Tag: Chris Kuper

The Vikings haven’t been called for many penalties

The Vikings have been very disciplined this season

The Minnesota Vikings currently sit at 5-1 and have many things they need to work on. One of the things that they don’t need to work on is committing penalties.

Throughout the course of the season, the Vikings have been a very composed team. They don’t make mistakes and play a composed style of football.

Throughout the 2022 season, the Vikings rank second in the National Football League in committing penalties. They have only committed 25 on the season and lead the league in penalty yards accrued with only 185.

What is most impressive about this is the performance of the offensive line. The Vikings have one of the best offensive lines they have had in some time and it is showing in both PFF grades and penalties. Through six games, the Vikings have had four offensive holding penalties called against them but not one on the offensive line.

Throughout the course of the season, this is mostly unsustainable but the amount of discipline the unit and team are playing with.

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The Vikings finally have a good offensive line

The Vikings’ offensive line is, dare we say, really good

In starting 4-1 this season, the Minnesota Vikings have been an improved football team this season. Under new head coach Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings have found ways to win in ways that they weren’t able to before this season under former head coach Mike Zimmer.

One of the main reasons the Vikings have been so improved has been due to the offensive line. For the last few seasons, even an average offensive line was hard to imagine as they finished in the low 20s across the overall offensive line metrics.

This year tells a different story. The Vikings have developed into a top-ten offensive line metric-wise after five games this season.

Better than average in pass blocking per both PFF and ESPN is a welcomed and excellent change. That improvement can be credited to three things.

  • Christian Darrisaw’s improvement
  • Ed Ingram being competent from the get-go
  • Offensive line coach Chris Kuper scheming around Garrett Bradbury’s deficiencies

The Vikings have a solid offensive line for the first time in years and it’s about time fans get to reap the benefits.

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A Hall of Famer visited Vikings practice today

The Vikings received a Hall of Fame visit on Tuesday

It’s not too often that you have a Hall of Famer visit practice, but the Minnesota Vikings got just that on Tuesday.

Mike Munchak, a Hall of Fame guard for the Houston Oilers after being selected eighth overall in the 1982 NFL draft, visited the Vikings as an observer and to help out the coaching staff.

Since retiring, Munchak has been an excellent offensive line coach. He has been in coaching since 1994, including getting promoted from offensive line coach to head coach of the Tennessee Titans in 2011. He spent a total of 20 seasons coaching the team that he played for, spending 32 years in the same organization.

Munchak is also widely regarded throughout the league and is the reason the Vikings hired offensive line coach Chris Kuper. Kuper was Munchack’s assistant offensive line coach in Denver, having also worked with Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.

The advice from Munchak can be invaluable and make a massive difference for the unit and Kuper.

6 members of Vic Fangio’s old coaching staff have landed with NFL teams

Ed Donatell, Curtis Modkins and Chris Kuper are among the former members of Vic Fangio’s coaching staff who have landed new jobs.

By our unofficial count, the Denver Broncos parted ways with 14 members of Vic Fangio‘s coaching staff in addition to Fangio himself.

At the time of this writing, six of those coaches have landed gigs with other NFL teams.

Ed Donatell has accepted a defensive coordinator position with the Minnesota Vikings, assuming the same role he held in Denver.

Minnesota also hired ex-Broncos running backs coach Curtis Modkins (same role) and ex-Denver assistant offensive line coach Chris Kuper as their new OL coach. The Vikings also poached quality control coach Justin Rascati from the Broncos’ staff, giving him a promotion as an assistant OL coach.

Ex-Denver special teams coordinator Tom McMahon was hired by the Las Vegas Raiders as their new STC. Former Broncos assistant ST coach Chris Gould was hired by the Los Angeles Chargers to fill the same position he held in Denver.

Elsewhere in L.A., former Broncos assistant coach Chris Beake has joined the Los Angeles Rams as their new linebackers coach.

Perhaps the most notable former members of Fangio’s staff still available are offensive line coach Mike Munchak and offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur. Munchak and Shurmur both have head coach experience in the NFL.

As for Fangio, he is expected to take a year off from coaching.

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