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VikesCentric is written by Twin Cities football writers Bo Mitchell and Patrick Donnelly of SportsData, and Ted Carlson of TST Media. They are Twin Cities-based Vikings and NFL experts who crunch numbers, watch video and tell you what's on their minds.
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Posts about Bryant McKinnie
VikesCentric: Postcard from Training Camp
Posted by: Bo Mitchell Updated: July 28, 2012 - 7:28 PM
The Vikings are taking a break from training camp workouts on Sunday before reconvening with pads on Monday. As I took my leave from Mankato Saturday afternoon, I did so with an appreciation for the chicken fingers and fries at Boomtown. I also left town with some initial thoughts and impressions from the first two days of Vikings camp.
Here are a half-dozen of them in no particular order:
Percy Harvin is happy now.
Let's hope Percy didn't learn the part about moping and "playing when he wants to play." The "Happy Harvin" show needs to continue.
2. John Carlson and Kyle Rudolph are going to be the Vikings' version of the Patriots' Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski. Not that anybody expects them to post similarly ridiculous numbers. Let's be clear on that – that nobody, not me, not Carlson or Rudolph, nor are any coaches, predicting similar success. Not yet anyway. That said, the comparison works in as much as the Vikings will be frequently running a two-tight end offense in which both tight ends are capable pass-catchers and can create mismatches for the defense and such a scheme was popularized by the Patriots last year. Head coach Leslie Frazier characterized it as an "evolution" of the tight end position and how they are used. The Vikings are just keeping up with evolution.
Hey, with Harvin playing the role of Wes Welker out of the slot the comparison kind of works. The Vikings just need Christian Ponder to be as proficient as Tom Brady. That's all.
3. Speaking of Ponder, he really seems to have a good rapport with Jerome Simpson. Then again, it looks as though Simpson is creating a good rapport with a lot of people. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave can't stop talking about the wideout's downfield "juice." Simpson's game is stretching defenses, but he's really bending over backwards for the fans in Mankato. He gestures toward the stands from the practice field, dances around when waiting on the sideline for the next drill, runs across the street to sign autographs and does push-ups as self-punishment if he drops the occasional pass.
He's fun to watch, and I predict he will become a fan favorite provided he stays out of trouble following his three-game suspension to start the season.
4. The Vikings made adding secondary depth a point of emphasis this offseason, so much so that on Friday Coach Frazier called their current secondary depth the best it's been since he's been here. That may be considered faint praise given the dearth of safeties and corners they've had in recent years, but it's certainly worth noting. The NFL is a pass-first league and nickel packages are being used a ton.
I know I'll be keeping a close eye on rookies Harrison Smith and Josh Robinson, as both will be playing a lot and are expected to emerge as starters sooner rather than later.
5. Everson Griffen is a linebacker – not a defensive lineman who sometimes sees snaps at linebacker like he did last year. He's a linebacker…with a defensive lineman's number (97). Coach Frazier wants Griffen to focus on playing linebacker this summer, noting he was their third defensive end but has a chance to be a starter at linebacker and he wants his best 11 defenders on the field. In an effort to get into linebacker mode, Griffen dropped about 18 pounds (down to 258) the last few months to help with his speed and agility – a commitment to the plan that had Frazier raving about him Friday.
Griffen's strength and pass-rushing ability are clear, but it will continue to be interesting to see how well he does in coverage. The weight loss should help in that regard.
First-round draft pick Matt Kalil.
It's easy to forget that it was just a year ago that Bryant McKinnie went from starting left tackle to the waiver wire in one day. Fast forward one year and McKinnie has yet to show up at Ravens camp and is rumored to be out of shape again. Advantage: Vikings.
Bo Mitchell is the Vice President of Content at SportsData
You can follow Bo on Twitter at @Bo_Mitchell
VikesCentric: Advanced stats confirm Matt Kalil fills a glaring need
Posted by: Updated: April 26, 2012 - 9:04 PMThe Vikings finally got their guy. After much pre-draft speculation and one draft-day trade, Matt Kalil will be the team’s new starting left tackle. Without a doubt, Kalil fills a glaring area of need for the Vikings. His presence at left tackle will also help them fill their opening at left guard, as former tackle Charlie Johnson will now move inside next to Kalil. Just how bad did it get last year? Here’s a look at some advanced stats from two different websites that specialize in analyzing NFL games on a snap-by-snap basis, ProFootballFocus.com (PFF) and FootballOutsiders.com (FO).
According to PFF, Johnson was one of the most overmatched left tackles in the NFL last year. Only three other left tackles who played more than 10 games graded out worse than Johnson. Six other left tackles managed to allow more than the eight sacks attributed to Johnson by PFF, but only one (Arizona’s Levi Brown) allowed more than the combined total of 49 sacks, quarterback hits, and quarterback pressures surrendered by Johnson. (On a side note, for those of you still lamenting the loss of Bryant McKinnie to the Ravens last year, McKinnie graded out only two spots higher than Johnson. He was awful last year as well).
As you would expect, Johnson’s inability to keep pressure off of the Vikings’ quarterbacks affected their performance in a negative way. According to PFF, Christian Ponder was “under pressure” on 35% of his dropbacks. To put that into perspective, Matthew Stafford faced pressure on just 24% of his pass attempts.
In such pressure situations, Ponder struggled badly. While under pressure, Ponder completed just 35.4% of his passes, and had a quarterback rating of 36.4. In non-pressure situations, he connected on 61.3% of his attempts and played to a quarterback rating of 82.7.
Football Outsiders, also using detailed game-charting data from every NFL play, also ranked the Vikings offensive line at or near the bottom of the NFL. According to FO, the Vikings ranked dead last in the NFL in pass protection. FO also graded the Vikings very poorly on runs to the left side – particularly runs over left end (i.e. to the outside of the left tackle). On such runs, the Vikings gained just 3.25 “adjusted line yards” per play, which ranked 28th in the league.
It remains to be seen whether Kalil can single-handedly fix all of thse problems, but there is absolutely no doubt that the Vikings needed him badly.
Christian Peterson is the Operations Manager at LeagueSafe.com. He is also a contributing writer at Vikings.com and a co-host of the Fantasy Football Weekly radio show on KFAN 100.3 FM.
Follow Christian on Twitter: @CP_ChristianP
Reviewing a decade of drafts
Posted by: Patrick Donnelly Updated: April 26, 2012 - 12:33 PMHow will we look back on the Vikings' 2012 draft? The Purple could reap a harvest of multiple Pro Bowlers, consistent starters and quality reserves, as they did in 2007 and 2003. They could bring aboard a heap of busts that would make the 2005 draft look decent by comparison. Or they could land somewhere in the middle.
Let's take a look at their last 10 drafts to see how each group of rookies stack up. For the purposes of our discussion, we've sorted the picks into the following categories:
Pro Bowlers: Actually selected to the Pro Bowl roster, not named as a replacement for an injured player or a Super Bowl participant
Starters: Have started at least eight games in a season, either for the Vikings or another team
Reserves: Made the Vikings' roster but did not start at least half of a season
Never made the roster: They might have played for somebody else, but they never made the Vikings' 53-man team.
And away we go …
2011
Pro Bowlers: None
Starters: Christian Ponder (1), Kyle Rudolph (2)
Reserves: Christian Ballard (4), Brandon Burton (5), DeMarcus Love (6), Mistral Raymond (6), Brandon Fusco (6), D'Aundre Reed (7), Stephen Burton (7)
Never made the roster: Ross Homan (6)
2010
Pro Bowlers: None
Starters: None
Reserves: Chris Cook (2), Toby Gerhart (2), Everson Griffen (4), Chris DeGeare (5), Joe Webb (6), Mickey Shuler (7), Ryan D'Imperio (7)
Never made the roster: Nate Triplett (5)
2009
Pro Bowlers: Percy Harvin (1)
Starters: Phil Loadholt (2), Asher Allen (3), Jamarca Sanford (7)
Reserves: Jasper Brinkley (5)
Never made the roster: None
2008
Pro Bowlers: None
Starters: Tyrell Johnson (2), John Sullivan (6)
Reserves: J.D. Booty (5), Letroy Guion (5), Jaymar Johnson (6)
Never made the roster: None
2007
Pro Bowlers: Adrian Peterson (1), Sidney Rice (2)
Starters: Marcus McCauley (3), Brian Robison (4)
Reserves: Aundrae Allison (5), Rufus Alexander (6)
Never made the roster: Tyler Thigpen (7), Chandler Williams (7)
2006
Pro Bowlers: None
Starters: Chad Greenway (1), Cedric Griffin (2), Ryan Cook (2), Tarvaris Jackson (2), Ray Edwards (4)
Reserves: Greg Blue (5)
Never made the roster: Tyrone Culver (6)
2005
Pro Bowlers: None
Starters: Troy Williamson (1), Erasmus James (1), Marcus Johnson (2)
Reserves: Ciatrick Fason (4), C.J. Mosley (6)
Never made the roster: Dustin Fox (3), Adrian Ward (7)
2004
Pro Bowlers: None
Starters: Kenechi Udeze (1), Darrion Scott (3), Mewelde Moore (4)
Reserves: Dontarrious Thomas (2), Nat Dorsey (4), Rod Davis (5), Jeff Dugan (7)
Never made the roster: Deandre' Eiland (6)
2003
Pro Bowlers: Kevin Williams (1), E.J. Henderson (2)
Starters: Nate Burleson (3), Eddie Johnson (6)
Reserves: Onterrio Smith (4), Mike Nattiel (6), Keenan Howry (7)
Never made the roster: None
2002
Pro Bowlers: Bryant McKinnie (1)
Starters: Brian Williams (4), Nick Rogers (6)
Reserves: Raonall Smith (2), Willie Offord (3)
Never made the roster: Edward Ta'amu (4), Chad Beasley (7)
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