Sid Hartman: Familiarity breeds improved line play

The Vikings officially open training camp today, and coach Brad Childress said he believes the biggest plus is that most of the players have another year in his system.

"I start with [quarterback] Tarvaris [Jackson], who has one year as a starter underneath his belt," Childress said. "So he understands that, he's progressed in the offseason. Then guys like [running back] Adrian Peterson, even though he had a very good rookie year, he knows the drill now. He knows what the grind of an NFL season is all about. Your offensive line plays together another year, then you've added some different pieces. So I just think the experience factor will be elevated."

Does Childress expect any help from the draft choices and the free agents?

"That's what training camp is going to be all about," Childress said. "We had limited time with those guys on the field with the OTAs [organized team activities], watching those guys play together and know each other's strengths and weaknesses.

"Well, you know, until you put those pads on, we have a sense about them athletically. We'll really be interested to see how they play behind their pads. I think some of those guys have shown up and there's always surprises that happen."

One thing Childress said he always likes is depth, particularly in the offensive line.

"If some of those guys can surface, because those are really high-impact positions," he said. "You'd like to have somebody surface in the offensive line, that maybe you weren't otherwise counting on.

"Ryan Cook is our right tackle, and I like the advances that he's made. You've got [guard] Anthony Herrera, then you've got [center] Matt Birk, and [guard Steve] Hutchinson, and [tackle Bryant] McKinnie.

"Then back behind those guys, I like the things that [rookie center] John Sullivan has done from Notre Dame here. You've got over at the left tackle we're still another year for Chase [Johnson], our tackle from Wyoming; he's a big kid who's another year in the system. Marcus Johnson at the right tackle, he's done some decent things."

Childress pointed out that some NFL analysts say it's one of the better offensive lines in the league.

"So you can't have it both ways," he said. "I think they're an excellent run-blocking front, and I think we'll be that much better blocking the pass this year. It also is important for wide receivers and helping the quarterback get the ball out of his hands."

Pat Morris and Jim Hueber are two of the best offensive line coaches in the NFL.

Former Twins lefthander Johan Santana has an 8-7 record and a 3.05 ERA for the Mets, and they aren't scoring any more runs for the two-time Cy Young Award winner than the Twins did.

No doubt Gophers running back coach Thomas Hammock had to be surprised when his brother, outstanding linebacker Tyquan Hammock of Fort Wayne, Ind., committed to Michigan State. "It was real tough, not just Minnesota but Indiana as well," Hammock told the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. "It was a real tough decision to make, but with Minnesota a little more having my brother there."

Among the Gophers basketball team's nonconference opponents will be High Point (N.C.), the alma mater of coach Tubby Smith. The Gophers are talking to Southern Mississippi and Siena, hoping one of them agrees to play here to complete the nonconference schedule that will include North Dakota State and South Dakota State. They are short one team for their four-team tournament in November after Weber State withdrew because it got more money from another school. The Gophers' Big Ten/ACC Challenge game against Virginia on Dec. 2 will be broadcast on ESPN2. ... Corey Joseph, the brother of outstanding Gophers basketball recruit Devoe Joseph and a player the Gophers are interested in, is going to attend Findlay College Prep in Henderson, Nev.

Highly recruited Breck wide receiver Bryce McNeal, who some time ago verbally committed to Michigan, told GopherIllustrated.com that he is still committed to Michigan but that he was going to visit Florida, Oklahoma, Louisville, Clemson and Michigan.

Ryan Hoag, the former Gustavus wide receiver who has had stints with several NFL teams, has agreed to a contract with Jacksonville after impressing the coaches in Jaguars minicamp. Hoag, the "Mr. Irrelevant" of the 2003 NFL draft after being selected last by the Oakland Raiders, was recently in the news for being a contestant on the ABC reality show "The Bachelorette."

Niltooli Wilkins, the 2007 Class 2A singles champion from Burnsville who has committed to the Gophers, recently won an Intercollegiate Tennis Association summer circuit tournament in Manhattan, Kan.

Ryan Grooms, who was an assistant equipment man at Air Force for five years, is the new equipment manager for the Gophers football team. His assistant is Adam Myers, who was a graduate assistant at Marshall.

Net Gain Sports, a Minnesota AAU basketball team playing in the Reebok Summer Championships in Las Vegas this week, was 1-2 before games on Thursday. Osseo forward Sam Dower got some attention from the coaches attending when he scored 20 points in Net Gain Sports' first game. The 6-9 Dower has scholarship offers from Iowa, Marquette and Gonzaga but not Minnesota.

How do you figure out former Twins righthander Kyle Lohse, who failed to do anything with the Reds and Phillies, didn't get a one-year contract until late in spring training and has won 12 games for the Cardinals?