Vikings Might Catch a Break on Sunday
Two 0-3 teams meet this Sunday in Charlotte, and one will exit 1-3 with a belligerent mindset aimed at turning around a wayward season.
Those squads are the Minnesota Vikings and Carolina Panthers, clubs living in the basement of the NFC, both needing one win to kickstart some momentum.
Vikings Might Catch a Break on Sunday
And while the Vikings probably have the more talented squad on paper, the purple team might’ve caught a break this week with one factoid — first-overall pick rookie Bryce Young is trending to start.
Why is it good news for Minnesota to see the man deemed the best quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft instead of his teammate Andy Dalton? Simple — the Vikings fiendishly blitz opponents, and Dalton has the experience to combat it; Young does not.
The Athletic’s Alec Lewis tweeted after the Vikings loss to Los Angeles, “So, here’s a stat: Justin Herbert completed 85.4% of his passes today against the Vikings. He went 40-of-47. I went back to 2000 in TruMedia, and no NFL quarterback since then has had a higher completion percentage in a game when throwing at least 45 passes in that game.”
Justin Herbert could get away with sniffing out repeated blitzes — he feasted, in fact — but Young cannot. Or, he shouldn’t be able to his third career NFL game. Conversely, Dalton, a seasoned starter turned QB2, has seen some things during 13 seasons. Like Herbert, but not to the same degree of prosperity, it’s reasonable to surmise that Dalton would be better at reading the Vikings blitz packages.
If Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores brings the heat this Sunday — he probably will — that heat will have more success versus a brand-new, raw quarterback than Dalton, whose resume includes appearances in 168 NFL games.
Meanwhile, the Vikings pass rush is only courtesy of one EDGE rusher through three games, Danielle Hunter. Hunter’s teammates, D.J. Wonnum and Patrick Jones, are emphatically not forcing pressure on quarterbacks and rank near the bottom of the sport at their craft as of September 28th.
Should the Vikings “get home” to the quarterback at all this season, it won’t happen against monsters-of-rock passers like Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes (that’s the weekend after next); it will be because they tormented some dude who’s new to the business.
Young is new to the business — very new, in fact.
Of course, Young is more mobile than Dalton, and that is assured to cause a few headaches. Yet, Dalton should have leaps and bounds more experience in fighting off blitzes than Young has ever comprehended in his life.
If the Vikings blitz won’t work against the Panthers offensive line and a quarterback in his third career game, it won’t work at all in 2023.
One Viking Remains in Trade Rumor Mill
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 Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment.