Post by Purple Pain on Jan 20, 2020 13:01:30 GMT -6
In the hunt for a new OC, I think we tend to look for someone who can provide corrections to the previous OC’s deficiencies. With someone like (Norv) Turner or (John DeFilippo), it was obvious what needed to be changed. What, would you say, were the deficiencies of (Kevin) Stefanski’s game? Are we still not scheming Diggs and (Adam) Thielen to their full potential? — JJ P.
Diggs and Thielen were running routes that nearly maximized their potential as it was — they ran routes at all three levels with a bias towards deeper routes that got them open downfield. That’s exactly how that pair should be used and stands in sharp contract to DeFilippo, who kept Diggs runner shorter routes than anyone else on the team — including Laquon Treadwell — and kneecapped his efficiency as a result.
Stefanski clearly used the most efficient setup for Cousins, too, running play-action more often than all but three teams in the NFL and keeping him under center where he’s been more comfortable. He synced those route concepts with Cousins’ dropback while also making the throws relatively easy, which is why Cousins put together his most efficient year by a number of metrics, notably adjusted net yards per attempt and PFF grade. Stefanski was also excellent at play sequencing, showing looks to teams only to work new plays out of the same looks and formations. Generally speaking, his offense produced more points than there was available talent — and a PFF study on offensive play callers confirms that finding.
His weaknesses were what doomed the offense in the division and against the 49ers, and it was primarily an inability to generate new gameplans when the initial gameplan fell apart. Both the Packers and 49ers found ways to take away play-action by taking the end-man on the line of scrimmage and having him attack the quarterback regardless of how compelling the run looks. When those teams took those away and also attacked screens, Stefanski didn’t have an answer.
In those three games, the offense scored 12.0 points per game. In the 15 other games the Vikings played this year, the offense scored 25.5 points per game after excluding defensive scores.
This isn’t completely unusual for new coordinators — it took a few years for Kyle Shanahan to get over that specific type of hump, first with the Browns then with the Falcons. Sean McVay had issues with that his first year as a head coach, too.
Diggs and Thielen were running routes that nearly maximized their potential as it was — they ran routes at all three levels with a bias towards deeper routes that got them open downfield. That’s exactly how that pair should be used and stands in sharp contract to DeFilippo, who kept Diggs runner shorter routes than anyone else on the team — including Laquon Treadwell — and kneecapped his efficiency as a result.
Stefanski clearly used the most efficient setup for Cousins, too, running play-action more often than all but three teams in the NFL and keeping him under center where he’s been more comfortable. He synced those route concepts with Cousins’ dropback while also making the throws relatively easy, which is why Cousins put together his most efficient year by a number of metrics, notably adjusted net yards per attempt and PFF grade. Stefanski was also excellent at play sequencing, showing looks to teams only to work new plays out of the same looks and formations. Generally speaking, his offense produced more points than there was available talent — and a PFF study on offensive play callers confirms that finding.
His weaknesses were what doomed the offense in the division and against the 49ers, and it was primarily an inability to generate new gameplans when the initial gameplan fell apart. Both the Packers and 49ers found ways to take away play-action by taking the end-man on the line of scrimmage and having him attack the quarterback regardless of how compelling the run looks. When those teams took those away and also attacked screens, Stefanski didn’t have an answer.
In those three games, the offense scored 12.0 points per game. In the 15 other games the Vikings played this year, the offense scored 25.5 points per game after excluding defensive scores.
This isn’t completely unusual for new coordinators — it took a few years for Kyle Shanahan to get over that specific type of hump, first with the Browns then with the Falcons. Sean McVay had issues with that his first year as a head coach, too.
Link: theathletic.com/1536750/2020/01/16/vikings-mailbag-offensive-line-stefon-diggs-kevin-stefanski-kris-boyd/
... and neither is this Chris guy.