Pelissero: Vikings counting on stronger, more physical Sullivan in 2010
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The Minnesota Vikings insist they were pleased with John Sullivan's first season as their starting center, even though the drop-off from predecessor Matt Birk was considerable.
That doesn't mean anyone felt Sullivan played to his potential in 2009.
"You can't dwell in the past," Sullivan said during the Vikings' recent minicamp.
"I went back, I reviewed the tape -- obviously, we're still doing that at this point -- and I just know that I can get a lot better as a player across the board. In terms of the mental aspects of the game, physical aspects, in the run game and the pass game, it's back to the drawing board."
By all accounts, Sullivan fared well handling the line calls Birk -- a six-time Pro Bowl pick with the Vikings who signed a three-year, $12 million deal with Baltimore in March 2009 -- made for the better part of a decade.
Where Sullivan fell far short was in the physicality needed to do the dirty work inside.
"He can get better there," Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. "He can still get stronger."
And the Vikings are betting on Sullivan -- who never will be a huge center at 6-foot-4 and 301 pounds -- to do just that, with no apparent competition for their former sixth-round pick (187th overall in 2008) on the roster.
On some level, Sullivan got a pass last season because of circumstances -- he was one of two first-time starters along the line for an offense with an altered, pass-first identity -- and the Vikings' success as a team. There's little question he must improve on his 2009 performance to prove he's the long-term answer, especially in the ground game.
To use one metric, the Web site profootballfocus.com, which grades every NFL player on every snap, ranked Sullivan 28th among centers overall last season and 31st in run blocking. (By comparison, Birk ranked second and sixth, respectively.)
While Sullivan felt he improved throughout the season -- "I was definitely a better player in the NFC championship game than I was Week 1 at Cleveland," he said -- one personnel director who spoke highly of the former Notre Dame captain's smarts and quickness in early December scaled back his praise after watching Sullivan in the playoffs.
Two other scouts called Sullivan a scrapper who still is young enough -- he turns 25 in August -- to develop into a solid starter but suggested he could be replaced, too.
"If you look around the league," an AFC scout said, "there's a small group of elite centers and then there's a large majority of centers in the league who are kind of workmanlike-type players who aren't elite but teams find a way to win with them."
The latter is the category that so far fits Sullivan, who also battled a sore foot/ankle last season but said that didn't affect his play.
"I think him getting his body right in this offseason will be big in his second (starting) year," Bevell said. "We think he did a good job, and he's got a hefty responsibility to be in there as the center. We put a lot of pressure on that guy."
The renewed health of guards Steve Hutchinson and Anthony Herrera shouldn't hurt Sullivan or an offense that finished 22nd in rushing efficiency (4.1 yards per carry) and 12th in sacks per pass play last season.
But when it comes to his personal progress, Sullivan -- whose work ethic never has been questioned -- is putting the onus squarely on his own shoulders.
"Within all those areas," Sullivan said, "I think I can play with better pad level, I think I can study even more than I was last year, and the experience helps you with confidence and recognizing things a defense is trying to do."
