Vikings coach Brad Childress has heard positive reports on the conditioning of starting left tackle Bryant McKinnie, who can rejoin the team today after serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy.
But seeing is believing.
"We'll just see if he's physically where he needs to be,"
said Childress, noting that McKinnie left as the starter. "I have a pretty good idea where he's at, just based on what I've heard and how he's worked. But I'll reserve judgment until I see it with my own eyes."
No player, Childress said later, can "come in here and weigh 400 pounds and still go back in as the starter. So, if that's the case, you probably won't be the starter."
Artis Hicks has started the past four games at left tackle.
"It's a bittersweet thing,"
Hicks said. "I love being out there with those guys, but that's Bryant McKinnie's spot, and he's a great player. He just re-signed a long-term contract, so they're committed to him and he's committed to the Vikings."
Hicks did a solid job filling in, facing four Pro Bowl defensive ends. He had mixed results, giving up some sacks and committing some penalties. But teammates were impressed with his play.
"Artis has stepped in and done a great job,"
Pro Bowl center Matt Birk said last week. "He's one of those guys that, at the start of the season, if you're looking at the roster, you're probably not thinking of him as a key player."
"But to do what he's done and step in and play three games right now at left tackle ... he's handled himself real well,"
Birk said. "Certainly, a guy like that, you kind of hope that you don't need him but when you do, you're sure glad you got him."
But Hicks seemed to have at least one costly — and public — mistake per game. On Sunday, it was a holding penalty that negated an 8-yard first-down run by Adrian Peterson.
"Every game, I feel I could have played better,"
Hicks said. "Small things I could have done better, and I know I could do better, because I've done it before. It's frustrating."
