Vikings Do’s and Don’ts: Week 11 vs. Arizona
Okay, seriously what is going on with this team? Four losses in a row now for the Minnesota Vikings after winning their first five games of the season? Get it together guys.
Any momentum the Vikings had from the early part of the year has now disintegrated and instead the team can now be found in an above ground pool of sorrows at Minnesota’s practice facility.
Playoffs are really beginning to become a silly assumption because this team his given no one any reason to think that they are capable of making it into the NFL’s second season. But before they even say the word playoffs again, the Vikings need to actually win a game.
Perhaps the Minnesota coaching staff should save this weekly article to their Google Chrome favorites from now on instead of using all of their years of fancy experience to try and win their games.
DO – Keep throwing to that guy Diggs
Pretty sure this does not need to be explained, but Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs has been playing out of his mind during the team’s last two games.
The guy has caught 26 of his 29 targets for 244 yards in the last two weeks. If only Minnesota could find a way to get him in the end zone, then he can do that grave digging celebration he loves so much.
If there is one weakness of the Arizona Cardinals defense that the Vikings can exploit, it is their inability to cover talented slot receivers. The Cardinals have struggled to keep up with the smaller, speedy pass catchers like Julian Edelman, Doug Baldwin, Adam Humphries, and Jeremy Kerely in 2016.
Luckily for Minnesota, Diggs may be better than all four of those receivers.
DON’T – Play Mackensie Alexander on defense unless absolutely necessary
It is nothing against Alexander, but Arizona has a smart, veteran quarterback in Carson Palmer. If he sees the Vikings’ rookie cornerback on the field covering one of his receivers, the Cardinals quarterback is definitely going to test how good Alexander truly is.
It seems like Minnesota will be fully stocked once again in their defensive backfield this weekend, so the rookie likely will not get many snaps on defense Sunday, if any.
DO – Test out the new kicker
Now this may be news to some people, but the Vikings cut kicker Blair Walsh this week. The announcement kind of flew under the radar so in case anyone has been sleeping since last Sunday, it should be known that Walsh’s time in Minnesota is now over.
Taking his place is another former UCLA Bruin in Kai Forbath. The kicker was last seen in a New Orleans Saints uniform in 2015 and surprisingly he was still allowed into the Vikings’ facilities despite actually wearing a Saints jersey for a means of employment.
But since Minnesota has a new guy kicking the ball for them now, why not test him out in the kicking-friendly U.S. Bank Stadium? If there is an opportunity for Forbath to try a 50-yard field goal, the Vikings need to put him out there and see if he shrivels up like an empty gum wrapper like Walsh used to.
DON’T – Try and make something out of nothing
It is not a mystery that Minnesota has struggled to score points on offense during their four-game losing streak. But it is not about to get any easier against a top ranked Arizona defense.
If for some reason on Sunday Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford cannot find anyone open after he drops back to pass, he should just throw the ball away.
Now it may not be the most exciting of options, but this Cardinals defense is no joke. There is no reason for Bradford to run around (likely being chased by four Arizona linemen) and take the chance of turning the ball over or losing a bunch of yards on a sack.
Every player on Minnesota’s roster needs to play smart, disciplined football on Sunday if the team wants to avoid losing five straight games for the first time since 2011.