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EAGAN – Brian O'Neill looked like a tornado.
He was sitting in the visitors' locker room at Lambeau Field trying to figure out what had happened. His voice was a little shaky as he took off his shoes and cut the tape off his wrists. His arms were stained with being hit repeatedly by Clay Matthews.
A year ago, O'Neill was invited to make his NFL debut in one of the sports palaces, in a rivalry game that – at the time – seemed to want to determine the North of the NFC.
During Week 2 in 2018 against the Green Bay Packers, an injury forced the Minnesota Vikings to choose their second-round pick from Pitt. It seemed at first that his debut was going to turn into an unmissable defeat, but the Vikings made a comeback after a 22-7 fall with him in the attack on the right – only to see the kicker Daniel Carlson miss a potential winner in overtime.
O'Neill did not give up a bag and allowed only a handful of pressure from the quarterback. At that time, he had only a few years left to play.
"Last year, at that time, I was trying to hook myself to life and not spoil it for these other guys," O'Neill said Friday. "I've come a long way since then and we still have a long way to go."
His teammates understood the challenge he was facing.
The Viking plan was to treat O'Neill as a project: to create Rashod Hill and let him grow mentally and physically. Instead – with about 20 pounds less than your average tackler and several years of experience playing at the post compared to most recruits – he's attacked the Packers.
"It's something that happens to all of us," said defense Danielle Hunter. "There will always be this game where we will be thrown into this fire and we will just have to understand. Always go back to technique and fundamentals and what your coach told you. That's what he did in this game. "
"It's very easy to get caught off guard, to feel overwhelmed and not doing your job, which will lead you to withdraw from your job," said Stephen Weatherly. "But the ordeal of fire is the best way to do it."
O'Neill was not fired from his post after Green Bay. In fact, he finally got the starting job even when everyone was in good health. According to Pro Football Focus, he did not give up a bag in '18, but his PFF ratings were disappointing because of the frequency with which he was pushed back into the quarter.
During week 1 against Atlanta, we did not see anything like it.
"I think the fact that it's sporty and smart, it helps a lot," said head coach Mike Zimmer. "When he got here early, I think he had to get used to the physical appearance and speed of the NFL. This could happen during the last year at the beginning, and it continued to improve from there. "
Part of this improvement comes from fighting Danielle Hunter every day in practice. Hunter is one of the NFL's best scorers – fast, smart, big and dangerous. Hunter has seen a growth in the O'Neill version of Week 2 to the version sent back to Lambeau to face a much improved Packers defense this week.
"It's a huge difference. Last year, he arrived and was just trying to get used to the program and use the right technique, "Hunter said. "We could say that when the season arrived, he found himself there and faced the best defenders of the pass. He did very well. He really has good feet, it helps a lot. He took his time to approach the technical side of the competition and made good performances over the seasons. You could say that during the off season, he trained and that he improved. When this year began, I could say that he was getting better. There were things I did to him before and I was winning and he was catching it now. "
Weatherly also noticed a significant change in O'Neill's behavior.
"He is much more comfortable with what he was asked to do," Weatherly said. "His ability to communicate with the offensive line has improved a lot. Bigger, stronger He has always had this speed, he has always been agile, but if it was a matter of trust, the more confidence we have, the better we play. It's a very big jump that he made, he feels like he's there. "
"We often do not give Brian (O'Neill) enough credit for his development, which has earned him a lot of success," said offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski. "You see his skills on the display in the racing game and the pass game."
The defensive ends that fight him in practice see O'Neill's skills as starting with his first-rate athleticism. When he was drafted, he was 98th percentile in the dashed exercise and 3 40-yard cones. These gifts do not always translate in the field, but they do for O'Neill.
"His agility, his speed, his speed, he can beat you to the limit and when he gets there, he has enough hands and knows where to place them to stop your momentum," Weatherly said.
On the mental side, Zimmer commented last season that he was impressed by O'Neill's tenacity over the last year, especially when he was outclassed by the size and power of some of the top scorers for the NFL.
The young striker said that he considered hardness as simple hard work with great regularity. He did not focus on how hard he can hit or how many blocks of pancakes he can accumulate. Instead, he stressed the ability to stay calm in the tornado of an NFL game.
"There are a lot of good things that will happen throughout a match and there are a lot of bad things that will happen, be able to take those shots and roll with them, try to to stand still in various situations, it is something that happens only in time and I always try to improve it, to keep control of the cruise, "he said. said O Neill.
When he faces the Packers' rushers, who may include Zadarius Smith and Preston Smith at different times on Sunday, this will test his spirit and abilities. Zadarius led the NFL (tied with Hunter) last week with a pressure of 10 QB per PFF and Preston had 1.5 sacks.
But this time, his teammates will not try to find out what he's doing. They will go to Lambeau believing to have an asset to the right target.
"If there's an elite pass on his side, you do not have to worry about it," Hunter said. "I'm just surprised how good he is at facing his opponents."
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