There is no sugarcoating it: the Minnesota Vikings defense is playing like the worst unit in the National Football League. They currently rank last in total defense allowing over 400 yards per game and they have allowed more than 400 yards in each of the last five weeks.
The unit needs to make some adjustments so the Vikings can truly make a playoff run, but there is some real skepticism in achieving that. After his press conference on Wednesday afternoon, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell didn’t give us any reason for optimism.
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The quotes were so off-base for a man that has been in the NFL for over 25 years. It’s blatantly evident that things aren’t working, but the tone of his press conference felt like a defense of what he has been doing.
“We want to win the first second of the down to make it hard for the quarterback to see the pass scheme oriented. That’s a work in progress right now and we’re not accomplishing it, but it doesn’t mean there’s not a great opportunity coming.
It is disguise and it’s unveiling sameness and likeness looks to slow down the quarterback. When you do that with the coverage and rush, you have the picture you want. We have a vision out there. We know what it looks like. We’re just not quite there.”
We can blatantly see that it’s not being accomplished. Why isn’t it happening? How come 13 weeks into the season there isn’t enough confidence from the players to disguise the coverages and pass rush plans? That’s on the coaching staff. I get that it takes time for this to fully sink in, but we should be a lot closer than what we are.
The next quote in my opinion speaks volumes on stubbornness.
“I don’t think it’s ever drastic” when asked about changes needed. “We’d like to take some of the air out of the coverage. You want to be tighter… whether in man or zone.”
At a certain point, maybe you do need some sort of drastic changes. I get that this scheme is widely used across the National Football League, but the issues that your personnel are having with the scheme is something that you need to factor in and make those necessary adjustments.
One player that has played well despite his struggles adjusting to this system is Danielle Hunter. Early in the season, Donatell said that it’s always rough in the first month and wasn’t concerned about his transition from the 4-3.
“Every guy that has ever made this transition, his first month looks a lot like that. … There’s a getting used to this role. It’s very, very normal.” Donatell on October 6th.
Now that things aren’t going well, Donatell is saying that it will take the whole year for Hunter to get used to it.
“I think he’s getting more comfortable every week. It’ll take the whole year. Standing up and playing in our base is a little new to him, still…”
Now, I understand that the quotes are different in context, but the tone from the first quote definitely leads me to believe he will be fine. Now, he’s still not comfortable? That’s not exactly what you want to hear. Why is an elite pass rusher like Hunter still getting used to playing in a new defensive scheme? This is unacceptable and is a major red flag for the future.
Should the Vikings move on from Donatell right now? I don’t think that you can fire him with a 10-3 record midseason, but it gives me a heck of a lot less confidence in him moving forward after this season.