7 Areas the Vikings Need to Improve
It might seem rash, especially to those outside of the Vikings orbit, to say a season needs saving when a team sits with a 3-4 record. Indeed, there is plenty of time left — 10 regular-season games — for the Minnesota Vikings to turn their season around.
However, a humbling defeat by the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football sent the Vikings tumbling into back-to-back losses and into the wrong direction.
VikingsTerritory looks at the seven areas the Vikings need to improve to turn this season around.
Minnesota also finds itself in one of, if not the best, divisions in football. Eleven wins last season were only enough for third place for the Green Bay Packers, but would have been a winning total in three other divisions.
The bar is set high in the NFC North, and scratching around at .500 won’t cut it. The Vikings spent big this offseason with the intention of competing and developing JJ McCarthy. More injury woes for the young QB have set everything back, but he appears close to a return in Week 9.
The Vikings Desperately Need Improvement in Many Areas
We are almost at the point where McCarthy’s development is the sole purpose of this season, but this isn’t an organization or a team that throws in the towel. They will still want to compete, so let’s look at the seven areas the Vikings need to improve to turn this season around. The fact that there are seven showcases the task at hand for this team: getting back on track.
1. QB Play
Carson Wentz filled in for five games and came away with a 2-3 record. In truth, that’s a decent effort for a backup QB. He hasn’t been helped by what has often been a patchwork offensive line in front of him. Wentz also showed why he went from second overall draft pick to a backup—holding on to the ball too long and failing to see quick reads and deliver the ball fast.
The Vikings will hope McCarthy can deliver in that area upon his return and show more of the QB we saw in the fourth quarter in Chicago.
2. Run Game
Whoever the Vikings QB is, they need more help from the run game. Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason combined for 18 yards on nine carries against the Chargers on Thursday. Trailing early will affect running stats, but that just isn’t good enough. A disappointing rushing attack has been a common theme with Kevin O’Connell’s offense. In his fourth season as Minnesota’s head coach, it’s a concern that the problem continues.
O’Connell wants to be a pass-first offense, and the roster has been built accordingly. However, talk of improving the run game has never materialized with any consistency despite bringing back Jones and trading for Mason this season.
Not helped by the number of injuries, the offensive line’s run blocking has not been good. At the same time, O’Connell often doesn’t stick with it enough to let the rushing attack get into a groove and tire out the opposing defense. Improvement won’t come from one player, but from a collective effort that starts with the coaching staff.
3. Run Defense
The decision to trade away Harrison Phillips, who was the Vikings’ starting nose tackle and chief run stuffer. After spending big money on Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave to provide interior pass-rush looks, it looks like a mistake. Jalen Redmond has been a revelation, outperforming the two veterans. With hindsight, a starting duo of Phillips and Redmond with one interior pass rusher signed in free agency would have been better.
Even so, Brian Flores has to find a solution to the team’s run defense woes. Since the Atlanta Falcons and Bijan Robinson ran all over the Vikings in Week 2. Smart offensive play callers have seen the recipe to success against this defense.
Go big personnel and run the ball to get ahead of the chains. It’s much more difficult for Flores to employ his exotic blitzes in that situation. The Chargers did it with an RB off the practice squad due to injuries, and the Vikings had no answer. They need to find one and quick.
4. Offensive and Defensive Play Calling
This isn’t a claim that O’Connell and Flores are bad play callers, as I’ve seen claimed in some quarters. However, both are guilty at times of sticking with Plan A when it’s clearly not working. The team needs to be quicker to adjust on both sides of the ball and recognize that when you are without key starters like the QB, several offensive linemen, and integral parts of the defense like Andrew Van Ginkel, you need to adjust. That the game plan might have to change.
When everything is clicking, the Vikings can look great on both sides of the ball. What we’ve seen too much of this season is that it’s not clicking, and no answers are being found to turn the game’s momentum.
5. Finishing the Pass Rush
Minnesota’s defense isn’t having a problem creating pressure, but too often we see the opposing QB slip away from a would-be sack and make a huge play. Sometimes you have to credit the QB’s talent, but when it happens so often, you have to start questioning the defense. Jonathan Greenard led the team with 12 sacks last season and managed just his second sack of the season on Thursday night.
Andrew Van Ginkel had 11.5 sacks last season, and his absence for most of the season has been a major blow. Minnesota will hope his return is imminent. So far this season, Jalen Redmond leads the team with three sacks. The Vikings get sacks from multiple spots in Flores’ scheme and rank 13th in the league with 18 sacks as a team, but it could be better if there weren’t so many missed opportunities.
6. Clean Up the Penalties
Penalties have been a problem all season in Minnesota in all three phases of the game. A total of 65 penalties have been drawn by the Vikings, with 55 of them accepted – eighth most across the league. This includes 22 pre-snap penalties — 7th most in the league — a sure sign of a team consistently shooting themselves in the foot. On special teams, every time Myles Price returns the ball, the field is littered with flags. The team desperately needs to clean up its game in all three phases.
7. Injuries
Not something you can go out on the practice field and fix, but injuries have hit the Vikings hard this season, with the number of essential players missing time easily into double figures. Players are coming back and still struggling to get re-injured, like Darrisaw and O’Neill on the OL. Minnesota needs to get as healthy as possible as soon as possible before this season gets away from them.
You must be logged in to post a comment.