Vikings Rushing Offense Strategy Continues to Confuse
The Minnesota Vikings flopped on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. They were never going to succeed with that version of J.J. McCarthy, but the gameplan as a whole seemed confusing. Kevin O’Connell has abandoned the run at different times this season. Despite some effectiveness against the NFC North rival, Sunday was yet another example.
The Vikings’ rushing offense strategy continues to confuse as usage patterns, play selection, and week-to-week shifts raise more questions than answers.
J.J. McCarthy was so bad, and possibly concussed, on Sunday that his team had no chance. However, when Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones were toting the rock, both of them were effective. The former carried the ball eight times for 42 yards while the latter rushed nine times for 41 yards. The tandem averaged nearly five yards per carry, and they kept the line moving.
Vikings’ Ground Game Needs More Emphasis and Consistency
Despite that reality, Kevin O’Connell decided to get cute. On 4th and 1, he put T.J. Hockenson under center for a sneak that went nowhere. Rather than pitching the ball to Jones or Mason on the edges, he also had them ram right up the middle into an interior line that has struggled to get push.
Sometimes it may be challenging to get a feel for things from the sideline. The perspective isn’t what you can see from a higher vantage point. However, that is where part of the coaching staff sits, and they all communicate on the same headset system. For O’Connell to see these sorts of developments take place and fail to adjust has been alarming.
There’s no need to dial back the offensive game plan to that of a 1950s ground-and-pound scheme. However, the quarterback averaged 4.6 yards per pass on Sunday and was clearly struggling to work even with the most aggressive training wheels on. That has been the case for most of the season while McCarthy has been under center, and it’s frustrating to see few changes made.
Now, with yet another quarterback change, the Vikings may need to give Max Brosmer some breathing room in the running game. If that’s the plan of attack, then both Mason and Jones have shown themselves to be up for the task. Minnesota traded for the former San Francisco 49ers running back this offseason. The move looked like a good one that could fly under the radar.
Right now, the only reason Mason’s influence hasn’t been greater is that his opportunities have been limited. It’s time to change that.
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