach Brad Childress was asked this past winter how he would describe Anthony Herrera's performance in 2009. Childress said he thought the veteran right guard played "decent."

"But again, he was a post-surgical guy that really had a pretty good shoulder surgery [after the 2008 season] that he fought through," Childress said in March. Herrera, who heard criticism from fans and media last season, revealed Thursday after the Vikings OTA workout that his recovery from that shoulder surgery had a significant impact on how much he was able to prepare. "I wasn't 100 percent," he said. "I wasn't where I am now. Honestly it's been two full years where I haven't been able to really bench press or do anything. I played two years where the only thing I was able to do in the upper body was just shoulder work. You just fall back on technique and just do what you've got to do to get it done."

Herrera said he finally turned a corner physically this offseason. "I started working about a month after the season was over," he said. "That's the main part of my game is my strength. I was limited, but if you play offensive line, you suck it up and you play. I'm not a prima donna. I'm not going to let everybody know my business. It's our team's business." Said Childress: "This offseason he's been able to focus on adding strength and conditioning as opposed to rehab. We just talked about [it's] great to be able to spend an offseason with your eye on what you want to get done as opposed to taking care of something."

Childress was asked how much the shoulder limitations affected Herrera's play in 2009.

"We'll see," he said.