Wednesday (Bryant McKinnie and the Vikings' O-line) edition: Wha' Happened?

The other day, we attempted to put together a Page 2 list of 10 players from Vikings history who perhaps unfairly missed the cut among the franchise's 50 Greatest Players. These lists are always subjective and fodder for some fun debate. A couple of people e-mailed to say Joe Kapp should have been on our list (and probably on the Vikings' list of 50 as well). We had a good back-and-forth about Kapp's so-so numbers here vs. what he meant on the field (37 TDs, 47 INTs in his three seasons -- one of which, granted, got the Vikings to their first Super Bowl). But the loudest protest came from a few e-mailers who could barely fathom why Bryant McKinnie made our list. Our reasoning:

His play can be maddeningly inconsistent, but he's never missed a game because of injury since coming into the league in 2002 and has generally locked down the critical left tackle spot for almost a decade.

And now, snippets from a few different e-mails (which were mostly good-natured, we should add):

*YOUR ARTICLE ON THE TEN GUYS THAT DID NOT MAKE THE TOP FIFTY YOU INCLUDED B. MCKINNIE. WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING ???? ASK FAVRE HOW MANY TIMES HE HAS BEEN ON THE GROUND BECAUSE OF BM'S FAILURE TO MAKE HIS BLOCK. THIS GUY HAS THE FOOTWORK OF A RHINO.

*Hey Michael, I enjoy your writing, but I really need to know if you owe Bryant McKinnie money or if he has pictures of you and an amorous farm animal.

Just because he's played for a long period doesn't mean McKinnie is deserving of any accolades. On the contrary, consider why McKinnie even existed this long as a starter in the first place:

-By being drafted in the first round he "had" to be played initially and was the best we had at the time.

-When Chili became coach he perceived many more holes that needed to be filled over Left Tackle and so there never has been anyone drafted as competition for the position. Chili didn't pay much attention to the offensive line anyhow, let alone be a judge of talent.

*McKinnie is a media creation, the likes I'm not sure we've seen around here. He has been average at his best and, at his worst, one of the 5 least effective LT's in the league. He is a "pass blocking specialist" who consistently gets beat and a 350 pound sled who can't drive block in the running game. When the Vikings begin their rebuilding program, McKinnie is the first player they should jettison. His signing to an extension was the worst mistake in the Childress era, including the Tarvaris Jackson experiment. You need to write an apology column to clear your name.

Fair points (except, um, for the part about the amorous farm animal. THOSE PICTURES WERE DESTROYED). That said, we do agree with the general sentiment that Brad Childress really let the offensive line go. Sure, the Vikings signed Steve Hutchinson early on in the Childress tenure. Aside from that, there was rarely a meaningful attempt to upgrade -- particularly going into this critical 2010 season -- and it has cost the Vikings dearly.

As such, when we think about this offseason and possible upgrades, here is how it goes:

1) Find a QB solution. Best-case scenario: Identify a QB of the future in the draft and go get him. Then find a two-year stopgap to let that QB develop. Reasonable-case scenario: Identify and get a young enough QB of the present who can potentially become the guy for longer than two years. Someone like Kevin Kolb (not saying we have full faith in him, but someone like that at least).

3) Solve the secondary. Getting Cedric Griffin back and healthy (along with Chris Cook) would be a big help. But those safeties ... something has to be done about those safeties.