Add it all up and Bryant McKinnie will be on the short list of players who will be most significant in determining the success of the Minnesota Vikings in 2008.
Why? Well, start with his position, offensive left tackle. With a right-handed quarterback like the Vikings’ Tarvaris Jackson, the left tackle is the most important position on the offensive line. McKinnie, and other NFL left tackles, are gatekeepers for their teams, protecting the backside of quarterbacks.
A left tackle finds himself matched against the defense’s most prolific pass rusher. A right end like the Vikings’ Jared Allen, who led the NFL in sacks last season, or historically high motor guys like Bruce Smith or Howie Long are examples.
Former Viking center Mike Morris put it this way about guys like that: “I may not be there but you can feel my presence. Now try and throw the ball. That’s what kind of guy the left tackle has to block.”
The way Morris sees it, there are a couple of problems with the McKinnie situation. The first is that McKinnie faces legal charges from a night club incident in Miami. In addition, the NFL is expected to make an announcement soon whether McKinnie will be disciplined by having to miss one or more regular season games.
Such a development will present a problem, but McKinnie’s so-so play during his six-year career is an ongoing issue, too, according to Morris. He thinks journeyman Artis Hicks, now in his seventh NFL season, would be the McKinnie fill-in.
“I don’t think he’s the player they thought he was,” Morris said of McKinnie. “I don’t think he’s the player I thought he was. He hasn’t proven himself and now we’ve got this mess. I wonder if it’s going to hurt us or help us sometimes with him.
“Artie Hicks over there might just be fine. It might also be the solution. McKinnie when he wants to play, he plays well. When he doesn’t, it seems like he takes games off. I don’t think he’s worth his salt. Not $49 million. I think that Hutchinson (left guard Steve) makes him look an awful lot better than he really is. When he’s paired with a very ordinary guard, which we’ve had here before in the past, he looks extremely outmatched a lot of times if he doesn’t have inside help.
“We’ll need him (McKinnie) back. It’s going to be a huge, huge issue if Artie can’t make that transition over to left tackle. That’s a big deal to play left tackle. So that’s why they get paid the big money.”
In 2006 the Vikings signed McKinnie to a reported $48.5 million contract extension. Morris, who has a morning talk show on KFAN, is passionate about his former team, and said he’s “ashamed” the franchise is paying McKinnie the big bucks. Morris talked about playing with former left tackle and hall of famer Gary Zimmerman, and said there’s “no comparison” between Zimmerman and McKinnie.
Cross your Purple horns and hope that McKinnie, who has started a team-best 89 consecutive games including the playoffs, is available to the Vikings because of his experience and the importance of the left tackle position. ”The one guy that could have done it in his sleep, doesn’t choose to do it, and that’s McKinnie,” Morris said. “We hope he’s (McKinnie) back. …But a hell of a burden on Artie Hicks right now. That’s for sure. He hasn’t done him any favors. …”