Here’s Why the 2022 Vikings Offense Can Flourish — in a Graphic
If one did an autopsy on the 2021 Minnesota Vikings, the cause of death could reasonably be attributed to abysmal situational defense — the final two minutes of the 2nd and 4th quarter — and vanilla playcalling in spots desperately requiring creativity.
Kevin O’Connell was hired by the Vikings in February after a Super Bowl triumph with the Los Angeles Rams to fix all of that, presumably leaning heavily on the offense part. He was the offensive coordinator for the Rams.
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O’Connell will leave the defensive side of operations to Ed Donatell, who implements a 3-4 defense for only the second time in Vikings history. Thankfully for Donatell, his depth chart contains monsters-of-rock pass rushers in Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith. Effecutating a competent defense shouldn’t be too challenging if those men are healthy.
On offense, O’Connell only needs to fix one thing for the enterprise to tick. Unsurprisingly, it’s the pass-protecting acumen of the offensive line. Ben Baldwin posted a graphic on Friday, illustrating just how bad Minnesota has been upfront in the offensive trenches amid the last two seasons.
Zoom in, and one can embarrassingly find the 2020 and 2021 Vikings pickling the bottom of the barrel. Conversely, the good franchises — the playoff-bound ones — are living in the top-right corridor.
Whoodathunkit?
Apt pass protection correlates to success. And success equals the postseason. Lasso the bottom-left chunk, and find all the trashy non-playoff teams. That’s where the Vikings dwell.
Because the Cincinnati Bengals miraculously reached the Super Bowl with leaky trenches, some onlookers point to a “well, see, Kirk Cousins’ team couldn’t do that.” Of course they didn’t — because Cousins isn’t as dynamic as Burrow. Does that need to be announced?
The Bengals push to the Super Bowl with ugly pass protection was an outlier. Plain and simple. Once in a while, a team can circumvent a bad offensive line.
The Vikings, emphatically. are not one of the organizations — at least not with Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer in charge.
Ergo, the request for O’Connell and his pals is simple. Foster a pass-protecting offensive line that doesn’t end up looking naughty in pictures from Ben Baldwin. If Minnesota can live in the middle of the pack — or, hey, even become upper-echelon — Minnesota can morph into a contender.
Otherwise, if the 2022 offensive line cannot protect Cousins, you will read articles at this time next year lamenting the 8-9 Vikings from 2022.
Notice how the 2019 Vikings offensive line pass-blocking drifted toward the middle of the photo? Boom. Minnesota won a playoff game that season. Funny how that works.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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