Minnesota Vikings' Biggest Disappointments at Season's Quarter-Mark
A quarter of the way through the 2014 season, the Minnesota Vikings sit at a respectable 2-2 and might just be on on upward trajectory. The timing would be impeccable, with division showdowns on the docket in Green Bay and at home against Detroit.
The coaching staff should be happy with numerous parts of the team as things stand. Rookies Anthony Barr, Teddy Bridgewater and Jerick McKinnon are all performing very well. The defense has shown steady improvement since their thrashing at the hands of New England. The team as a whole is coming off a terrific victory against Atlanta as well.
For the Vikings to take the next step forward in 2014, these are the squeaky wheels that need greasing as soon as possible.
Deep Passing
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The passing game ranks near the back of the pack in completion percentage and near the middle in yards-per-pass attempt, according to Team Rankings. Those numbers themselves aren't overly concerning, though the completion percentage does need to come up.
An issue shared by both Cassel and Bridgewater is struggles in the deep-passing game thus far. They are a combined 2-of-11 for 59 yards, per Pro Football Focus premium (subscription required). None of those attempts have resulted in touchdowns, and two of them have ended up in the hands of a defender, both credited to Cassel.
While Cassel carries the majority of the statistical burden, this issue is worth keeping an eye on with Bridgewater as well. The rookie stands at 2-of-5 on throws beyond 20 yards, which is a respectable number in and of itself, though it's a tiny sample size.
"Bridgewater one consistent glaring flaw from college tape: deep ball accuracy
— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) September 28, 2014"
The absolute deep shots, where the Vikings try to take the top off the defense, are the ones to monitor with Bridgewater. He was notorious for his inefficiency throwing the deep ball at Louisville. He also missed a wide-open Jarius Wright against Atlanta on a throw that should have been a touchdown.
Between Jarius Wright and Cordarrelle Patterson, Minnesota has the speed to win over the top on the outside. The quarterbacks' inability to complete deep balls to this point has been detrimental and inexcusable.
Sharrif Floyd
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Second-year defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd plays one of the most crucial positions in Mike Zimmer's defense. As the 3-technique in a 4-3 over front, he is tasked with backfield penetration, as Geno Atkins performed to perfection under Zimmer in Cincinnati.
Floyd hasn't brought that to the table for the Vikings defense. Outside of one Herculean play against the St. Louis Rams, Floyd has produced little in terms of disruption in the backfield. Too often he gets washed out of run plays completely. He has a bad habit of turning one shoulder into a blocker to hold his ground and not being able to fight off the block as a result.
As a rusher, he still yet has to pop. Pro Football Focus credits him with seven quarterback hurries on 89 rush snaps, which isn't entirely unproductive, but no hits on the quarterback or sacks have been earned. In fact, summer signing Tom Johnson has been a more effective pass-rusher to this point.
The importance of these struggles is amplified because Minnesota invested a first-round pick in Floyd a year ago. Improvement should be tangible by now.
All of these criticisms come with a small caveat. Floyd has been fighting a relatively minor shoulder injury that held him out of a couple of practices earlier in the year. He's now off the injury report for good, so expectations need to increase.
Pass Protection
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The blame falls on the shoulders of the entire offensive line for the woes in protecting Cassel and Bridgewater thus far.
Expectations coming into this season should have been very high for an offensive line returning all five of its starters after finishing ninth in Pro Football Focus' measure of pass-block efficiency in 2013. They accomplished that, despite a quarterback carousel that included the silly music and everything. Lauding the group as one of the best lines in the league was not hyperbolic before this season began.
That story has been turned on its head. Minnesota now ranks No. 22 by the same efficiency measure, which accounts for pressures, hits and sacks. Many of these disruptions have been the result of outright gaffes in the picking up of stunts or blitzes, which shouldn't happen with such an experienced group.
Now the unit is down right guard Brandon Fusco, who was lost for the season with a pectoral injury. Veteran guard Vlad Ducasse must fill those big shoes now. He may be the new weak link up front, though he has a prime contender at left tackle.
This unit has to pull together and sort out its issues in order to protect Bridgewater, who is already fighting the injury bug.
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3rd-Down Defense
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Consistency counts for something, right? After a terrific defensive showing against a Rams offense down to its third quarterback in Week 1, the Minnesota defense has been consistently terrible on third downs.
After a giving up a respectable 5-of-14 conversion rate to New England the week after, the defense allowed New Orleans to convert on nine of 13 third-down tries and followed that up by allowing Atlanta to convert on 10 of 15. At 50 percent on the season, the Vikings rank No. 31 in the NFL in defensive third-down conversion percentage, according to Team Rankings.
Zimmer gave a blunt assessment of the issue in a press conference on Monday (via Master Tesfatsion of the Star Tribune):
"Zimmer on third down defense: "Yeah, it's terrible. ...It's very disappointing." #Vikings
— Master Tesfatsion (@MasterStrib) September 29, 2014"
The blame falls in many different places. There have been too many coverage gaffes on crucial downs, whether poor technique allows too much separation in man coverage or miscommunication leaves receivers open down the field.
Giving up 4.8 yards per carry on first down is not a ticket toward success either. Getting opposing offenses into more 3rd-and-long situations is a necessary step toward rectifying this problem.
The final issue is the rush. Minnesota's front four has failed to consistently apply pressure without the help of blitzes, which leaves coverage thin down the field. More disruption is needed from the likes of Everson Griffen, Sharrif Floyd and the rest of the defensive line.
Matt Kalil
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Despite a much better showing against Atlanta on Sunday, Matt Kalil still sits atop the list of worries for the Vikings at this point in the season.
Kalil has been responsible for 16 total pressures, three of which were sacks, in his 140 total snaps as a pass blocker so far, per Pro Football Focus. Those numbers don't seem alarming on the surface, but more context is needed.
Right tackle Phil Loadholt, who has not started the season with his best showings either, has only given up nine pressures in the same amount of snaps.
Even in comparison to a year ago, the numbers are concerning. Kalil only gave up a pressure on 7.8 percent of snaps in 2013. That percentage is up to 11.4 this year. He allowed a sack on 0.6 percent of snaps in 2013. His sack percentage has taken an even bigger leap, more than tripling to 2.1 percent. These sacks are often drive killers.
Some of Kalil's issues may be related to a lack of confidence, as Zimmer alluded to (via Rand Ball of the Star Tribune):
"Zimmer on Kalil says his biggest problem is that he lets one bad play fester and carry over. Needs to have short memory like a corner.
— RandBall (@RandBall) September 22, 2014"
Kalil has also had troubles with footwork and balance. As a run-blocker, he is struggling to sustain blocks with the necessary power and positioning. The root of Kalil's problem may be more difficult to pinpoint than the coaching staff wants to let on.
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