Blake Brandel could only be so reassuring when reporters asked him about playing center leading up to the Minnesota Vikings’ game in London.
“Never played in a game, no,” he admitted, “but I’ve had a lot of practice reps, thankfully, whether that’s scout team or whatever. It’s just one of those things where I knew there at some point could be a possibility, and we’re here. So I’m excited.”
Brandel and Minnesota’s makeshift offensive line held their own against Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns’ defense at Tottenham Stadium. Carson Wentz threw for 236 yards and a touchdown, and Justin Jefferson finished with 123 yards receiving. The offense did enough, given the trying circumstances, allowing the Vikings to escape with a 21-17 win.
“I’m so proud of those guys,” Wentz said after the game. “For guys to do what they did today in a unique week over here. All week, we were down coming into the game.”
Still, the Vikings had prepared Brandel to play center, even though he hadn’t played the position at Oregon State or in the pros. Minnesota’s offensive coordinator, Wes Phillips, credited offensive line coach Chris Kuper and assistant O-line coach Keith Carter with familiarizing Brandel with the brand-new position on the line.
“Blake hasn’t played a lot of center, but they’re always working those guys because of these situations,” Phillips said. “These interior backups particularly have to at least be swing guards, if not have some center flex.”
It wasn’t occasional work, either. The Vikings knew Brandel would have to mix in regularly at center to prepare him to play in a game. Throughout the offseason and training camp, Minnesota moves its linemen up and down the O-line to prepare them for various scenarios.
“Those guys get worked in throughout the offseason,” explained Phillips. “Blake’s been taking snaps for a long time now, whether it’s just QC (quarterback/center) exchange, whether he gets some scout team reps, those things get mixed in. A lot of times, guys don’t even notice, and they’re getting mixed in at different positions. And it’s for these types of situations.”
Phillips’ chief concern with a guard or tackle playing center is that he’ll snap it too high.
“We had Carson back there,” said Phillips, referring to the 6’5” Wentz. “He has pretty good size, so we felt good about that.”
The Vikings also need to prepare their linemen to play all over because they can only dress eight O-linemen, possibly nine, on game day.
That should be enough to cover for injuries. However, that’s uncertain this year, given how many offensive linemen Minnesota has on injured reserve. Every team also needs to use starting offensive linemen on special teams due to the frequency of blocked kicks and how that can alter a game.
“The biggest thing is that you only really dress eight offensive linemen, maybe nine. But more times than not, it’s going to be eight,” explained special teams coach Matt Daniels. “And so out of the eight, you’re going to have six of your offensive linemen on the field goal protection team, unless you feel really, really good about a defense linemen going out there and doing it.”
Teams don’t use their center on special teams because they have a long snapper, which means they only have seven linemen to choose from for six spots. They may also refrain from using a star offensive lineman like Christian Darrisaw due to the risk of injury. Therefore, they need flexible offensive linemen to fill gaps on special teams and step in when injuries occur.
Minnesota’s interior offensive line eroded during its first-round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams last year. The Vikings bolstered it in the offseason, hoping to protect J.J. McCarthy in his first season as a starter. However, he suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 2, and the offensive line has suffered myriad injuries to the extent it’s almost unrecognizable.
The Vikings should be healthier after the bye and better able to protect McCarthy when he returns. Still, they’ve prepared for a scenario like this during the offseason, knowing how often injuries occur in the NFL. That’s only so reassuring. However, for at least one game in London, it held its own against one of the league’s best defensive fronts.
