Out Of Excuses, All Eyes Are On Matt Kalil

  |  
Aug 4, 2015
Image courtesy of Chris Price

Rick Spielman, Mike Zimmer and Norv Turner appear to have assembled one hell of an offense.

Teddy Bridgewater looks to be a legitimate franchise quarterback. Adrian Peterson has returned and if age is a problem it certainly isn’t showing. The wide receiver talent, speed, and depth has Mankato buzzing and homers dreaming of future highlight reels. Tight end seems to be a strength and even right guard has some promising competition to cause optimism. Brandon Fusco is almost certainly going to be an upgrade at left guard after sliding on down the line.

Yes, when it comes to the 2015 Minnesota Vikings offense, the sky might not even be the limit and all of the pieces seem to be falling into place.

All of the pieces, that is, except for one.

If the old adage that a team is “only as good as their weakest link” is true, then left tackle Matt Kalil could be under the gun this coming season. After years of casting a negative shadow over the performances of Bryant McKinnie and Charlie Johnson, I would have gladly welcomed either one of them back after watching Kalil’s abysmal performances in 2014.

He wasn’t just bad. He was painfully bad.

Kalil was all too often the reason a drive was killed due to a miscue or senseless penalty, sometimes occurring on consecutive plays, and would’ve been the most disliked player on the team if it hadn’t been for the Adrian Peterson off-field drama.

With a promising rookie season still in the somewhat recent past, however, Kalil has received some benefit of the doubt from a fanbase that trusts the Vikings coaching staff and hopes his injury concerns can be laid to rest. After all, Kalil started to play better in the later weeks of 2014 and it is easy to expect that momentum to carry over into this coming season.

In Mankato this year, however, Kalil’s new pizza joint is generating better reviews than his practice snaps.

From national reporters to hack bloggers, from everyday fans to informed beat writers, the takes on Kalil’s training camp seem to range anywhere from “not good” to “not as bad as last year.” In case you aren’t catching that particular drift, here are some samples from the ol’ Twitter machine:

 

Now, in an effort to not freak out about just how badly poor left tackle play could sabotage our offense this year, I decided to talk to our folks that have been on the ground in Mankato this year. Surely, they will give me a reason to let my inner-homer dance a jig between now and the regular season opener.

“Heading into 2015, the Vikings’ biggest question mark remain at left tackle,” VT’s Austin Belisle told me in hope-crushing fashion. “He still has issues with outside rushers and lazy footwork, but the coaching staff is investing extra time into improving Kalil’s weaknesses.”

Lindsey Young, who is currently on assignment for the Vikings and Vikings Territory in Mankato, also volunteered her observations as they relate to Kalil’s training camp thus far.

“I’m still less than impressed,” she admits. “It will be hard to make a real assessment before seeing him in a game, but I’m seeing the same issues that we’ve seen crop up over the last couple of seasons.”

“I’m not sure if it’s an issue of being coachable or just poor execution, but he’s continuing to struggle in allowing guys to get by him,” Young continued. “Arif [Hasan] and I were just talking this afternoon about him slipping up in one-on-one drills — if we’re seeing issues on the practice field, will those be any different in game-time action? I hope so. I hope he proves me wrong.”

We are all hoping Kalil proves us all wrong this year, and Kalil seems to have an upbeat attitude about what he and his bulked up frame can produce this season.

“I’ve got a lot bigger,” Kalil told Tom Moore of VikeFans in a recent interview. “Probably gained about 18, 20 pounds. Hit the weight room a little bit, got a little bit stronger, so that has definitely helped a ton. Just out here working with these different coaches, sharpening up my technique and getting better out there.”

“Good, I feel great,” Kalil said when asked how healthy he was feeling. “I’m ready to go, I’m excited this year.”

Belisle isn’t all doom and gloom (he never is, actually) when it comes to Kalil, however.

“After focusing on Kalil while I was at Vikings camp, it’s clear the coaching staff wants to build on his strong-ish end to the season,” Austin continued. “Before and after practice, Kalil was seen with multiple coaches, working on his first step, his footwork in pass protection, and his pad level. Though he struggled against Everson Griffen in 1 on 1’s, he improved his play during team sessions. Because of his athleticism and frame, Kalil is quick to pick up blitzers and work double teams to the second level. It’s obvious that him and Fusco are getting comfortable on the left side of the line, but it’s a promising work in progress.”

My hopes are not set too high, but I would welcome a 2015 season that features a once-per-game mistake out of Kalil instead of once-per-drive like it seemed to be last year. The worst case scenario, however, is one that I prefer not to mention out of fear of jinxing the health of our beloved quarterback.

Here’s hoping Matt Kalil gets it together this year.

Here’s hoping Plan B is in place despite current appearances.

Here’s hoping our front office has the gumption to go out and invest in a serviceable left tackle if neither of those first two hopes are realistic. 

Here’s hoping.