Solving Our Problems: Chris Williams

[With Free Agency all but over, it's time to take a look at who the Vikings might select in the first round with the #17 pick. Today, we're previewing Chris Williams, an offensive tackle from Vanderbilt. Previously, I previewed Derrick Harvey, a defensive end from Florida.]

One of the less talked about problems facing the Vikings this season is their offensive line, specifically the tackle and center positions. At left tackle, Bryant McKinnie is the on field stalwart, big, talented and willing to play hurt.Off the field, he’s just violated the NFL’s conduct policy for the second time and will almost certainly be forced to miss four or more games because of it. At right tackle, Ryan Cook has been inconsistent at best in his two seasons. He’s also the backup left tackle (a position he’ll likely play during McKinnie’s suspension) and the backup center, which was the position he was drafted to play and one that he may need to play, as Matt Birk, like all people, continues to age. If Birk were to be injured,(or pout and holdout) especially during McKinnie’s suspension, it would force Marcus Johnson and Chase Johnson (I don't know who he is either) into the lineup, and guarantee that Tarvaris Jackson would get to know the NFL North’s pass rushers intimately, the last thing you would want a young, inexperienced quarterback with a history of injury problems to do.

The Vikings chose not to pursue any linemen in free agency, which means that, unless they choose to trade McKinnie for another lineman (not likely), they are going to have to address their line issues via the draft, which I expect them to do. I would be surprised to see the Purple take less than two offensive linemen with their 9 picks, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them take a replacement for McKinnie in the first round, allowing them to trade their trouble making left tackle. Today I’m going to take a look at Chris Williams, a senior All SEC left tackle from Vanderbilt.

Williams is a tall guy, measuring in at 6’6”, but he doesn’t have the bulk you’d expect from someone that tall, weighing in at “only” 317 pounds. That didn’t affect his ability to contain some of the best pass rushers in college football, however, as he allowed only two sacks in his last two years at Vanderbilt, one in the first game of his junior year and one in his senior year. He did so by using quick footwork, a tremendous reach and good body control to contain and control the pass rusher off the edge. He also has tremendous football instincts, quickly recognizing stunts and twists, and he communicates well with his guard.

His communication skills also show up as leadership abilities, as his coaches at Vanderbilt counted on him as a mentor to younger players and as the leader of the offensive line. He responded well 0to these extra responsibilities, and continued to put in extra work in the film room and practice to improve. He has the work ethic that you want out of your first round pick, and doesn’t need the continual monitoring that other players do.

Like all prospects, there are some question marks. While there are no doubts about his work ethic, there are doubts about his intensity and killer instinct. He wasn’t the mauler that you’d expect someone his size to be. He relied mainly on technique, rather than raw strength, to contain pass rushers. His run blocking isn’t great either, despite the fact that Vanderbilt liked to run behind him. He struggles with drive blocking because of his height, and doesn’t always get low enough. He isn’t as strong as you’d want him to be either, something that manifests in his run blocking and his use of finesse pass blocking techniques.

The big question with Williams is his intensity. He can and should get stronger in an NFL workout plan, which he can be counted on to follow through with. He has almost everything else you’d want in a left tackle. Whether that will translate into a dominant left tackle will depend a lot on whether he plays aggressively, supplementing his technique with strength and a willingness to attack the rusher, rather than let the rusher come to him. If he does that, he’d be a great addition to the Vikings line, and would allow the Purple to shop Bryant Mckinnie. If he can’t, he should still be good, but he won’t be the reliable pass blocker a good team needs at left tackle.

Tuesday Roundup

A lot has happened since my last post, but the biggest thing is definitely the Vikings trade of Troy Williamson to the Jaguars. The Purple will receive a sixth round pick for the fourth year receiver, and put a final end to one of the worst trades in NFL history (luckily for the Purple, it wasn't the worst...that would be the Herschel Walker trade. Ugh).

This trade brings to mind one of the many things that I'll never understand about Vikings' fans. I understand those who want Brad Childress fired. I disagree (for now), but I can see where they're coming from. What I don't understand is why people would want Mike Tice back. He took over a team with two offensive stars, but was never able to do anything with them, or provide them with any kind of support and then turned them into nothing. I understand that a lot of that can and should be blamed on Red McCombs and the personnel staff, however, in the end, the Vikings had Daunte Culpepper in his prime (and it was a beautiful prime) and Randy Moss and turned them into two years of Napolean Harris, three years of Troy Williamson and Ryan Cook, who is at best an average right tackle. Maybe that isn't Tice's fault, but I can't think of anything else when I think of him.

On a happier note, there is the outside possibility that the Vikings will be able to turn that sixth rounder into a useful player. Derek Anderson, Arnez Battle and David Tyree will all taken in the sixth round, as were Vikings Matt Birk and Robert Tate and former Vikings tight end Andrew Jordan.

Bernard Berrian:
I'll be looking at D.J Hackett and Donte Stallworth in the next few days, but I've already done the research on them, and I still believe that Berrian is the best receiver on the market. And he's going to be an unrestricted free agent on February 29th, because da Bears didn't place a franchise tag on him. The Vikings have $30 million in cap room, and they should use as much as necessary to bring in Berrian.

Bryant McKinnie
Because it wouldn't be the Vikings without some kind of really stupid off the field behavior, Bryant McKinnie was arrested over the weekend for getting in a fight outside of a club. He tried to escape via bus (Quick! To the Escape Bus!), but that obviously didn't work, and he has a court date set for March 17th, where he's being charged with aggravated battery (a felony) and two misdemeanors. That's not good. Even if he doesn't gets jail time, Access Vikings pointed out that it might not matter to Commissioner Goodell, since this is McKinnie's second violation of the NFL Conduct Policy. Whatever your thoughts on Mount McKinnie, the Vikings can't afford to lose their starting left tackle, especially if he gets hit with a long suspension. Tarvaris has not shown the ability to deal with pressure well, which he's guaranteed to face more of if he doesn't have McKinnie guarding his blindside.

Dwight Smith
The Vikings released their starting strong safety last week (I really need to update more often--I promise I'll work on it). While Smith has been a solid contributer, his play wasn't so good that it made sense to hold onto him despite his off field troubles. If you're going to get burned by Devin Hester on a simple go route that you knew he was running, well, you better not get arrested for marijuana possession and lewd conduct at a night club.
Tank Williams and Mike Doss are both unrestricted free agents, which means that they don't have anyone to start at the position next year, unless they plan on moving Antoine Winfield to strong safety (a position he would excel in), which would create a similar gap at cornerback. I wouldn't be surprised to see Childress bring Tank back (and he does have a bad ass name), something that would at least justify the Vikings' decision to release Greg Blue before last year. Even if they do bring back Tank, however, they should try and find a long term solution in the draft, something they were likely planning on doing last year, until the Redskins drafted LaRon Landry at #6 and the Purple Jesus fell into their lap. Kenny Williams, a senior from the University of Miami, is widely considered the best safety in the draft, but he might not be available to the Purple at #17. Despite that, he's officially been added to the list of players I plan on taking an in depth look at prior to the draft (along with defensive ends Derrick Harvey from Florida and Calais Campbell from Miami, as well as a few others).

That's Just Embarrassing

SI.com headline: "Refusal to pull up pants leads to Viking's arrest".

Let's all applaud Cedric Griffin for being the first Viking to tempt the wrath of the Commissioner. I'm sure the Vikings would love to spend time without one of their starting corner, seeing as they have so many capable backups. Unless the reason that players become safeties rather than corners is because they can't cut it at corner. Then the defense might have some problems.

[Editor's note: Griffin's problem stemmed from wearing pants too low, not because he was undressed or in the act of undressing. So he's got that going for him. Which is nice. Still gotta love the headline though.]

The New NFL Conduct Policy and You

The biggest news in the NFL world is the suspensions of Pacman Jones and Chris Henry and Commissioner Roger Goodell's new league conduct policy. The policy has two possibly controversial aspects, the first of which pertains to when players can be punished:

"It is not enough to simply avoid being found guilty of a crime," the new policy says. "Instead, as an employee of the NFL or a member club, you are held to a higher standard and expected to conduct yourself in a way that is responsible, promotes the values upon which the league is based, and is lawful.

"Persons who fail to live up to this standard of conduct are guilty of conduct detrimental and subject to discipline, even where the conduct itself does not result in conviction of a crime."

Some may have a problem with this, and I can't comment on the legality of the policy, seeing as how I'm not a lawyer, but at its core, the policy rests on the fact that no one has a right to play in the NFL. Employers can expect certain conduct from their employees and it is not unreasonable for the league to expect its players to avoid the type of situations that lead to felony charges. And don't expect the NFLPA to help Pacman Jones fight for his right to make it rain:

"The NFL Players Association and the Player Advisory Council have been discussing this issue for several months," Upshaw said. "We believe that these are steps that the commissioner needs to take and we support the policy. It is important that players in violation of the policy will have the opportunity and the support to change their conduct and earn their way back."

The new policy won't just effect the way players conduct themselves either. It will also have an effect on the way teams evaluate players. Aside from the fact that players with a history of behavior problems may end up missing large chunks of their teams' games, making them akin to a player with a history of injury problems, Goodell has added in another incentive for teams to avoid behaviorally challenged players: punishing teams for their players run ins with the law. He didn't expand on what would happen to teams, but most articles seem to think he'll end up taking draft picks away. So not only would a team lose a player to a suspension, they'd also lose the most precious commodity in the NFL.

What will the effect of this policy be on the Vikings? Well, for one, don't expect to see Brandon Meriweather in Purple. Aside from that, it will likely only serve to harden a policy the Vikings have already implemented. Following the Randy Moss trade and the Sex Boat Incident, the team rolled out a pretty strict behavioral policy and rid themselves of many of the players making the wrong kind of headlines, such as Daunte Culpepper, Fred Smoot and Koren Robinson.

That doesn't mean they'll get rid of a player upon the first sign of trouble, however. Bryant "the Giver" McKinnie and Dwight "Wisconsin Women" Smith are still on the roster, with McKinnie receiving an extension and Smith being resigned. What set them apart from the others is that McKinnie and Smith managed to avoid any further trouble after a relatively minor incident: Culpepper had a publicized falling out with Childress, Smoot had problems with making meetings on time and had a drop off in performance and while Robinson's offense was his first with the Vikings, it was a repeat of previous alcohol related issues. What this implies is that from here on out, the Vikings will tolerate a minor incident, but will not tolerate any further mistakes. And if they stick to that policy, they should be able to avoid having the Commissioner step in, something that all Vikings' fans should hope never happens.