Post by Funkytown on Aug 16, 2017 21:30:29 GMT -6
PreSnapReads - The Minnesota Vikings: A Silent Super Bowl Contender by Cian Fahey
...
More at the link: presnapreads.com/2017/08/10/the-minnesota-vikings-a-silent-super-bowl-contender/
Before the Atlanta Falcons made their unlikely advance to the Super Bowl, the Minnesota Vikings were the most impressive team in the NFL. It was Week 6. The Vikings were 5-0. No other team was still unbeaten at that point of the year. The Vikings should have used their bye week to consolidate what had been working and address the few things that hadn’t been working. They didn’t.
It was during that bye week when the Vikings season collapsed.
The cracks had begun to show prior to that point. Both of the team’s starting offensive tackles were on IR. Adrian Peterson went to short-term IR. The Vikings have very little control over the health of their players. They did control how they ran their offense though. Norv Turner specifically in this instance.
Sam Bradford was acquired so late during the preseason that he couldn’t play Week 1. He started from Week 2 onwards, but the Vikings ran a different playbook to the one they had during the previous season. Bradford spent most of his time in shotgun and the offense made great use of read-pass option plays so the ball could come out quickly. The deeper drops and vertical routes that Turner had prioritized with Teddy Bridgewater were gone.
Turner would resign abruptly after Week 8. The Vikings were 5-2 and in first place at the time. It’s unclear the exact reason for Turner’s departure but it was clear that he used the bye week to go back to the offense he preferred to run rather than the offense that had worked to that point of the season.
After Turner’s departure the hits kept coming for the Vikings. Harrison Smith and Stefon Diggs, key players on either side of the ball, both played through significant injuries. Anthony Barr, previously an explosive big-play linebacker, was called out by his head coach for not performing to expectations. Not only did the offensive line lose its starting tackles, it lost backup tackles and backup interior linemen as the season wore on. By midseason they had used more than 11 combinations on the line.
T.J. Clemmings was the only guy who could stay healthy and he couldn’t block anyone. Clemmings played 913 snaps last year after entering the offseason prior as the third-string right tackle. Compare that to the Atlanta Falcons who had all five linemen start every regular season game and play at least 1,000 snaps.
The Vikings’ injury epidemic was so bad that even Mike Zimmer was forced to have eye surgery. Teddy Bridgewater’s devastating injury in the preseason had been an omen ahead of a season where almost everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong.
12 months later and things are looking up.
It was during that bye week when the Vikings season collapsed.
The cracks had begun to show prior to that point. Both of the team’s starting offensive tackles were on IR. Adrian Peterson went to short-term IR. The Vikings have very little control over the health of their players. They did control how they ran their offense though. Norv Turner specifically in this instance.
Sam Bradford was acquired so late during the preseason that he couldn’t play Week 1. He started from Week 2 onwards, but the Vikings ran a different playbook to the one they had during the previous season. Bradford spent most of his time in shotgun and the offense made great use of read-pass option plays so the ball could come out quickly. The deeper drops and vertical routes that Turner had prioritized with Teddy Bridgewater were gone.
Turner would resign abruptly after Week 8. The Vikings were 5-2 and in first place at the time. It’s unclear the exact reason for Turner’s departure but it was clear that he used the bye week to go back to the offense he preferred to run rather than the offense that had worked to that point of the season.
After Turner’s departure the hits kept coming for the Vikings. Harrison Smith and Stefon Diggs, key players on either side of the ball, both played through significant injuries. Anthony Barr, previously an explosive big-play linebacker, was called out by his head coach for not performing to expectations. Not only did the offensive line lose its starting tackles, it lost backup tackles and backup interior linemen as the season wore on. By midseason they had used more than 11 combinations on the line.
T.J. Clemmings was the only guy who could stay healthy and he couldn’t block anyone. Clemmings played 913 snaps last year after entering the offseason prior as the third-string right tackle. Compare that to the Atlanta Falcons who had all five linemen start every regular season game and play at least 1,000 snaps.
The Vikings’ injury epidemic was so bad that even Mike Zimmer was forced to have eye surgery. Teddy Bridgewater’s devastating injury in the preseason had been an omen ahead of a season where almost everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong.
12 months later and things are looking up.
...
A window is about to open for this defense where a top-three estimate would be considered conservative. The younger players now have experience and have been developed. The older players are not yet at a point where their age becomes a negative. That balance, the talent and the coaching suggest that this should be the next great defense in the NFL.
Should that come true, the Vikings have just enough pieces on offense to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
Should that come true, the Vikings have just enough pieces on offense to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender.
More at the link: presnapreads.com/2017/08/10/the-minnesota-vikings-a-silent-super-bowl-contender/
Yeah right. This guy is on Quaaludes. Remember this when 
... and neither is this Chris guy.