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Zone Blocking Scam


HeydudemanG

Should we switch our offensive line style  

21 members have voted

  1. 1. Keep zone blocking scheme

    • Keep zone blocking sceme
      5
    • Adopt man blocking scheme
      0
    • Keep zone blocking get some people who can actually block
      16
    • Switch schemes and get new people
      0
    • Other
      0


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 Okay guys we have to be real with ourselves. We've watched our O-line struggle for years and invested a lot into it this off-season. 

The three main players that looked shook yesterday were Mike Boone CJ ham  and Kirk Cousins all people directly behind the line and we all saw what za'darius Smith did to us last night.

Can we close the book on this style of drafting offensive linemen. We need some big boys up front not these little shifty guys. We shouldn't get small guys if we use zone blocking we should get big guys who can move well. We play in the got dang NFC north and the competition is to big and good. Who else thinks we should consider a change on the offensive line.

Zone blocking is where lineman block a zone of the O-line. And man blocking is where they have a specific person they should block.

Zone blocking is usually smaller guys who can move left to right and man is usually bigger guys who push downfield.

Edited by HeydudemanG
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I think the zone blocking scheme can be fine. It hasn't been just during the zone blocking years that our offensive line has been weak. I do not have a strong preference myself as which will do better for a team depends somewhat on the players a team has available to them. In the end, this is a decision that should be made by the coaches. There is no way I would try and make Kubiak run any other scheme. If he is my coach, I would expect him to use zone blocking.

Ultimately, the first step is deciding on who the GM will be. From there coaches can be selected and only afterwards would we really know whether we want to be looking for players that excel at power man blocking or zone blocking. I would definitely be considering it in the hiring process of coaches though and having them describe for me what they would be doing given what the team has available. Any coach that doesn't have a viable plan would no longer be getting consideration.

Whichever scheme the team goes with, there needs to be a greater emphasis on putting together a successful offensive line. That starts with the scouting process, how the GM prioritizes the offensive line, and all the way through to the coaches that develop the players.

Edited by Cearbhall
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I have no issues with the scheme. The RBs haven’t been productive (outside of Mattison in limited touches) in 6-7 weeks. I don’t know how much you can blame the OL versus Cook just not being very good as of late. Boone looked horrible in his one start but looked great in LA.

Edited by vikingsrule
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7 minutes ago, PrplChilPill said:

No matter what, they need to fix the scouting and coaching on the OL, because it still isn't good enough. 

I agree, but it is not just that. It is also the team building philosophy. Scouting matters a lot less when the GM settles for guys that the scouts didn't put at the top of their lists. I mean, do you really think the Vikings had scouts banging the table for Josh Kline insisting he was the best option? Do you really think the scouts were telling the GM that Pat Elflein was so well suited to play guard in the NFL that he could be locked into place there?

But yeah, it is scouting too because I do believe the scouts were telling the GM that Garrett Bradbury was such a good center that he was worth a first round pick.  That is bold considering how few centers are worth a first round pick.

Also, the scouts need better direction on what to look for in the offensive linemen they are scouting. There hasn't been consistency in what the team wants to look for in their offensive linemen.

The problem is systemic.  Changing the scheme would not solve that. Schematic issues can be ironed out after solving the systemic issues.

Edited by Cearbhall
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2 minutes ago, Cearbhall said:

I agree, but it is not just that. It is also the team building philosophy. Scouting matters a lot less when the GM settles for guys that the scouts didn't put at the top of their lists. I mean, do you really think the Vikings had scouts banging the table for Josh Kline insisting he was the best option? Do you really think the scouts were telling the GM that Pat Elflein was so well suited to play guard in the NFL that he could be locked into place there?

But yeah, it is scouting too because I do believe the scouts were telling the GM that Garrett Bradbury was such a good center that he was worth a first round pick.  That is bold considering how few centers are worth a first round pick.

Also, the scouts need better direction on what to look for in the offensive linemen they are scouting. There hasn't been consistency in what the team wants to look for in their offensive linemen.

I think that Kline fits into the overall portfolio of the roster as it existed. I mean, you could maybe have cut Rhodes and spent that money on an OL, but IIRC, Rhodes cap hit would not have dropped much.......In fairness, the online experts all had Bradbury as a first round pick, hence my belief/statement that coaching is also a problem....

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1 minute ago, PrplChilPill said:

I think that Kline fits into the overall portfolio of the roster as it existed. I mean, you could maybe have cut Rhodes and spent that money on an OL, but IIRC, Rhodes cap hit would not have dropped much.......In fairness, the online experts all had Bradbury as a first round pick, hence my belief/statement that coaching is also a problem....

I sure hope the Vikings front office isn't putting any stock into the online experts.

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Just now, Cearbhall said:

I sure hope the Vikings front office isn't putting any stock into the online experts.

Whether they are or not is not relevant. It is the data WE have.......and plenty of those guys used to be in orgs.......or were scouts.....some get hired by teams.......and they all liked Bradbury.

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Just now, PrplChilPill said:

Whether they are or not is not relevant. It is the data WE have.......and plenty of those guys used to be in orgs.......or were scouts.....some get hired by teams.......and they all liked Bradbury.

And so far all that thought Bradbury was worth a first round pick look to be wrong. I don't know how many of them actually gave Bradbury a first round grade versus guessed he would go in the first round. Many guess where a player will be picked without regard for what they think of the player. They saw that the Vikings were in a dire situation on the line after our GM failed miserably up to that point and they saw Bradbury as the best fit so mocked him to the Vikings.

Truth be told, the Vikings should never have been going into the draft with such a bare cupboard on the offensive line. That is where the problem was. No matter how good your scouts are, they will sometimes be wrong when projecting a player into the NFL. A good GM should not be counting on a rookie to become a starter. First, they don't know if that player will even be on the board when they are drafting. Second, they do not know if the player will pan out as hoped.  We saw the problem, and I include you in that because I know you did, before the draft started.

Where the Vikings were heading into the draft was a result of many years of failures at building the offensive line. The scouts are sometimes wrong. The coaches haven't developed the players they get. And the GM hasn't hired the right scouts, coaches, or had enough other successes to solve the problem. To me the GM doesn't prioritize fixing this problem high enough. Either that or he is flat out incompetent. Which it is doesn't matter much to me but I do not see Spielman as incompetent. I just think that he doesn't value a strong offensive line nearly as highly as I do.

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7 minutes ago, Cearbhall said:

And so far all that thought Bradbury was worth a first round pick look to be wrong. I don't know how many of them actually gave Bradbury a first round grade versus guessed he would go in the first round. Many guess where a player will be picked without regard for what they think of the player. They saw that the Vikings were in a dire situation on the line after our GM failed miserably up to that point and they saw Bradbury as the best fit so mocked him to the Vikings.

Truth be told, the Vikings should never have been going into the draft with such a bare cupboard on the offensive line. That is where the problem was. No matter how good your scouts are, they will sometimes be wrong when projecting a player into the NFL. A good GM should not be counting on a rookie to become a starter. First, they don't know if that player will even be on the board when they are drafting. Second, they do not know if the player will pan out as hoped.  We saw the problem, and I include you in that because I know you did, before the draft started.

Where the Vikings were heading into the draft was a result of many years of failures at building the offensive line. The scouts are sometimes wrong. The coaches haven't developed the players they get. And the GM hasn't hired the right scouts, coaches, or had enough other successes to solve the problem. To me the GM doesn't prioritize fixing this problem high enough. Either that or he is flat out incompetent. Which it is doesn't matter much to me but I do not see Spielman as incompetent. I just think that he doesn't value a strong offensive line nearly as highly as I do.

So a rookie shouldn't be expected to start but since he's not great as a rookie he shouldn't have been drafted?

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1 minute ago, swede700 said:

It never fails.  A really bad game and the pitchforks come out, wanting to toss away every positive thing that has been accomplished as if it never existed.    

What do you expect?

For the record, my desire to move on to a new GM owing to the state of the offensive line goes back much further than this game. I only mentioned it here because there was discussion on the offensive line. For me, the last straw with Rick Spielman was when he went into the draft this year with such a bare cupboard on the offensive line. That is when it was finally enough for me. For each person there will be a different amount they are willing to put up with.

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