National Football League

Brian Billick's thoughts for March 18

Published Mar. 18, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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In his look at the NFL draft, Billick evaluates defensive tackles, kickoff return rule change and addesses some of Vikings' concerns.

Vikings have areas of concern

The collapse of the Metrodome roof was symbolic to the fall of a team that was only a win away from the Super Bowl a season before.

Going into next season, there are now more questions than answers with the Minnesota Vikings. Especially playing in a division that houses both teams from the 2010 NFC Championship game.

Defensively, what had been an NFC staple for several years has begun to show its age. Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, Jimmy Kennedy, Ben Leber and Antoine Winfield are all in the 30 or above club.

Offensively, there is a great deal of talent at wide receiver, running back and tight end. However, the offensive line has not performed up to its billing and the quarterback situation is a huge question mark.

In 2005 the Vikings passed on Aaron Rodgers ... twice. Once, to draft wide receiver Troy Williamson at No. 7 and again at No. 18 picking defensive end Erasmus James. Neither lived up to their hype and even more noteworthy both aren't on the roster.

If one of the top quarterbacks fall to No. 12 (Vikings), it will be interesting to see if they are willing to pass. If so, there should be several appealing options at offensive line, but very limited options in their other area of concern -- defensive back.

The Vikings will have to make due with only two picks in the first two days of the draft because they gave up its third round pick in the Randy Moss trade (also not with the team).

Minnesota has the tough NFC South as its out of division opponent along with Arizona and Washington. They will also pick up the AFC West as their out-of-conference foes.

Baylor DT fits primarily as a nose tackle

Baylor defensive tackle Phil Taylor was relatively unknown nationally before his coming out party at the Senior Bowl. Taylor originally played for Penn State before being arrested following a fight at a fraternity party in 2008.

Taylor was subsequently suspended and dismissed from the team, and then decided to transfer to Baylor where he became a full-time starter in 2010.

Phil Taylor finished the year with 35 tackles, seven for loss and two sacks — fairly average statistics. It was at the Senior Bowl, where he consistently beat top of the line competition in one-on-one drills, that he began to garner Top 5 defensive tackle consideration.

In Mobile he showed that he plays with good leverage and better than average agility for a man his size. He showed an outstanding ability to stay square against double teams and had a great push in goalline situations.

One area of weakness is once his initial burst was stalled, it was hard for him to get a secondary rush or change directions to mirror the play.

Taylor is going to be a 3-4 nose tackle and be asked to plug gaps and free up linebackers, which suits his 6'3 1/4 334-pound frame. But oddly enough, his size (more specifically his weight) is actually a true concern of NFL scouts. At one point in time, Taylor weighed in over 360 pounds. His weight will need to be controlled if a team invests millions of dollars in him.

Stephen Paea has raw talent but is still learning

Stephen Paea opened a lot of eyes when he threw up 49 repetitions in the bench press at last months NFL Combine. But when you evaluate him as a player, you see much more than just a olympic worthy weight lifter.

Paea has been a consistent performer during his college career at Oregon State.

He had five, three and six sacks in 2008, 2009 and 2010. In addition, he had at least one tackle for loss in 12 of the last 18 games and holds the school record with nine forced fumbles.

Keep in mind, Paea is still learning how to play the game -- he didn't start playing football until his senior year of high school.

I was looking forward to watching Paea participate at the Senior Bowl, but he injured his knee in the first practice and was unable to go the rest of the week.

Paea's main role at Oregon State was to be a space-eating, run-plugging squatty body.

Compared to Nick Fairley, he wasn't asked to provide an intimidating pass rush. What he did do was collapse the pocket and forced the quarterback outside the tackle box on multiple occasions.

Whenever you have a player that can provide an inside push, it is going to make your rush ends that much more impactful as they turn the corner. For Paea to take his game to the next level, he will need to combine that low and hard initial burst with an increased ability to change direction. For now, he is just a powerful straight ahead player.

Kickoff return rule change would drastically alter the game

I find the proposed kickoff change being discussed by the NFL Competition committee to be a fascinating debate.

The rule change is presented as a way to minimize the impact of big hits and injuries -- more specifically, concussions that can occur because of them. Anytime you are talking about player safety it is hard to argue against it. I applaud the league and the Competition Committee in its efforts to continually make the game safer. In this case, I think they have gone too far.

By moving the kickoff up to the 35-yard line you will remove a major part of the tactical and strategic workings of the game. This will all but guarantee that offensive drives will start on the 25-yard line (touchback). The statistical difference between an offense starting with a touchback compared to starting on the 30 or 35-yard line is substantial.

Years ago, when Mike Holmgren and Rich McKay first purposed moving the spot of the kickoff back to the 30, it was done with a passionate plea to return the excitement of the kickoff return play. Teams developed kickers that were capable of kicking the ball out of the back of the end zone and returns were diminishing.

One of the reasons Holmgren was a proponent was because, as the then-head coach of the Green Bay Packers, he knew that Mitch Berger and the Minnesota Vikings were one of the best teams in the league at kickoff returns, particularly in the sterile environment of the Metrodome. As he told me during the debate, “I am tired of having to go the length of the field on every drive.” Mike had not been able to beat the Vikings in Minnesota in his first five years as the Packers head man.

Unless the statistics show an overwhelming increase of injuries in return situations, I don’t see the justification for making the change. I think, perhaps, it is more an effort to again show the players that the league is interested in their well-being than a genuine effort to limit concussions.

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