Thread: Vikings are truly offensive

http://www.sportsnetwork.com/default.asp?c=sportsnetwork&page=/nfl/news/ABN4104370.htm

The articles begins like this:

Casual football fans might be surprised to learn Brad Childress came to Minnesota billed as an "offensive genius."

Of course, that didn't fool Vikings fans spoiled by offensive stars like Cris Carter, Randy Moss and Robert Smith. In fact, it was evident early on that Childress wasn't going to have a lot of success on the offensive side of the ball in Minnesota.

But this is the section I found most interesting:

If you follow the Minnesota Vikings, "zone" has become a dirty word.

In 2005, under Mike Tice, left tackle Bryant McKinnie looked like he was turning into one of the game's best left tackles. Meanwhile, Steve Hutchinson was the best left guard in football with the Seattle Seahawks. Fast forward to 2007 and McKinnie has regressed badly and Hutchinson, while still dominant, has taken a step back.

The reason? When Childress arrived and hired Pat Morris as the offensive line coach, they brought a zone blocking scheme to Minnesota. Neither McKinnie nor Hutchinson is comfortable with that system, which is better suited for undersized, quick offensive lineman.

It's even worse on the right side of the offensive line where Artis Hicks and Ryan Cook reside. Teams have started to overload that side of the line and both players have struggled to understand their assignments. Despite the problems, Childress will not waver and continues to employ the flawed scheme.

On the defensive side, the one chink in the Minnesota armor is the pass defense, which primarily consists of a cover-2 zone.

Despite having one of the game's best front seven, a top-tier cornerback in Antoine Winfield and two ball-hawking safeties in Darren Sharper and Dwight Smith, the Vikings play it far too safe on the back end.

This article is a good read that exposes many of the Vikings flaws.

We suck.

I get the feeling that the folks that write these articles and a good percentage of the persistent whining by many of the fans would be a lot less if the Vikings were putting up 30+ pts a game and still losing because of a shitty D.

We lost two games on the road by a grand total of 6 pts, less than a TD.
What a bunch of faithless, whining pansy-asses.

I did enjoy reading this article though .

There are times when you need to change your schemes to match your talent.
Childress should have scrapped the zone blocking a long time ago.
It is obviously not working.

Farve may set both TD, and interception records this weekend. I hope we can pull this one out, cause we have been right in every game. Just got to finish one and get a "W". Let's go offense, it's time to get it going.

There is alot of pressure on the defense.
If they even give up one score we are in trouble.

"Prophet" wrote:

I get the feeling that the folks that write these articles and a good percentage of the persistent whining by many of the fans would be a lot less if the Vikings were putting up 30+ pts a game and still losing because of a poohie D.

We lost two games on the road by a grand total of 6 pts, less than a TD.
What a bunch of faithless, whining pansy-dimply buttocks.

I did enjoy reading this article though .

I totally agree.
The Offense does not appear to be the work of a "genius".
I really thought that George Stewart as Receivers coach would help our guys to learn how to run routes and get open.
If Chilly was truly a QB guru we would have someone who could find them.
We need a good and complete game resulting in a decisive victory to get everybody back on board.
We're not done yet.

BTW, has anyone checked out what the Bears fans are thinking about their disappointing start?

They were supposed to crush the NFC North.
They've gotta be way more PO'd than we are.
Greise isn't the answer IMO.

"vikingivan" wrote:

There are times when you need to change your schemes to match your talent.
Childress should have scrapped the zone blocking a long time ago.
It is obviously not working.

Yeah if we need 1 big change it's in the running game. :

We lost this week because our "real" offense didn't score any points!
The "other" offense put their token points up and didn't foul things up . . . but why can't both offenses click together??
;D

The reason? When Childress arrived and hired Pat Morris as the offensive line coach, they brought a zone blocking scheme to Minnesota. Neither McKinnie nor Hutchinson is comfortable with that system, which is better suited for undersized, quick offensive lineman.

It's even worse on the right side of the offensive line where Artis Hicks and Ryan Cook reside. Teams have started to overload that side of the line and both players have struggled to understand their assignments. Despite the problems, Childress will not waver and continues to employ the flawed scheme.

WOW. Amazing. Exactly what I have been talking about all along.

Funny thing is, I see very few problems with the OL. They've had one bad game so far this season in my eyes.

He also mentions problems on the defensive side of the ball, and I see almost none. Our has played well enough for us to be 3-0. That is the bottomline. The D has to focus on improving as the year goes on, and the offense is in desperate need Taylor, Richardson, and a functional QB.