Post by Purple Pain on Oct 22, 2019 9:57:24 GMT -6
You could make a good argument that no NFL offense has been as productive over the last three weeks as the Minnesota Vikings’.
The numbers back up the eye test. Since Week 5, the Vikings lead the league in yards per play (6.0) and total touchdowns (13). They are second to the Houston Texans in first-down percentage (30.1%), fewest punts (6) and total first downs (74). Kirk Cousins leads the league in touchdown passes (10), yards per attempt (10.8), play-action yards (592) and passer rating (142.6) over that span — by wide margins.
It’s a jaw-dropping shift from Week 4, when the Vikings needed garbage time to avoid a shutout against the Chicago Bears and fans readily jumped off the team’s bandwagon.
But beyond Cousins playing much better, has anything changed for the Vikings offense that might explain this sudden shift? There are a few subtle tells that give us some insight. Let’s take a look.
The numbers back up the eye test. Since Week 5, the Vikings lead the league in yards per play (6.0) and total touchdowns (13). They are second to the Houston Texans in first-down percentage (30.1%), fewest punts (6) and total first downs (74). Kirk Cousins leads the league in touchdown passes (10), yards per attempt (10.8), play-action yards (592) and passer rating (142.6) over that span — by wide margins.
It’s a jaw-dropping shift from Week 4, when the Vikings needed garbage time to avoid a shutout against the Chicago Bears and fans readily jumped off the team’s bandwagon.
But beyond Cousins playing much better, has anything changed for the Vikings offense that might explain this sudden shift? There are a few subtle tells that give us some insight. Let’s take a look.
One might expect that the Vikings’ run-pass selection on first down would be skewing more pass-heavily over the last three weeks. Not the case. Minnesota ran it 30 out of 52 times (57.7%) on first down in first halves through Week 4. Since then: 31 times out of 55 (56.4%), a minuscule difference.
It’s second down where the philosophy has changed. Take a look at their run-heavy play-calling on first-half, second-down plays through the Chicago game. No team rushed it more than the Vikings, and no team passed it less. Minnesota actually had decent success with this imbalance, earning the third-most yards per play in the league. Dalvin Cook’s 75-yard touchdown run at Green Bay helped with that.
But Kevin Stefanski and Gary Kubiak clearly envisioned more explosive potential. Over the last three games, the Vikings have flipped the script, calling for just 15 run plays versus 21 pass plays. In doing so, they’ve increased their yards per play in those situations by close to a yard and moved up to third in first-down percentage. Over the last three weeks, Cousins is 16 of 20 with 235 yards, 11.8 yards per attempt and two touchdowns under these parameters, including his strike to Adam Thielen on Sunday.
It’s second down where the philosophy has changed. Take a look at their run-heavy play-calling on first-half, second-down plays through the Chicago game. No team rushed it more than the Vikings, and no team passed it less. Minnesota actually had decent success with this imbalance, earning the third-most yards per play in the league. Dalvin Cook’s 75-yard touchdown run at Green Bay helped with that.
But Kevin Stefanski and Gary Kubiak clearly envisioned more explosive potential. Over the last three games, the Vikings have flipped the script, calling for just 15 run plays versus 21 pass plays. In doing so, they’ve increased their yards per play in those situations by close to a yard and moved up to third in first-down percentage. Over the last three weeks, Cousins is 16 of 20 with 235 yards, 11.8 yards per attempt and two touchdowns under these parameters, including his strike to Adam Thielen on Sunday.
...
The Vikings have leaned heavily on two-back, one-tight end sets this season. For four weeks, they ran it at the second-highest frequency in the league, per Sharp Football, at 26% of the time. From that, they passed it 42% of the time at 9.8 yards per attempt, while Cousins posted a 128.3 passer rating and threw for three touchdowns and no interceptions. Pretty good.
Perhaps Minnesota recognized how well this was working. In Weeks 5-6, the Vikings threw the ball 10% more often out of “21” with uncanny results. On 16 dropbacks, Cousins had 14 completions at 17.5 (!) yards per attempt with no sacks, no interceptions and three touchdowns. Those included both of Cousins’ long touchdown passes to Stefon Diggs in Week 6 versus Philadelphia.
Perhaps Minnesota recognized how well this was working. In Weeks 5-6, the Vikings threw the ball 10% more often out of “21” with uncanny results. On 16 dropbacks, Cousins had 14 completions at 17.5 (!) yards per attempt with no sacks, no interceptions and three touchdowns. Those included both of Cousins’ long touchdown passes to Stefon Diggs in Week 6 versus Philadelphia.
More at link:
zonecoverage.com/2019/vikings/whats-different-about-the-vikings-offense-over-the-last-three-games/
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... and neither is this Chris guy.
