Amid pandemic, Bradbury on Vikings O-line working hard and Kubiak talks Vikings offense moving forward
The Vikings offensive line is the team’s position group that has been under the most scrutiny--and at times criticism--over the past several years. This year is no different except perhaps the turnover at cornerback is sharing the spotlight.
The O-line showed improvement overall last season compared to a shaky 2018 until late season meltdowns against the Packers and 49ers raised renewed concern.
In a recent videoconference, Vikings center Garrett Bradbury talked about his preparation for the upcoming season. Bradbury experienced a rookie season in which he had some excellent stretches and some inconsistency like most of his linemates. He’s doing his part to prepare amid the pandemic with offensive line coach Rick Dennison’s virtual classroom sessions and workouts with groups of teammates until NFL teams are allowed to begin full team practices, hopefully as soon as mid-July.
After working out at a gym in Denver early this offseason, Bradbury returned to the Twin Cities in April and has been training at Adam Thielen’s ETS Performance in Lakeville with Thielen and many of his teammates. He’s been working with some of his fellow Vikings offensive linemen in compliance with COVID-19 restrictions.
“We’re keeping the groups extremely small. There’s quite a few Vikings,“ Bradbury told the media recently via video conference. “Two days a week, we’re getting on the field and doing football work, going through whatever we would be doing with Coach Dennison. That’s the beauty of being with some linemen and I know that guys in other cities are doing the same thing. We’re handling our business so the transition when we do get back will be seamless.”
Bradbury is happy that Gary Kubiak will coordinate the same offense the team utilized last season. “We have the same playbook and the same system, which is a very underrated thing,” he said. “I feel much more comfortable with the system, expectations and routines, so I feel great heading into Year 2. Leaning on a guy like Brian (O’Neill) who had that awesome jump from Year 1 to Year 2, I’ve been talking with him about his offseason routines and what he’s doing and it’s been awesome. I’ve just been getting after it and I feel great.”
The 2019 first round pick is focused on taking the next step toward being one of the league’s top centers and a leader of a strong offensive line. “In terms of improvement, consistency is kind of the biggest thing for me,” Bradbury said. “You watch stretches where you have a few good games and you kind of don’t have such a good game and you’re able to reflect on, ‘What was I doing, what was I not doing, that was kind of prohibiting me from having the consistency. And something I pride myself on is being able to get better from year to year, from game to game. My goal is to be better in Year 2 and make the improvements I want.”
Bradbury must be an integral part of the long term solution for the Vikings to have a strong offensive line, along with talented players in right tackle Brian O’Neill and perhaps this year’s second round tackle Ezra Cleveland (if he can get up to speed quickly once he’s able to work with the Vikings coaches and players in person).
Kubiak has confidence in his offensive line and is looking forward to getting them back on the field with the entire offense in training camp. He said the lack of on-field practice this offseason has been tougher on the younger players who didn’t play much last season.
“Those guys that played all those snaps last year will adjust very well,” Kubiak said in a media videoconference this week. “We’ve created a very competitive and very flexible group. We’re going to play our best five but I like our group, I like our players. There are so many things we can improve on as coaches and players and I look forward to getting to work on doing that.”
More Kubiak quick hits on offseason and Vikings offense:
On the virtual offseason with online classroom sessions but no on-field work yet: “The virtual process has been great. Zim (Coach Mike Zimmer) did a great job laying out a structure for how we were going to teach. The players have been very cooperative. The coaches have been excellent and doing their jobs. We’ve probably had more time with players classroom-wise, at least double what I’ve ever been part of. You never know until we all go back to work but it’s been a positive experience for us offensively. I’m excited to get back on the field real soon and I’m real excited for this season.”
On Dalvin Cook, his readiness to play if he misses some time due to a possible holdout and on running backs in the modern-day NFL: “I love running backs. I’ve had some really good ones in my day. Got a couple of championship rings because of one (Terrell Davis in Denver). Dalvin is a great player and a great person. Dalvin could teach class. He’s very bright and that smart of a football player. Dalvin and Rick (GM Rick Spielman) will go about their business and we’ll let the business take care of itself.”
On the Vikings running game: “We’re committed to running the football and being a physical team. I work for a head coach who talks that same way. We’re going to find ways to run the ball and have that commitment.”
On No.1 draft pick Justin Jefferson’s role at wide receiver: “Playing in the slot is something he’s exceptional at. We have to teach him a basis of what we do and then my job is to put him in the best possible position to be successful. I would say he’ll probably move inside quite a bit but let’s see. Justin has worked really hard and he’s got a leg up from the standpoint that we do talk done some of the same verbiage (as LSU) so there’s been a little easier transition. That gives him a good head start moving forward.”
On Kirk Cousins’ offseason and confidence: “He’s had to take over, getting together and throwing with his teammates or getting on the computer with them. I think Kirk came out of last year with a lot of confidence as a person and player. I think he’s very excited about our group moving forward and he knows he’s going to have to take on an even bigger role with some of these new young faces like Justin. Kirk’s had a really good offseason and can’t wait to start throwing the football around again and he’s chomping at the bit.”
On tight end Irv Smith Jr. entering his second season: “I see so much upside. We called on Irv more and more last season. I love Irv as a kid and competitor. There’s a lot more there and Irv is going to give it to us.”
Around the NFL Observations:
1.It was interesting to see ESPN’s All-Decade squad from the NFC North and the Vikings were well represented. Current Vikings making the team were tight end Kyle Rudolph and safety Harrison Smith. Running back Adrian Peterson was named the Vikings best player from 2010-2019 and he and center John Sullivan were part of the All-Decade offense.
Joining Smith on the defensive unit were defensive tackle Linval Joseph, defensive end Jared Allen and linebacker Chad Greenway. Minnesota had the most representatives on defense. Ex-Viking Cordarrelle Patterson was named the best kickoff/punt returner of the decade. Not surprisingly, Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers was the NFC North’s All-Decade quarterback.
2. Six teams decided to end their virtual offseason program even with the NFL allowing two more weeks to keep working: the Bears, Rams, Cardinals, Redskins, Texans and Titans. The coaches for these teams decided they have accomplished enough prior to having players and coaches allowed to work at team headquarters and on the practice fields.
Jeff Diamond was the NFL Executive of the Year in 1998 after the Vikings' 15-1 season. He also is former president of the Tennessee Titans. He does sports/business consulting, media and speaking work including corporate and college speaking on Negotiation, Management, Leadership and Sports Business--contact him at diamondj4@comcast receiver off