Post by Funkytown on Nov 5, 2023 10:01:26 GMT -6
Purple Insider Mailbag:
Jason… Is a sixth-round pick really worth losing guard depth when line play is going to be critical the rest of the season? Is their roster implications I am not seeing?
The other part of that trade is that they have praised Blake Brandel since training camp and Chris Reed appears to be ready to come back. It looks like they felt comfortable with what they would have if either guard were to get hurt. I think pretty much any team that doesn’t believe it has a legit chance to win the Super Bowl would trade a backup guard who they weren’t going to re-sign to the highest bidder…even if that bid isn’t impressive. The interesting thing with Cleveland is that his pass blocking numbers were much better this year. They just never seemed on board with him.
The other part of that trade is that they have praised Blake Brandel since training camp and Chris Reed appears to be ready to come back. It looks like they felt comfortable with what they would have if either guard were to get hurt. I think pretty much any team that doesn’t believe it has a legit chance to win the Super Bowl would trade a backup guard who they weren’t going to re-sign to the highest bidder…even if that bid isn’t impressive. The interesting thing with Cleveland is that his pass blocking numbers were much better this year. They just never seemed on board with him.
Chris Dymond… What should we make of Cleveland’s departure? He gets injured, they finally activate Risner at LG instead of replacing the hitherto assumed worse guard at RG, the line almost immediately appears to improve, at least statistically, against apparently excellent opposing units, and Cleveland is out the door at the trade deadline. Was he causing breakdowns all along? Did the switch from tackle to guard severely hamstring his career?
Interestingly the All-22 look at the Green Bay game and PFF scores revealed a lot lesser of a performance than I initially thought from the offensive line, so I don’t think that Risner coming in for Cleveland suddenly brought the offensive line together in magical ways. They still have their strengths and weaknesses. At least by his PFF grades he seemed to either have really good games or struggle, which may have been frustrating for them.
Offensive line coaches also have so many more details in mind than what we understand from just watching. Think of it like with musicians. Lots of people play drums but do you play jazz, rock, blues, pop etc.? Maybe Cleveland wasn’t able to consistently nail some of the details that they wanted. Risner definitely brings more grit to his game than a finesse former tackle. I’ll truly never understand why Ezra didn’t play a single rep at tackle and then the Vikings drafted another tackle (not that CD isn’t amazing) without even seeing it for a single practice or pre-season game. I wonder if someone else eventually tries him there.
And we can’t forget that they want Ingram to continue developing and Cleveland was going to cost more than they were willing to pay on the market as a free agent, which was at the center of this.
Interestingly the All-22 look at the Green Bay game and PFF scores revealed a lot lesser of a performance than I initially thought from the offensive line, so I don’t think that Risner coming in for Cleveland suddenly brought the offensive line together in magical ways. They still have their strengths and weaknesses. At least by his PFF grades he seemed to either have really good games or struggle, which may have been frustrating for them.
Offensive line coaches also have so many more details in mind than what we understand from just watching. Think of it like with musicians. Lots of people play drums but do you play jazz, rock, blues, pop etc.? Maybe Cleveland wasn’t able to consistently nail some of the details that they wanted. Risner definitely brings more grit to his game than a finesse former tackle. I’ll truly never understand why Ezra didn’t play a single rep at tackle and then the Vikings drafted another tackle (not that CD isn’t amazing) without even seeing it for a single practice or pre-season game. I wonder if someone else eventually tries him there.
And we can’t forget that they want Ingram to continue developing and Cleveland was going to cost more than they were willing to pay on the market as a free agent, which was at the center of this.
JayW… With the Cleveland trade are the Vikes looking to extend Risner?
My guess would be the answer is yes, if he plays well and they like the fit next to Darrisaw then they will keep him. They will have a big sample size to work with now that he’s going to start the rest of the season.
My guess would be the answer is yes, if he plays well and they like the fit next to Darrisaw then they will keep him. They will have a big sample size to work with now that he’s going to start the rest of the season.
... and neither is this Chris guy.