Starting left guard Alex Boone, whom the Vikings signed in March to be their tone-setter up front, has not been afraid to speak his mind since coming to Minnesota, at one point even profanely but playfully imploring hometown fans to zip it when the Vikings have the ball at U.S. Bank Stadium.
But Boone was the one who held his tongue Tuesday when asked about Vikings coach Mike Zimmer calling his offensive line "soft" and saying they got "whipped" and "overpowered" in Sunday's 21-10 loss in Philadelphia.
"We've got to play better. That's the bottom line," Boone said.
But he called you guys "soft." Do you agree with that assessment?
"I feel like we've got to play better. I think when you get your quarterback hit that many times it's a problem," he said. "So we've got to play better."
The Eagles sacked quarterback Sam Bradford six times and were credited with 13 quarterback hits. While there was plenty of blame to go around for the poor pass protection, including some to the coaches and Bradford himself, their offensive tackles were victimized on most of the costly breakdowns.
"We've just got to play better," said left tackle Jake Long, who struggled Sunday in his Vikings debut. "We did some really good things … and we just have to build off that and keep moving forward and we'll be fine."
Boone acknowledged that constant injuries on the offensive line and the lack of continuity as a result has affected the unit's chemistry. He said it is up to the linemen to find a way to jell before it is too late.