Post by Purple Pain on Jul 31, 2020 15:51:49 GMT -6
DN: Will Continuity Bring a Vikings Championship?
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Lengthy, in-depth read at link:
www.dailynorseman.com/2020/7/29/21338272/will-continuity-bring-a-vikings-championship
The Core Quartet
The Vikings ownership appears determined to build continuity, and now seems to have established a core quartet which they believe gives them their best shot at a championship in the coming years: Mike Zimmer, Rick Spielman, Kirk Cousins, and Gary Kubiak.
I suspect the intent is to roll with this quartet for the next few years, in hopes that they can deliver a championship to Minnesota. Clearly there is some basis for hope in that plan, both on paper and in practice, if the team can stay healthy.
Zimmer and Kubiak are two of the most respected coaches on their respective sides of the ball, and have the street cred among both players and coaches around the league. Zimmer’s coached one of the best defenses in the league for the past ten years, and Kubiak has won Super Bowls with his coaching and scheme as recently as 2015. Rick Spielman has been the best drafting general manager in the league over the past eight years, and Kirk Cousins has, at least statistically, been one of the best performing quarterbacks in the league since he became a starter, and even more so since joining the Vikings.
Of course each member of the quartet brings their own question marks too, as anyone who hasn’t won a Super Bowl is questioned whether they have what it takes, and even those that have a ring or two may be questioned whether they have what it takes to do it again.
But these four have all been among the top performers in their respective jobs, so it stands to reason that putting them together and maintaining some continuity could lead, with a little luck, to something super.
Lombardi trophies have certainly been won with less - just ask the Giants.
The Value of Continuity
Every team values continuity as the store of knowledge and experience that makes a team gel and operate better together. Teams that are consistently cycling through coaches after short stints are typically among the worst performing teams as they miss out on building that collective store of knowledge and experience, instead being forced to start from scratch every couple years.
All the NFL dynasties are marked with continuity. The Patriots and Brady-Belichick. The 49ers and Walsh-Montana and Siefert-Young. The Steelers and Noll-Bradshaw. Most other franchises that have enjoyed periods of success have done so after building continuity. It’s no secret.
For the Vikings, the value of continuity has been on display on the defensive side of the ball since shortly after Mike Zimmer came to town. He developed a group of core players that, after Zimmer’s first year, have basically been a top 5 defense ever since. They’ve worked through some player changes, but like this year, most starters are returning veterans, and coaching and scheme terminology will remain the same.
Practicing the same scheme, next to the same players, with the same coaches, brings a wealth of knowledge and ease of communication among players and coaches. Players have learned some of the finer points in terms of positioning and their role on a given play. Guys know how their teammates will react in a given situation. Players can audible and adjust on the fly because of the experience they’ve had playing together. Coaches have a wider array of play options in some cases because of the extensive installation over the years, and adjusting scheme is easier because players are well versed in how it works. Players don’t have to think on the field. They know the scheme and can simply react. Veterans who’ve mastered the scheme can help younger teammates on the field.
The Vikings defense enjoys those advantages. What they have to guard against is becoming stale and predictable. Every year brings some adjustments as the league evolves, and the cat-and-mouse game continues. Self-scouting, understanding your own tendencies, and varying them becomes more important in pressing the advantage.
Building Continuity
But for the Vikings, the advantages of continuity have been limited to the defensive side of the ball in recent years.
On offense, each of the past four years have brought scheme and coaching changes. And prior to last season, a new starting quarterback three years in a row. In fact, the Vikings offense hasn’t had continuity of both scheme and quarterback since 2015, and even then both starting wide receivers were new.
Offensive coordinators continue to change as well. Norv Turner. Pat Shurmur. John DeFilippo. Kevin Stefanski. Gary Kubiak.
But for the first time in five years, the Vikings will have the same scheme and starting quarterback two years in a row. All but one of the skill position players are returning veterans as well, as is the protection-caller on the offensive line.
It’s as much continuity as the Vikings have had on offense under Mike Zimmer.
And while Gary Kubiak is technically a new offensive coordinator, and will be calling plays this year, it was his scheme and coaching staff that was installed last season, and it was he who oversaw everything, including the offensive coordinator. In that way, there is a great deal of continuity in the offensive coordinator position as well, not to mention a whole lot more experience.
Still, it’s early in the process of building continuity on offense for the Vikings. It’s only the beginning of the second year in Kubiak’s scheme, and there could be as many as three new starting offensive lineman this year, although most likely guys that learned the scheme last year. Still, the experience of working together is important for an offensive line to gel, and helps them respond to all the twists and stunts defenses have to offer them.
And while most of the starting skill position players will be back from last season, Kirk Cousins will need to build rapport and timing with receivers outside of Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph. Some, like Irv Smith Jr. and Bisi Johnson, he had limited experience with last season, while Tajae Sharpe and Justin Jefferson are entirely new.
They’ll have to do all that, and more, on a short training schedule as well, given the largely lost off-season due to the pandemic.
Nevertheless, they start from a better position than they did last season, with just about all the starters familiar with the scheme, terminology, and assignments- particularly Kirk Cousins and Garrett Bradbury, who are responsible for making the calls. That should allow the offense to build on last season, improve some finer points, and expand the playbook. It may also give coaches more time to develop younger players.
Firing on All Cylinders?
The question now for the Vikings, as they begin an era of continuity on offense as well as defense, is this what’s needed to go that extra mile and not just make the playoffs, but get to the Super Bowl too and ultimately bring home a championship?
The Vikings ownership appears determined to build continuity, and now seems to have established a core quartet which they believe gives them their best shot at a championship in the coming years: Mike Zimmer, Rick Spielman, Kirk Cousins, and Gary Kubiak.
I suspect the intent is to roll with this quartet for the next few years, in hopes that they can deliver a championship to Minnesota. Clearly there is some basis for hope in that plan, both on paper and in practice, if the team can stay healthy.
Zimmer and Kubiak are two of the most respected coaches on their respective sides of the ball, and have the street cred among both players and coaches around the league. Zimmer’s coached one of the best defenses in the league for the past ten years, and Kubiak has won Super Bowls with his coaching and scheme as recently as 2015. Rick Spielman has been the best drafting general manager in the league over the past eight years, and Kirk Cousins has, at least statistically, been one of the best performing quarterbacks in the league since he became a starter, and even more so since joining the Vikings.
Of course each member of the quartet brings their own question marks too, as anyone who hasn’t won a Super Bowl is questioned whether they have what it takes, and even those that have a ring or two may be questioned whether they have what it takes to do it again.
But these four have all been among the top performers in their respective jobs, so it stands to reason that putting them together and maintaining some continuity could lead, with a little luck, to something super.
Lombardi trophies have certainly been won with less - just ask the Giants.
The Value of Continuity
Every team values continuity as the store of knowledge and experience that makes a team gel and operate better together. Teams that are consistently cycling through coaches after short stints are typically among the worst performing teams as they miss out on building that collective store of knowledge and experience, instead being forced to start from scratch every couple years.
All the NFL dynasties are marked with continuity. The Patriots and Brady-Belichick. The 49ers and Walsh-Montana and Siefert-Young. The Steelers and Noll-Bradshaw. Most other franchises that have enjoyed periods of success have done so after building continuity. It’s no secret.
For the Vikings, the value of continuity has been on display on the defensive side of the ball since shortly after Mike Zimmer came to town. He developed a group of core players that, after Zimmer’s first year, have basically been a top 5 defense ever since. They’ve worked through some player changes, but like this year, most starters are returning veterans, and coaching and scheme terminology will remain the same.
Practicing the same scheme, next to the same players, with the same coaches, brings a wealth of knowledge and ease of communication among players and coaches. Players have learned some of the finer points in terms of positioning and their role on a given play. Guys know how their teammates will react in a given situation. Players can audible and adjust on the fly because of the experience they’ve had playing together. Coaches have a wider array of play options in some cases because of the extensive installation over the years, and adjusting scheme is easier because players are well versed in how it works. Players don’t have to think on the field. They know the scheme and can simply react. Veterans who’ve mastered the scheme can help younger teammates on the field.
The Vikings defense enjoys those advantages. What they have to guard against is becoming stale and predictable. Every year brings some adjustments as the league evolves, and the cat-and-mouse game continues. Self-scouting, understanding your own tendencies, and varying them becomes more important in pressing the advantage.
Building Continuity
But for the Vikings, the advantages of continuity have been limited to the defensive side of the ball in recent years.
On offense, each of the past four years have brought scheme and coaching changes. And prior to last season, a new starting quarterback three years in a row. In fact, the Vikings offense hasn’t had continuity of both scheme and quarterback since 2015, and even then both starting wide receivers were new.
Offensive coordinators continue to change as well. Norv Turner. Pat Shurmur. John DeFilippo. Kevin Stefanski. Gary Kubiak.
But for the first time in five years, the Vikings will have the same scheme and starting quarterback two years in a row. All but one of the skill position players are returning veterans as well, as is the protection-caller on the offensive line.
It’s as much continuity as the Vikings have had on offense under Mike Zimmer.
And while Gary Kubiak is technically a new offensive coordinator, and will be calling plays this year, it was his scheme and coaching staff that was installed last season, and it was he who oversaw everything, including the offensive coordinator. In that way, there is a great deal of continuity in the offensive coordinator position as well, not to mention a whole lot more experience.
Still, it’s early in the process of building continuity on offense for the Vikings. It’s only the beginning of the second year in Kubiak’s scheme, and there could be as many as three new starting offensive lineman this year, although most likely guys that learned the scheme last year. Still, the experience of working together is important for an offensive line to gel, and helps them respond to all the twists and stunts defenses have to offer them.
And while most of the starting skill position players will be back from last season, Kirk Cousins will need to build rapport and timing with receivers outside of Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph. Some, like Irv Smith Jr. and Bisi Johnson, he had limited experience with last season, while Tajae Sharpe and Justin Jefferson are entirely new.
They’ll have to do all that, and more, on a short training schedule as well, given the largely lost off-season due to the pandemic.
Nevertheless, they start from a better position than they did last season, with just about all the starters familiar with the scheme, terminology, and assignments- particularly Kirk Cousins and Garrett Bradbury, who are responsible for making the calls. That should allow the offense to build on last season, improve some finer points, and expand the playbook. It may also give coaches more time to develop younger players.
Firing on All Cylinders?
The question now for the Vikings, as they begin an era of continuity on offense as well as defense, is this what’s needed to go that extra mile and not just make the playoffs, but get to the Super Bowl too and ultimately bring home a championship?
Bottom Line
The Vikings ownership looks to have put their faith in a core quartet of personnel to deliver on their stated goal of bringing a championship to Minnesota. All the pieces are in place, and for the first time this season- if their is a season - there will be a large degree of continuity in all three phases for the Vikings, in terms of scheme, coaches, and core players. There also seems to be a good fit among the various components, from offensive and defensive scheme fit, the notion of complimentary football, how the former suits Kirk Cousins, and how Spielman is able to fill roster needs to support both.
But will it pay dividends?
Stay tuned.
The Vikings ownership looks to have put their faith in a core quartet of personnel to deliver on their stated goal of bringing a championship to Minnesota. All the pieces are in place, and for the first time this season- if their is a season - there will be a large degree of continuity in all three phases for the Vikings, in terms of scheme, coaches, and core players. There also seems to be a good fit among the various components, from offensive and defensive scheme fit, the notion of complimentary football, how the former suits Kirk Cousins, and how Spielman is able to fill roster needs to support both.
But will it pay dividends?
Stay tuned.
Lengthy, in-depth read at link:
www.dailynorseman.com/2020/7/29/21338272/will-continuity-bring-a-vikings-championship
... and neither is this Chris guy.