Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The Vikings had a lot of duds on Monday night
The Minnesota Vikings fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 24-7 in what felt like a lopsided title fight.
Once the Eagles jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the first series of the game, the Vikings couldn’t recover and it felt over from that point on.
There weren’t a lot of positives in the game but we were still able to find some studs among the large amount of duds.
Ed Donatell used some fun and creative pass-rushing combinations against the Packers
The Minnesota Vikings debuted their new defense last week in their 23-7 win over the Green Bay Packers and it produced great results.
They are currently tied for second in scoring defense and did a great job getting home with four pass rushers instead of feeling the need to blitz consistently.
New defensive coordinator Ed Donatell will be implementing his version of the Vic Fangio defense that prioritizes cover-2 and quarters coverage. The way to make this defense function at its peak is to get home with three to four pass rushers and drop everyone else into coverage.
One of the ways that Donatell will bring pressure is with stunts. On the first drive of the game, he dialed one up that used a lot of creativity.
The Vikings line up with seven players on or right near the line of scrimmage. What is really intriguing is how the Vikings lined up on the right side of the center.
On the edge is Dalvin Tomlinson who is the biggest player on the field for the Vikings on this play. That is really intriguing especially with Danielle Hunter and D.J. Wonnum on the inside.
The Vikings only bring four with an overload to Rodgers blindside. Tomlinson sets the edge with Wonnum stunting to the center and Hunter attacking the A gap.
They aren’t able to get home with this look but it is a great example of how Donatell will be bringing unique looks like this all season and will be sending different personnel each time to keep the offensive line guessing.
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Head coach Kevin O’Connell is a breath of fresh air
There really is a new era inside TCO Performance Center with the new regime.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell led his team to a 23-7 victory over the Green Bay Packers and there were many great plays from the game.
With the Vikings radio network color commentator Pete Bercich, O’Connell broke down safety Harrison Smith’s 30th career interception.
Ed Donatell's coverage structure helped @HarriSmith22 nab his 30th career INT.
Head Coach Kevin O'Connell broke down the big defensive play with @PeteBercich.
đź“ş: https://t.co/F1cE6eeAoz pic.twitter.com/fJVPsmf0Wt
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 14, 2022
He did a great job breaking it down by explaining defensive coordinator Ed Donatell’s coverage structure. Smith could be doing a lot of different things based on this look and according to O’Connell “they have no idea” what Smith is going to do and needing to see it post-snap. Doing that gives the defense an inherent advantage.
Rodgers didn’t have anywhere to go with the football because the coverage was balanced both front and back. It’s a breath of fresh air to see our head coach breaking things down without giving away any trade secrets.
There were three main takeaways from the Minnesota Vikings first half against the Green Bay Packers
The Minnesota Vikings are up on the Green Bay Packers 17-0 at halftime and the Kevin O’Connell era is off to a great start.
Throughout the first quarter, there were a lot of takeaways from the beginning of the 2021 season with some good and some that need improvement.
Here are the main three takeaways from the Viking performance against the Green Bay Packers.
We conclude our 2022 season preview series with an overall outlook including record prediction
In a similar vein to how fans felt when Mike Zimmer took over for Leslie Frazier, the excitement is palpable for the beginning of the Kevin O’Connell era.
While the team prepares for the season, we are doing the same at the Vikings Wire. We will be producing previews breaking down both each position and the team as a whole.
Today, we continue with our preview series by talking about the overall outlook for the 2022 Minnesota Vikings.
Quarterback Preview
Running Back Preview
Wide Receiver preview
Tight End Preview
Offensive Tackle Preview
Defensive Line Preview
Outside Linebacker/Edge Preview
Middle Linebacker Preview
Cornerback Preview
Safety Preview
Here are five things to watch for in the Vikings’ preseason opener.
On Sunday afternoon at 3:25 central time, the wait for live Minnesota Vikings football is over.
The 2022 preseason will kick off for the Vikings as they face the 1-0 Las Vegas Raiders on NFL Network. Along with the start of the 62nd season in franchise history, it also officially dawns a new era of Vikings football with the debuts of head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
As we look forward to the game itself, here are five things to watch for during Sunday’s matchup.
Cameron Dantzler reminds Ed Donatell of one of his former standout players.
The Minnesota Vikings’ cornerback battle is going to be a really interesting one to watch develop over the course of training camp.
While Patrick Peterson is one of the presumed starters, neither cornerback spot feels set in stone. With three players viably competing for those jobs with Akayleb Evans lurking behind them, anything they can do to separate themselves will help immensely.
In his first training camp press conference as defensive coordinator, Ed Donatell shared a lot of thoughts, but the one that stood out was one on Cameron Dantzler.
Vikings D coordinator Ed Donatell said that with his length Cam Dantzler reminds him a bit of Patrick Surtain II
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) July 28, 2022
Patrick Surtain II was one of the best rookie cornerbacks in recent memory and comparing Dantzler to him is massively high praise. One of the interesting elements of Donatell’s comment is the length. Surtain II is much longer than Dantzler from their combine measurables. Relative Athletic Score gives us the ability to compare the two players and the difference is staggering.
With their length being that large of a disparity, the comparison is more important because it directly compares their play-styles. If Dantzler can have the kind of success that Surtain II did last year, it spells good things for the Vikings.
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The new-look defense for the Vikings is already making an impression
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell came in with the goal to install a defensive scheme that’s hard to decipher at the line of scrimmage. If anyone needed a clue on how it’s working, just ask Kirk Cousins.
During a media session on Wednesday afternoon, the Vikings quarterback spoke about what practice has been like when going up against the team’s new-look defense.
The best word he used to describe it was “muddy.” It’s a clouded picture every time he’s under center and the ball is snapped.
“It’s really muddy. So when you drop back, you don’t quite know what you’re getting, said Cousins. “Obviously as a quarterback—but at any position on offense—you want to know what you’re getting. And they’re doing a good job with disguise, making everything look the same. …I think it’s a great scheme, and they do a great job. It just makes practice difficult.”
Donatell’s defense is utilizing a hybrid scheme with 3-4 and 4-3 looks.
The unit is aiming to disguise their true intentions pre-snap. As veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson explains it, they’re “stealing a second” from opposing quarterbacks.
Cousins might feel like minutes have been stolen from him by the end of minicamp. Even the slightest bit of defensive praise is good news for a Vikings team that consistently got lit up on the defensive side of the ball last season.
Along with adding veteran cornerback Chandon Sullivan, the team rebooted the secondary with a splash of youth with rookies Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr. and Akayleb Evans. They also went out and added reinforcements to the defensive front with two-time Pro Bowl linebacker Za’Darius Smith, rookie Brian Asamoah and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips.
If Donatell’s defense takes root and stands its ground, the Vikings could be a legitimate contender in 2022.
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Another week in the books for the Vikings
Another week is in the books for the Minnesota Vikings’ organized team activities.
Last week was all about integrating the rookies and veterans on the field together in helmets and shorts. This week consisted of more drills and an attempt towards putting a pretty bow on everything by seeing new concepts in action.
You still have to be careful to not overreact to some of the things emanating out of OTAs since it’s still so early in the process. We’ll have a real sense of where players are at once they’ve actually had time to digest things and the pads come on.
But the buzz in Minnesota right now is undeniable. There’s a different level of excitement surrounding this Vikings team—and for good reason. The hope is that big things are ahead under the guidance of head coach Kevin O’Connell, who knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl. And it all begins with preparation.
Here are some highlights and notes from Week 2 of OTAs.
The Vikings offense is going to be a problem
Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell is equally as impressed as he is thankful to be facing an offense led by head coach Kevin O’Connell and offensive coordinator Wes Phillips every day.
When fielding questions about multiple defensive looks, including packages with three safeties on the field, Donatell lauded the offensive side of the ball for giving the defense a multitude of different looks at practice.
“One of the great things is the offense we get to see every day. Our offense has cutting edge schemes and formations. And that helps us get better. What Kevin and Wes has put together, it can only help us get better,” Donatell said at a media conference on Tuesday.
The Vikings will be mixing and matching with a bunch of different schemes and formations with O’Connell at the helm. In many ways, it’s some of the same things we saw during his Super Bowl run as offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams.
However, an argument can actually be made that the Vikings have more talent on the offensive side of the ball. It’s an embarrassment of riches for an offensive mastermind to play with on a daily basis.
And Donatell’s defense will have to match them on the practice field.
It won’t take long for the Vikings to see where they stand defensively and make adjustments accordingly.
And just think about the experience some of the younger guys, such as Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr., Brian Asamoah, Luiji Vilain and others will get when constantly facing an offense that should make the jump to being elite in 2022.
Iron sharpens iron, right? It’s a win-win situation.
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