Tag: Mike Hughes

3 challenges the Saints will face against the wild-card Vikings

From play-action passing game to a stout run defense, the New Orleans Saints face several big challenges in the wild-card Minnesota Vikings.

A heavily favored New Orleans Saints should feel confident heading into their wild-card round game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Despite the Vikings having a surprisingly thin secondary heading into the matchup, there are still numerous challenges the team can pose to the Saints.

Minnesota all year-long has had a quietly good offense, and their rushing defense has been stout. It will take some of New Orleans best game planning and execution to defeat a very good Vikings team.

Here are three challenges the Saints may face in the Vikings:

A great Vikings rushing attack

Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook will be returning to action after missing Week 15 and 16 with a shoulder injury. Saints head coach Sean Payton acknowledged the threat Cook brings to the table during his weekly press conference, saying, “I think, number one, they do a great job in their running game. They get to the edge, obviously they are extremely talented at running back. The type of season (Dalvin) Cook has had it’s been real impressive.”

New Orleans has had a fantastic rush defense all year, and has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 42 games. However, the Saints defense noticeably struggled against the San Francisco 49ers edge rushing attack in Week 14. Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer will be heavily looking at that tape as a blueprint to attack the Saints defense on the ground.

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Vikings CB Mackensie Alexander officially out vs. Saints

Mackensie Alexander (knee) will miss the game along with fellow cornerback Mike Hughes (neck).

On Friday, the Vikings placed cornerback Mike Hughes on the IR with a neck injury. To make matters worse, they also announced that cornerback Mackensie Alexander (knee) would miss the game.

While the team has signed Marcus Sherels, mostly as a punt returner for Sunday’s game against the Saints, this is rough news for a team going up against one of the best passing offenses in the NFL.

We can expect to see Jayron Kearse, a former college teammate of Alexander’s at Clemson, play a good chunk of snaps at cornerback in New Orleans.

If there’s any good news from Friday, it was that newly-crowned All-Pro Eric Kendricks (quad) did not appear on the injury report.

Defensive lineman Ifeadi Odenigbo (hamstring) is listed as questionable.

The Vikings will need Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes and maybe even Holton Hill to be at their best against Drew Brees on Sunday if they want a chance at pulling of an upset.

Vikings down multiple cornerbacks for wild-card round game vs. Saints

The Minnesota Vikings will be without cornerbacks Mike Hughes and Mackensie Alexander against the New Orleans Saints in their wild-card game

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A few surprises accompanied the Minnesota Vikings’ final injury report for the wild-card round matchup against the New Orleans Saints. Cornerback Mike Hughes was downgraded from limited practice participation to being out for Sunday’s game with the Saints, and was subsequently moved to the injured reserve list with a neck issue.

Additionally, cornerback Mackensie Alexander was also downgraded, and will not be available for Sunday’s game. He’s been struggling with a knee injury. Both players rotate into and out of the slot corner position, and their absence will undoubtedly provide challenges for the Vikings defense.

Alexander is a huge loss, and is considered one of the better Vikings cornerbacks on the roster. He played 48.8% of all defensive snaps in 2019, and boasted a 65.7 rating from Pro Football Focus. Despite recording only one interception this season, Alexander has often provided above-replacement coverage at his position.

Hughes is also a significant loss for Minnesota, considering he saw an average of 45.6% of defensive snaps. He was also a punt returner who saw an expanded role with the special teams units as the season went on, so his loss will be felt on two different fronts of the Vikings gameplan.

Number-one cornerback Xavier Rhodes will be heavily relied upon against New Orleans, but we knew that already. He has recently struggled in his play, turning in his worst-graded season as a pro. Expect the Saints to consistently attack the slot and Rhodes in their offensive gameplan, creating opportunities for Michael Thomas and Drew Brees to attack downfield. Number-two cornerback Trae Waynes will also likely have to shoulder a heavier workload.

Minnesota signed veteran Marcus Sherels in response to both of these injury blows. Sherels will likely return punts for the Vikings, and provide depth at the cornerback position. Despite not seeing the field much this season, it appears Minnesota feel confident he can return to previous form and produce in a playoff situation. Ironically, he was the favorite to return punts for the Saints this year, but he was outplayed by rookie sensation Deonte Harris, who was named to both the Pro Bowl and AP first-team All-Pro list.

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Vikings place CB Mike Hughes on IR, sign Marcus Sherels

On Friday, the team announced it as placed cornerback Mike Hughes on the IR with a neck injury.

Well, this certainly isn’t great news for the Vikings as they prepare for Sunday’s wild card game against the Saints in New Orleans.

On Friday, the team announced it as placed cornerback Mike Hughes on the IR with a neck injury. Hughes participated in Wednesday’s practice this week, so it would appear the injury happened sometime this week. Or at least the injury got worse.

To take Hughes’ place on the roster, the team signed long-time Viking Marcus Sherels.

To make matters worse, the Vikings will also be without cornerback Mackensie Alexander (knee) for the game.

We can expect Jayron Kearse to get some time in the slot.

For a team that was already expected to have a tough time against Drew Brees and Michael Thomas, this is a huge blow two days before the game.

We can also expect Sherels to likely take over punt return duties. Sherels signed with the Saints last offseason after nine seasons with the Vikings only to be released prior to the season. The Vikings brought him back to Minnesota but later released him.

Mike Hughes has gone from question mark to big part of Vikings’ defense

The Vikings weren’t sure what they’d get from second-year cornerback Mike Hughes in 2019.

The Vikings weren’t sure what they’d get from second-year cornerback Mike Hughes in 2019.

Hughes tore his ACL midway through his rookie season. He missed offseason workouts, training camp and preseason. He didn’t make his debut until Week Week 3.

As the 2019 season has progressed, so has Hughes’ role on the team.

“For him to miss that time, obviously, was big. OTAs as well,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “He is very conscientious, he asks a lot of questions. He wants to be really detailed about his work and he continues to be that way each and every day. I feel like he is feeling much better with it. I think he is still asking a lot of questions about what he should be doing and how he should be doing and things like that.”

Hughes went from averaging 30-35 snaps midway through the season to 46 and 53 snaps, respectively, over the last two weeks.

With Xavier Rhodes’ decline, the Vikings have had to rely on Hughes more and more.

Hughes has a Pro Football Focus grade of just 57.4, a mark that ranks 89th of 126 cornerbacks. That’s not great, but it’s also more than a 10-point increase over Rhodes.

No matter who the Vikings face off against in the wild card round (49ers, Saints, Seahawks or Packers), Hughes will play a pivotal role in that game.

 

Vikings secondary needs to improve in final 6 games 

The Vikings seem to have finally gotten their signature win, but there is a critical part of Mike Zimmer’s defense that needs to improve. 

The Minnesota Vikings are coming off of their biggest win in the last two seasons, after beating the Dallas Cowboys 28-24 on Sunday Night Football. The Vikings seem to have finally gotten their signature win, but there is a critical part of Mike Zimmer’s defense that needs to improve. 

When Zimmer took over the coaching duties for the Vikings in 2014, the expectations for the defense were high. Since he took over, his defense has delivered and consistently been a top 10 unit in both points allowed per game and rushing yards allowed. Although the Vikings defense is on pace for both categories to be top 10 once again in 2019, there is still plenty of room for improvement.

The Vikings secondary is a unit with a ton of draft capital invested into it. Xavier Rhodes, Trae Waynes, Mike Hughes and Harrison Smith were all drafted in the first round.

Smith has been the rock to the Vikings defense since he was drafted in 2012, and is still the key piece in Zimmer’s defense. However, the argument can be made that the best play in the secondary thus far has come from an undrafted free agent in Anthony Harris.

The safety position has been fairly solid all around in 2019, including some strong performances from seventh rounder in Jayron Kearse.  

The position with the most draft investment on the Vikings roster has instead been one of its biggest issues. When Zimmer arrived in Minnesota, he was of course known for his great defensive mind. But he was also known for being a whisperer of the cornerback position. 

If the Vikings want to have a chance at making the playoffs and making a legitimate run, the play of the cornerbacks is going to have to improve. 

Against the Dak Prescott and the Cowboys, the defense allowed nearly 400 yards and three touchdowns through the air. The defense was without Waynes, but with their depth in the secondary, there is no room for excuses. 

Hughes had his hands full with Amari Cooper, who had 11 catches for nearly 150 yards and a touchdown. Granted a lot of Cooper’s catches were miraculous with some elite toe drags, it doesn’t change the fact that he was the second receiver in two weeks to scorch the Vikings corners. 

With so much draft stock invested in the cornerbacks room and a head coach who prides himself on grooming cornerbacks, the Vikings secondary has to be better. Rhodes has regressed drastically since his stellar season in 2017, and if it continues the Vikings have to begin to utilize Hughes and Holton Hill more frequently. 

In the final six games the secondary will get their chance to turn things around. The Vikings still have to face names like Davante Adams, Keenen Allen, Tyler Lockett, Kenny Golladay and more within the next two months. 

With so much talent at the wide receiver position today in the NFL, the Vikings secondary needs to get back on track. 

This upcoming Sunday the secondary gets their chance to do exactly that. This coming Sunday, the Vikings are back at U.S. Bank Stadium where they take on a Broncos team that ranks 28th in pass yards per game.