Among Vikings’ Struggles, Jonathan Greenard Has Thrived.

Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images.

The last two games provided an abrupt crash back down to earth for a Minnesota Vikings defense that received all of the plaudits over the first five games. Among the defensive struggles, Jonathan Greenard has shone as the bright spark to give some confidence.

Among Vikings’ Struggles, Jonathan Greenard Has Thrived.

The Vikings’ defense started the season on fire, terrorizing opposing quarterbacks. The Vikings’ defense ranked first per EPA/Play ranking and defense passing EPA/Play across the first five weeks. That dropped to 28th and 32nd, respectively, over weeks 6-8, which is quite a drop. It has left the Vikings in 4th and 10th place, respectively. 

Jonathan Greenard
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.

The easy thing to say is that the Vikings need to get back to the Week 1-5 defense, but there are reasons for the dropoff in the last two games that need to be solved. The biggest problem Brian Flores has to find is how to generate a pass rush without his exotic blitzes. The Lions and Rams possess two of the best offensive play callers in the league and veteran quarterbacks who were ready for what the Vikings defense was about to bring.

The blitzes weren’t working, as both teams got the ball out quickly and accurately for big gains. Having to resort to rushing just four, the Vikings’ pass rush couldn’t get home, and the secondary wasn’t able to cover recoveries adequately enough. This led to 61 points conceded — in the first two games, the Vikings allowed 30 points — and the first two losses of the season.

Greenard Provides The Shining Light

Despite the negativity of the last two defensive performances, Greenard has been balling. He was credited with 5 pressures, 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 pass deflection against the Rams. His performance was enough to see him named to the Pro Football Focus Week 8 team of the week.

Over the past two weeks, Greenard has a 92.2 overall grade, the best in the NFL of any defensive player to play 50 or more snaps. That is elite-level play in the eyes of the PFF graders. However, Greenard only has one sack from the last four games. He has five for the season, three of which came against the Houston Texans in Week 3. His tally of five for the season ranks a respectable 14th across the league, where he is tied with several players, including teammates Andrew Van Ginkel, Patrick Jones, and former Viking Za’Darius Smith.

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.

Greenard has 43 pressures so far this season and is on pace for 107 pressures, which would be the highest single-season total since JJ Watt’s 119 in 2014 (the most recorded since PFF began tracking pressures in 2006. So why isn’t Greenard getting more success in getting to the quarterback? The simple answer is he can’t do it on his own. His 43 pressures are more than double the next man — Van Ginkel with 19 — and the interior pass rush is nonexistent. If the pressure comes only from one place, it’s not difficult for a good quarterback to avoid it.

Vikings Must Find More Ways to Help The Pass Rush

The exotic blitzes and confusing opposing QBs helped the Vikings create their pass rush in the early games. However, we’ve seen what happens when that doesn’t work, and it’s not good. Flores needs to find a way to make it work when the Vikings only rush four and help Greenard out a bit. Vikings fans are yearning for a Dexter Lawrence trade, but I can’t see that materializing. A Lawrence-type player in the middle of the DL should certainly be at the top of the Vikings’ needs list for next season if they can’t pull a trade-off in the next few days.

There seems to be a possible answer already on the roster: first-round edge defender Dallas Turner. After a promising debut that saw Turner get his first career sack, he had a minor knee injury and has since seen his role on the defense diminish to almost nothing over the last two games. With, quite frankly, far too rash claims of “draft bust” and media questions to the coaching staff about Turner’s role. Kevin O’Connell stood firm in his belief that Turner will be a great player for the Vikings.

Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.

It’s time to see some substance to those remarks. There appears no sense in leaving a first-round talent who is apparently highly rated by the coaching staff marinating on the sidelines while the Vikings’ defense struggles to create a pass rush. The Flores defense is a complex one that takes time to master, but he must surely be able to find a way to get Greenard, Van Ginkel, and Turner on the field together more often in a bid to create some pass rush.

Greenard is playing well, but he needs more assistance.