Post by Purple Pain on Oct 18, 2024 9:32:24 GMT -6
Pressuring Goff is key to throwing off a red-hot Lions offense, which just demolished Dallas and former Vikings coach/Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer 47-9 last week.
The Vikings have struggled with the Lions under O’Connell, going 1-3. Goff has been sacked only twice across those four games, which include two under former defensive coordinator Ed Donatell and two at the end of last season, the first under coordinator Brian Flores.
“They got a really good line,” Flores said. “He gets the ball out quick. Receivers get open quickly. There’s obviously a rhythm and a timing that they’ve built over a period of time.”
The Lions have only one loss, which came against the Buccaneers in Week 2 when Goff threw two interceptions under pressure. But Detroit and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who was a head coaching candidate last offseason, have kept Goff largely clean.
“He’s got a great scheme, which allows him to play calm and confident,” Van Ginkel said. “He’s getting the ball out quicker. He’s diagnosing plays and schemes and able to get it to playmakers. He’s able to dink and dunk, get the ball out and let them have yards after catch.”
But this year’s Vikings defense, allowing only 15.2 points per game, could make things different.
“I think it’s night and day different [from last year],” edge rusher Patrick Jones II said.
Disruption has been the name of the game.
Only the New York Giants (4.3) are averaging more sacks per game than the Vikings (four) this season, led by Jones with five, Jonathan Greenard with four and Van Ginkel with three. And only one team, the Green Bay Packers, has forced more takeaways than the Vikings’ 13 through five games.
The Vikings have struggled with the Lions under O’Connell, going 1-3. Goff has been sacked only twice across those four games, which include two under former defensive coordinator Ed Donatell and two at the end of last season, the first under coordinator Brian Flores.
“They got a really good line,” Flores said. “He gets the ball out quick. Receivers get open quickly. There’s obviously a rhythm and a timing that they’ve built over a period of time.”
The Lions have only one loss, which came against the Buccaneers in Week 2 when Goff threw two interceptions under pressure. But Detroit and offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who was a head coaching candidate last offseason, have kept Goff largely clean.
“He’s got a great scheme, which allows him to play calm and confident,” Van Ginkel said. “He’s getting the ball out quicker. He’s diagnosing plays and schemes and able to get it to playmakers. He’s able to dink and dunk, get the ball out and let them have yards after catch.”
But this year’s Vikings defense, allowing only 15.2 points per game, could make things different.
“I think it’s night and day different [from last year],” edge rusher Patrick Jones II said.
Disruption has been the name of the game.
Only the New York Giants (4.3) are averaging more sacks per game than the Vikings (four) this season, led by Jones with five, Jonathan Greenard with four and Van Ginkel with three. And only one team, the Green Bay Packers, has forced more takeaways than the Vikings’ 13 through five games.
If there is any team for Jefferson and the Vikings' offense to "get well" against, it's the Lions, whom they typically torch with their passing game. Since 2021, when the Lions hired coach Dan Campbell, the Vikings have averaged 327.7 passing yards in their biannual matchups.
Jefferson has had some of his best games against the Lions and has totaled 1,037 receiving yards in eight career outings. That's the most by anyone in NFL history against one team in eight games, according to ESPN Research.
Those games have not always led to wins, however. The Lions have defeated the Vikings in four of the past five games, even while giving up 182, 223, 141 and 192 receiving yards, respectively, to Jefferson in those victories.
Jefferson has had some of his best games against the Lions and has totaled 1,037 receiving yards in eight career outings. That's the most by anyone in NFL history against one team in eight games, according to ESPN Research.
Those games have not always led to wins, however. The Lions have defeated the Vikings in four of the past five games, even while giving up 182, 223, 141 and 192 receiving yards, respectively, to Jefferson in those victories.
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"I don't feel like any team can really take me out of a game," Jefferson said in London. "The [Jets] had a couple holding penalties and a couple bracket coverages or a safety over the top. That's going to happen every single week.
"I always try to prepare myself to go through those tough games where I'm getting held or I'm getting doubled and I've still got to get open. It's my job to get open and make plays for this team. So every single time I'm out there on that field, no matter how they're guarding me, no matter how they're holding me, I try to make the most of those opportunities."
The Vikings can and will take measures to get Jefferson and the rest of the Vikings' receivers away from direct contact with pass defenders. They have used pre-snap motion on 77.8% of their pass plays this season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.
Lining up multiple receivers in stacks and bunches can also make it more difficult for defenders to get their hands on receivers early in routes. Another tactic is to ensure what offensive coordinator Wes Phillips termed "timely snapping" to ensure that defenders aren't able to reset and step up to the line of scrimmage to get physical before the play begins.
"There are some things that we can do to help them," Phillips said, "but you can't move all the guys at once."
There will be at least some plays Sunday when Jefferson and fellow receivers Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor will simply need to beat physical coverage strategies. Officials won't throw flags on every play and, in Sunday's case, referee Clay Martins' crew has totaled six combined penalties for pass interference, illegal contact or defensive holding in five games. All three penalties are automatic first downs, but the latter two lead only to a 5-yard mark-off. (Pass interference is a spot foul.)
"We can't ever assume that it's going to be called," Phillips said. "This group that we're playing, their style is to really get up and challenge you, and you know it's going to be a physical matchup at the receiver position at all the spots. You can't put it on [officials]. You have to work your technique, work your releases, and if you get calls, you get them. Sometimes you will, and sometimes you won't.
"A lot of the guys that coach this type of aggressive philosophy, they understand that they're going to throw a flag here and there, but they're probably not going to throw it every time. They're probably going to live and die by that technique and philosophy, and we have to do everything we can to counteract it."
"I always try to prepare myself to go through those tough games where I'm getting held or I'm getting doubled and I've still got to get open. It's my job to get open and make plays for this team. So every single time I'm out there on that field, no matter how they're guarding me, no matter how they're holding me, I try to make the most of those opportunities."
The Vikings can and will take measures to get Jefferson and the rest of the Vikings' receivers away from direct contact with pass defenders. They have used pre-snap motion on 77.8% of their pass plays this season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, the fourth-highest rate in the NFL.
Lining up multiple receivers in stacks and bunches can also make it more difficult for defenders to get their hands on receivers early in routes. Another tactic is to ensure what offensive coordinator Wes Phillips termed "timely snapping" to ensure that defenders aren't able to reset and step up to the line of scrimmage to get physical before the play begins.
"There are some things that we can do to help them," Phillips said, "but you can't move all the guys at once."
There will be at least some plays Sunday when Jefferson and fellow receivers Jordan Addison and Jalen Nailor will simply need to beat physical coverage strategies. Officials won't throw flags on every play and, in Sunday's case, referee Clay Martins' crew has totaled six combined penalties for pass interference, illegal contact or defensive holding in five games. All three penalties are automatic first downs, but the latter two lead only to a 5-yard mark-off. (Pass interference is a spot foul.)
"We can't ever assume that it's going to be called," Phillips said. "This group that we're playing, their style is to really get up and challenge you, and you know it's going to be a physical matchup at the receiver position at all the spots. You can't put it on [officials]. You have to work your technique, work your releases, and if you get calls, you get them. Sometimes you will, and sometimes you won't.
"A lot of the guys that coach this type of aggressive philosophy, they understand that they're going to throw a flag here and there, but they're probably not going to throw it every time. They're probably going to live and die by that technique and philosophy, and we have to do everything we can to counteract it."