Minnesota Vikings tackle Brian O’Neil is still rehabbing from his partially torn Achilles tear that he suffered last season. After surgery to repair it, he is expected to be healthy in time for the start of the upcoming season. This means that the team will be returning all five of their starting offensive linemen.
During a press conference on Wednesday, following organized team activities, O’Neil elaborated on the various conversations that the offensive line has been having in their second year compared to their first.
We’ve talked about it in the o-line room and how, based on specific schemes, the linebackers might fall back a little bit more or they might play frontside a little bit more based on different things that they see with their eyes. That’s what we’re talking about differently this year than we were last year. Last year, we were talking about ‘This is this play, this is who you have on this play. Now run it.’ Now, the next step is ‘Okay, what does the defense see? How is this different from the other scheme that we run that looks similar? And what’s the next level of understanding for us?’ I don’t know if that answers the question, but there’s a deeper understanding of the intricacies on our end.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins echoed a similar sentiment about continuity and how it’s allowing the team to start fast this offseason. The Vikings are hoping this continuity and stability can help provide some advantages as they look to defend their NFC North title and make a deep playoff run.
