2016
| WR | Stefon Diggs |
| LT | Matt Kalil |
| LG | Alex Boone |
| C | Joe Berger |
| RG | Brandon Fusco |
| RT | Andre Smith |
| TE | Kyle Rudolph |
| WR | Cordarrelle Patterson |
| QB | Sam Bradford |
| RB | Andre Peterson |
| DE | Everson Griffen |
| DT | Shamar Stephen |
| NT | Linval Joseph |
| DE | Brian Robison |
| LB | Chad Greenway |
| LB | Eric Kendricks |
| LB | Anthony Barr |
| CB | Xavier Rhodes |
| CB | Terence Newman |
| S | Harrison Smith |
| S | Andrew Sendejo |
The Vikings' offensive line has sucked for a while. This one was bad to start and got worse fast as injuries started dropping players from the lineup. T.J. Clemmings was the starting left tackle for most of the season. That isn't a good thing.
2019
| WR | Stefon Diggs |
| LT | Riley Reiff |
| LG | Pat Elflein |
| C | Garrett Bradbury |
| RG | Josh Kline |
| RT | Brian O'Neill |
| TE | Kyle Rudolph |
| WR | Adam Thielen |
| QB | Kirk Cousins |
| RB | Dalvin Cook |
| DE | Everson Griffen |
| DT | Shamar Stephen |
| NT | Linval Joseph |
| DE | Danielle Hunter |
| LB | Ben Gedeon |
| LB | Eric Kendricks |
| LB | Anthony Barr |
| CB | Xavier Rhodes |
| CB | Trae Waynes |
| S | Harrison Smith |
| S | Anthony Harris |
Offense
Three years can be a lifetime in the NFL but it's still surprising that Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph are the only starters on offense that remain from 2016. Adam Thielen played his way into the starting lineup during the 2016 season. He finished that season with 69 catches for 967 yards and he's been producing ever since. The offensive line was a mess then and has been a mess since. 2016 was especially bad due to injuries. It felt like the Vikings went through about 100 different line combinations during the 16 games. Jake Long was even pulled off the street to make a few starts. Just as he was getting close to shaking off the rust his achilles tendon gave out. It's a miracle that the usually fragile Sam Bradford made it through every start behind such a minefield of a line. He was back to those fragile ways in 2017 as he made it through a single start. The Vikings have finally put some early round draft pick talent into the current offensive line. It looks good on paper. But paper isn't the field.
The quarterback. In his five seasons as head coach of the Vikings, Mike Zimmer has had five different opening day starting quarterbacks.
2014: Matt Cassell
2015: Teddy Bridgewater
2016: Shaun Hill
2017: Sam Bradford
2018: Kirk Cousins
Bridgewater was supposed to return as the starter in 2016 but that knee injury kept that from happening. That's why there isn't a Vikings fan walking that isn't a little bit apprehensive about Cousins being available for Atlanta Falcons game on September 8.
It isn't just the extreme turnover of players that has hampered the offense. The Vikings have had too many offensive coordinators and the systems that come with them.
Norv Turner
Pat Shurmur
John DeFilippo
Kevin Stefanski
It's no wonder that the Vikings offense has sputtered more than purred over the last several years.
Defense
While the Vikings have had no consistency on offense they have had tremendous consistency on defense. Seven of the 11 starters from 2016 are expected to return as such in 2019. The Vikings have had good to great defense in each of Zimmer's five seasons. The lack of player turnover is a big reason for that. The players have stayed the same. The system has stayed the same. The players work and react well together. Perhaps too well, as opposing offenses now have a lot of film of those tendencies. This is a big season for Zimmer and the Vikings defense as both are now tasked with devising, implementing, and executing some new stuff and twists on the old stuff. The good thing is that the players and coaches know each other very well.
Overall
The Vikings have had a talented team under Zimmer. Two division titles and a trip to the NFC Championship game are proof of that. If not for wildly inconsistent play at the quarterback position and mostly poor offensive line play, the Vikings might have had a great deal more on field success. Looking at a snapshot of lineup change can be interesting. It's interesting to see how much has changed. It's also interesting to see how much has stayed the same. In the case of the Minnesota Vikings from 2016 to the present there's a bit of both. The offense has undergone a great deal of change. The defense has undergone very little change. The play on the field over the past few years reflect that.
Three years can be a lifetime in the NFL but it's still surprising that Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph are the only starters on offense that remain from 2016. Adam Thielen played his way into the starting lineup during the 2016 season. He finished that season with 69 catches for 967 yards and he's been producing ever since. The offensive line was a mess then and has been a mess since. 2016 was especially bad due to injuries. It felt like the Vikings went through about 100 different line combinations during the 16 games. Jake Long was even pulled off the street to make a few starts. Just as he was getting close to shaking off the rust his achilles tendon gave out. It's a miracle that the usually fragile Sam Bradford made it through every start behind such a minefield of a line. He was back to those fragile ways in 2017 as he made it through a single start. The Vikings have finally put some early round draft pick talent into the current offensive line. It looks good on paper. But paper isn't the field.
The quarterback. In his five seasons as head coach of the Vikings, Mike Zimmer has had five different opening day starting quarterbacks.
2014: Matt Cassell
2015: Teddy Bridgewater
2016: Shaun Hill
2017: Sam Bradford
2018: Kirk Cousins
Bridgewater was supposed to return as the starter in 2016 but that knee injury kept that from happening. That's why there isn't a Vikings fan walking that isn't a little bit apprehensive about Cousins being available for Atlanta Falcons game on September 8.
It isn't just the extreme turnover of players that has hampered the offense. The Vikings have had too many offensive coordinators and the systems that come with them.
Norv Turner
Pat Shurmur
John DeFilippo
Kevin Stefanski
It's no wonder that the Vikings offense has sputtered more than purred over the last several years.
Defense
While the Vikings have had no consistency on offense they have had tremendous consistency on defense. Seven of the 11 starters from 2016 are expected to return as such in 2019. The Vikings have had good to great defense in each of Zimmer's five seasons. The lack of player turnover is a big reason for that. The players have stayed the same. The system has stayed the same. The players work and react well together. Perhaps too well, as opposing offenses now have a lot of film of those tendencies. This is a big season for Zimmer and the Vikings defense as both are now tasked with devising, implementing, and executing some new stuff and twists on the old stuff. The good thing is that the players and coaches know each other very well.
Overall
The Vikings have had a talented team under Zimmer. Two division titles and a trip to the NFC Championship game are proof of that. If not for wildly inconsistent play at the quarterback position and mostly poor offensive line play, the Vikings might have had a great deal more on field success. Looking at a snapshot of lineup change can be interesting. It's interesting to see how much has changed. It's also interesting to see how much has stayed the same. In the case of the Minnesota Vikings from 2016 to the present there's a bit of both. The offense has undergone a great deal of change. The defense has undergone very little change. The play on the field over the past few years reflect that.
No comments:
Post a Comment