Udoh’s Attorney Strongly Denies Allegations

But, there are two sides to every story. And on Wednesday afternoon, Oli Udoh’s attorney sent a statement, in which he STRONGLY denied all allegations of wrongdoing against his client, to relevant media members who are following the situation.

Oli never followed a woman into the restroom and never prevented a woman from going anywhere — and I have personally verified that any allegation to the contrary is 100% false. In fact, the woman approached Oli that night and they had a cordial conversation which ended in their exchanging of phone numbers. She has since reached out to us and has confirmed the allegations are completely false. Oli committed no crime whatsoever under Florida law, and we look forward to a speedy resolution of this case — one in which eh never should have been arrested. — Brian Bieber (Oli Udoh’s Attorney)

Two Sides to Every Story

There’s a lot happening in this text message statement, tweeted out by Chris Tomasson (Pioneer Press). This isn’t your standard denial or attorney runaround.

Udoh’s attorney, Brian Bieber, claims to have verifiable proof to prove innocence, including testimony from the alleged victim and lead witness. One thing is for sure. This is why a good legal system allows both sides to be heard. Things are not always as they originally seem.

Will that be the case here? We do not yet know. But Brian Bieber’s statement certainly throws an extra wrinkle into the reality of what we knew earlier today.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

According to a report by Andy Slater, Udoh (full name: Olisaemeka Udoh) followed an unwilling woman into the bathroom at a nightclub and wouldn’t leave. His arrest charges, according to Slater, are disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

SLATER SCOOP: Minnesota Vikings’ Oli Udoh was arrested on Saturday in Miami.

The NFL offensive lineman was talking to a woman in the bathroom line at a nightclub, followed her in, and then wouldn’t leave, sources tell me.

Udoh got charged with disorderly conduct and resisting.

— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) October 23, 2022

Oli Udoh on the field

On the field, Oli Udoh has been rather irrelevant to what the Vikings are doing in 2022, logging just THREE snaps through SIX games. That might be part of why the offensive line has looked so much better, thus far. During 1095 snaps in 2021, Udoh logged a 39.0 pass block grade at PFF (54.4 overall grade).

But this morning, he isn’t worried about football. He has bigger fish to fry.

(This post will be updated as more information becomes available)

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

But does that mean Bradbury should be immediately crowned as the starting center once again? Well, not if it means benching Mason Cole.

The #Vikings activated Garrett Bradbury from the COVID-19 reserve list, and placed Josh Metellus on it. Tackle Timon Perres was also activated from the practice squad COVID-19 list.

— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingStrib) November 16, 2021

Cole vs Bradbury

If you’ve watched the Vikings’ offensive line play all season then you may have noticed a difference in blocking up the middle over the last couple of games. That’s because Kirk Cousins hasn’t had interior defensive linemen immediately punching him in the face during every other drop back.

Even last week, Cole’s worst as a Viking according to Pro Football Focus, Kirk seemed a lot more comfortable than what we’ve seen when it’s Bradbury blocking in front of him. Their PFF grades show the difference as well. In all three grading categories (Pass Block | Run Block | Offense), Mason Cole is better than Garret Bradbury.

PFF would start Mason Cole over Garrett Bradbury. #Vikings

Cole – PBLK: 54.4 RBLK: 71.1 OFF: 68.8

Bradbury – PBLK: 36.0 RBLK: 67.0 OFF: 56.2 pic.twitter.com/LUWVzyFKjw

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) November 17, 2021

Bradbury Regret

Cole’s grades may not be great. But they’re still head and shoulders better than Garrett Bradbury, who’s been a major disappointment since the Minnesota Vikings drafted him in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft.

In his three seasons wearing purple, the NC State alum is yet to post a PFF pass block grade above a 41.4, which he notched as a rookie. Since then, he’s steadily regressed (2020: 38.8, 2021: 36.0) as a blocker for Kirk Cousins, who struggles big time when pressured up the middle.

How do you regress from a rookie pass block grade in the low 40’s? Nobody’s quite sure but Garrett somehow found a way.

Is Mason Cole’s Play Sustainable

Mason Cole isn’t an over-the-hill veteran. In fact, he’s just 25.5 years old, which is actually younger than the 26.5-year-old Bradbury. But unlike his fellow center, Cole has gotten better with age, improving all of his Pro Football Focus grades as his career has gone on.

Cole’s playing time is certainly something worth keeping an eye on though. He has struggled more in years where he’s been forced into a bigger role. But 2021 has been, so far, the best of his career even as his playing time has risen.

Remember, it’s difficult to find good ways to judge the offensive line, beyond using your own eye test week in and week out, which is a dangerous barometer to rely on. PFF gives us another tool to help us verify what we see each game.

Option C – Bench Oli Udoh

Option C means playing both Mason Cole and Garrett Bradbury, in favor of Oli Udoh, who’s gotten progressively worse at left guard since the 2021 season has played out.

Last week, it was as if he committed a penalty on every drive. His PFF grades have fallen off a cliff as the season’s gone on, too. If the Minnesota Vikings coaching staff is bound and determined to play Garrett Bradbury then sitting Udoh would be another way to keep Mason Cole in the starting lineup.

Bradbury played most of his college career at guard and Cole has played there throughout his NFL career. Hopefully, Zimmer and Kubiak would be smart enough to play Cole at center. Option C would also be another way they could attempt to salvage the career of their former 1st round pick.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Many in the media, however, would rather sell vaccination status storylines that pin the fate of the Vikings’ season on NFL rules that don’t always follow the science of how COVID-19 spreads. Data tells us that vaccinated people can contract and spread the virus (fully vaccinated countries are hitting record highs in cases) too, yet the league has MUCH stricter quarantine and mask-wearing procedures for their unvaccinated players. Why?

Then, those same media members (with plenty of help from Mike Zimmer) want to turn that vaxxed vs unvaxxed fight into locker room consternation that we don’t know exists. Yes, we know the head coach wants everyone vaccinated. He doesn’t want to worry about unfair rules effecting the availability of his unvaxxed players. But beyond what Zim has expressed in press conferences, we don’t actually know if the vaccination status of certain guys is stirring up controversy within TCO Performance Center. More importantly, the Vikings locker room.

Vikings had at least 13 players unvaxxed as of last week (so top rate of 81.1% with active roster and practice squad). They were no better than 77.3% on active roster (41/53 at best), but source had said several players were in process. https://t.co/UZPlI3nkFG

— Ben Goessling (@GoesslingStrib) September 8, 2021

He is selfish. He is not a leader.

Kirk Cousins’ leadership questioned over refusal to get COVID vaccine | Fox News https://t.co/gKPMUNgikD#VikingsChat #ProlongingThePandemic

— MN Vikings Chat (@mnvikingschat) September 2, 2021

What we should worry about

We do know the Minnesota Vikings offensive line was bad again last year. We also know that one of their two competent offensive linemen, Riley Reiff, now plays for Cincinnati. So, he’ll be on the field Sunday but not in a Vikings uniform. His replacement plan, 1st round draft pick Christian Darrisaw, hasn’t taken a practice snap yet because of a lingering injury.

Unless a miracle has unfolded during training camp, suddenly turning Oli Udoh and Rashod Hill into the starting-caliber offensive linemen that they’ve never been, the vaccine status of Kirk Cousins isn’t going to matter. He’ll be at home with broken bones and we’ll be stuck watching a 4-13 football team led by Sean Mannion.

So let’s focus on the things that realistically have a shot at torpedoing the 2021 Vikings. Panicking over the vaccine status of Kirk Cousins or other stars along the offense and defense makes no sense. But then again, neither does writing fluff pieces on Rashod Hill and Oli Udoh, who we all hope play as few downs as possible, vs hit pieces on a QB you can’t win without.

Welcome to 2021.

Maybe @Charley_Walters should come out and tell us how he really feels about Kirk Cousins? pic.twitter.com/Z6nJ2p5xfE

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) September 7, 2021

No, but to be fair, he did write about how the Vikings can realistically cut ties with the unvaccinated safety as early as next offseason lol. pic.twitter.com/BKxRyuDPqf

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) September 7, 2021

Anything can happen

This blog isn’t refuting anything written about “what could happen” if Kirk Cousins were to become a “close contact” or contract COVID-19 during the season. If that were to happen, he’d be forced to sit out of team activities for a longer period of time than someone who’s vaccinated. Yes, that could happen. But if we’re that upset about it, shouldn’t we also be questioning the premise behind the rules, especially if those rules don’t make sense?

Missing a week or two because of COVID-19 isn’t going to doom the Minnesota Vikings season anyway. I’m not going to speculate about a playoff or super bowl COVID absence. And it’s worth mentioning again: we’ve seen elsewhere in the NFL and around the world, vaccinated people can contract and spread the virus too. We have no idea what next week will look like in this world, let alone multiple months from now.

Much like an injury to the wrong player at the wrong time, COVID could impact the Vikings’ season. But the likelihood of it happening in a large way is being unsurprisingly overblown. If you want to look for something that could derail the season, look in a familiar spot: the offensive line.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan