Vikings Fans Have a Simple Message for Kevin O’Connell
Something has been a source of frustration with the Minnesota Vikings ever since Kevin O’Connell was named the head coach and took on the offensive play-calling duties. The Vikings’ run game often seems like an afterthought, and never has it been more evident than during Minnesota’s loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
VikingsTerritory takes a look at the simple message that Vikings fans are sending to Kevin O’Connell. Run the ball.
If you are active on social media on Vikings game day, you will have Vikings fans screaming into the abyss for their team’s head coach to run the ball. Minnesota was enjoying success on the ground with Jordan Mason averaging 6.2 yards per carry and Aaron Jones averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
Vikings Fans to the Coach: Just the Run Ball, Please. Thank You.
The problem is that the two RBs combined for just 13 carries in the game. That is very low but becoming a theme, Vikings RBs haven’t combined for 20 carries in a game since the Week 3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Through nine games, Minnesota has run the ball on 200 plays, which is the third lowest mark across the league – behind only the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals. That 200 is propped up by 32 QB runs, which bring the average number of running plays per game to 22.
However, other than Week 3, the only other time Vikings RBs combined for over 20 rushing attempts was in the Week 1 win over the Chicago Bears—noticeably, the Vikings won both games.
The One Play That Tipped the Scales of Anger
One area O’Connell is getting particular criticism for is his reluctance to run the ball in 3rd-and-4th-and-short situations. One play particularly stood out against the Ravens, and it was the 3rd-and-1 that led to JJ McCarthy’s second interception.
With Justin Jefferson being guarded in single coverage by a safety, the Vikings’ head coach decided to take a deep shot to their superstar WR. I will never suggest that throwing to Jefferson is a bad idea. You don’t pay someone $35 million a year to not be your go-to guy.
Many wanted to see the Vikings run the ball and get the first down, while the Vikings’ skipper wanted to take a shot at a big play. O’Connell defended his decision after the game and doubled down on it on Monday, stating. “I’ll take Justin Jefferson 1 on 1 downfield against zero coverage as much as we possibly can.”
I’m fine with that, as you assume you can come back and try again on fourth down as long as you don’t turn the ball over.
Of course, that is precisely what happened with Jefferson tripping over and leaving Marlon Humphrey to catch one of the easiest interceptions of his career. Minnesota is throwing and failing to convert on 3rd/4th and short a lot. So there is certainly a case for a change of approach. Personally, it’s not just about the when; O’Connell needs to have his offense centered much more on the run game for one fundamental reason.
Help J.J. McCarthy
One of the question marks against McCarthy in the draft process was that he ran a very run-heavy offense in Michigan. He certainly played his part in the national championship-winning campaign, but he didn’t throw the ball a ton.
Asking him to throw the ball 42 times like he did against Baltimore is not a recipe for success at this point in McCarthy’s career. In contrast, the 25 passing attempts against Detroit are much more like the sweet spot O’Connell and McCarthy should be looking for right now.
For that to happen, a few things need to fall into place. The defense needs to be solid, which it was on Sunday. They also need to create some takeaways, which we aren’t seeing enough of outside of a crazy few Isaiah Rodgers-inspired minutes against the Bengals.
Kickoff and punt returns need to be getting good field position, which Myles Price had been doing a good job of before a nightmare few minutes that saw back-to-back fumbles. You also can’t have the obscene amount of penalties the team had last week. Finally, the offense needs to establish the run. Let McCarthy get comfortable in the pro ranks doing what he did so well at college.
The message from Vikings fans to O’Conelll is a simple one – run the ball.
You must be logged in to post a comment.