Vikings Staring at Full Circle Run Game
The Minnesota Vikings have employed some seriously impressive running backs in recent memory. Robert Smith was the last of yesteryear, and Adrian Peterson will waltz into the Hall of Fame as the greatest of the next wave. Dalvin Cook then carried the torch, but he turned it over to a relatively barren group.
The Minnesota Vikings’ run game has become a mess, and head coach Kevin O’Connell may need to rethink how he uses it.
Then the Minnesota Vikings found Aaron Jones and ultimately Jordan Mason.
Last season, the Vikings shockingly got a fully healthy season from Aaron Jones. Running it back with him was never going to equate to the same result, and it hasn’t. Thankfully, they had the wherewithal to trade for Jordan Mason and create a one-two punch with varying skillsets.
Vikings Just Can’t Figure Out the Rushing Offense
Mason is the bruiser who can handle work between the tackles. Jones, despite his age, remains spry and can bounce things outside. They both can catch passes, and neither is easy to scheme against, regardless of when they line up in the backfield.
The problem is that head coach Kevin O’Connell remains so intrigued by his passing game that the ground game is completely overlooked. On Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens, J.J. McCarthy threw a pick on a deep ball to Justin Jefferson despite it being 3rd and 1. That would have been a great opportunity to pound the rock and push the chains, but it was hardly the most egregious scenario.
Many teams across the league will take a shot when in a favorable down-and-distance situation. The problem is that O’Connell can’t get out of his own way when facing short-yardage scenarios, no matter where it is on the field. He has a young quarterback who came from a run-heavy scheme, and yet he continues to opt for McCarthy to carry the load.
On Sunday, Vikings running backs both found success when they were handed the ball. Unfortunately, Jones saw just nine carries while Mason got even less with five. It didn’t matter that they each were averaging a first down every two times they touched the rock.
Watching the Vikings go back to a ground-and-pound scheme would hardly be entertaining. However, defensive coordinator Brian Flores has his unit playing at a high level, and failing to keep the offense moving has fallen mainly on the shoulders of McCarthy and O’Connell. At some point, doing something different and leaning into the running game makes a good deal of sense.
McCarthy needs the pressure taken off him, and what O’Connell is doing now isn’t working. It’s time to shake it up.
You must be logged in to post a comment.