Sunday, March 12, 2006

Yes, it got bigger

Steve Hutchinson

I was surprised to learn Hutchinson is only 28--I thought he had been around longer than that. So if he signs a 7 year deal, there's a legitimate chance he'll be a productive offensive lineman for the entire term of his contract.

Interior blocking was BY FAR the biggest problem the Vikes had offensively last season. If Hutchinson joins the team, and lines up next to a healthy Matt Birk, that interior blocking gets something like a 200% upgrade.

Thank you, Zygi. There's no way Red McCombs would have allowed the Vikings to sign anybody to a contract this big. The Vikings are now fully committed to winning, from the top to the bottom of the organization.

Seattle can still match this offer--but is a team paying big money to Alexander, Jones, and Hasselbeck also going to pay a guard more money than any NFL guard has ever made? I assume Hutchinson is going to be joining the Purple.

After seeing players like LeCharles Bentley and Will Witherspoon sign elsewhere, I feared the Vikes were going to stick to players of the Ben Leber-Chester Taylor calibur. This is pretty exciting. An interior blocker doesn't really sound like a thrilling addition, but we all know how important offensive line play is.

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