Minnesota Vikings Week 2 Stock Report
For at least one week to start 2015, the Minnesota Vikings are trending straight down.
No, the Vikings' season isn't over after an ugly 20-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1. Far from it. But a team many thought to be on the rise will need to make some serious adjustments before hosting the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
In the following slides, we will assess the team's stock report, highlighting risers and fallers, leading into Week 2.
Rising: LB Anthony Barr
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Head coach Mike Zimmer said Tuesday that his defense started "acting like individuals" in San Francisco, but the only individual worth his weight Monday night was linebacker Anthony Barr.
Last year's first-round pick was all over the field against the 49ers, tallying a team-high 12 tackles. Of those tackles, six were considered by Pro Football Focus to be "stops," or plays resulting in an offensive failure. Only Nigel Bradham of the Buffalo Bills had more stops among 4-3 linebackers during Week 1.
Barr also hurried 49ers signal-caller Colin Kaepernick on a blitz (he rushed the quarterback just nine times), and deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage. In coverage, he allowed four receptions but only 19 yards.
The Vikings probably need to do a better job at giving Barr opportunities to attack in the passing game, but it's clear his rookie season wasn't a fluke. Barr looked like an emerging star at the linebacker position, even if the Minnesota defense was a disaster around him.
Falling: LB Chad Greenway
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The sun might be setting on Chad Greenway's time as an every-down player for the Vikings.
Week 1 was a shining example of Greenway's regression, as the veteran linebacker played painfully slow and was frequently out of position against San Francisco's power run game. Now 32, Greenway finished with just two tackles, despite playing the majority of the game.
According to Pro Football Focus, Greenway finished as the fourth-worst 4-3 outside linebacker for Week 1.
The Vikings will likely keep trotting out No. 52 as a starter, but a shuffling at linebacker is probably overdue.
Rising: WR Mike Wallace
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Mike Wallace's debut for Minnesota went far better than his previous one in Miami, where he caught just one pass on five targets back during his first game with the Dolphins. The speedster caught six of seven targets for 63 yards against San Francisco.
His only misconnection came on a deep ball in the end zone, and it was hardly a miss. Teddy Bridgewater's perfectly placed throw should have been a touchdown, but 49ers safety Antoine Bethea got away with pass interference and the play resulted in nothing more than an incompletion.
Wallace thought it should have been a penalty.
“Yeah, but that’s not the thing that made us lose the game,’’ Wallace said, via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “It could have gone either way. It’s one play. Bethea’s a veteran player, and he made a good play. I don’t care about it. The refs didn’t call it."
A pass interference call could have changed the game. Had the pass been completed, Wallace would have finished with seven catches for 109 yards and a score. The Vikings eventually punted, and went on to score just a single field goal.
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Falling: Vikings Specialists
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The Vikings special teams didn't have a completely awful day, as Andrew Sendejo's blocked field goal in the first quarter was one of the team's few highlights. But outside of the block, little else went right.
Kicker Blair Walsh missed wide right after the blocked kick gave the Vikings great field position. Later, he just barely sneaked a kick inside the right upright for Minnesota's only three points. The 25-year-old kicker—who missed six field goals and an extra point in the preseason—continued his ongoing confidence crisis.
Punter Jeff Locke was equally poor. He graded out at Pro Football Focus as the worst punter during Week 1, and his average of 37.5 yards per punt currently ranks 32nd overall. Two bad kicks—a 31-yarder that didn't quite make the 20-yard line and a wobbling 39-yarder that was eventually muffed by the 49ers—were big reasons why.
Cordarrelle Patterson's lone kickoff return didn't reach the 20. Punt returner Marcus Sherels took a dangerous hit when he didn't call a fair catch.
Rising: LT Matt Kalil
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The use of "rising" here is subjective, as Matt Kalil—a former No. 4 overall pick—didn't play exceedingly well in San Francisco. But he also wasn't a total disaster, and that's improvement.
Manning his typical left tackle position, Kalil had a quiet night, generally handling the pass rushes of Ahmad Brooks and Eli Harold. He allowed a pair of hurries and didn't commit a penalty.
In fact, his grade of plus-1.3 at Pro Football Focus was the best single-game performance he's recorded since Week 17 of the 2013 season. A glimpse of positivity has been a long time coming for Kalil.
Minus John Sullivan and Phil Loadholt, the Vikings are now hurting up front. Getting a bounce-back season from Kalil would mean the world to Minnesota.
Falling: Hyped Defense
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While the progression of Teddy Bridgewater provided most of the belief in Minnesota's rise this season, a young defense led by Mike Zimmer was also expected to fuel the ascendancy.
That wasn't the case Monday night.
The Vikings were pushed around up front, allowing 230 rushing yards and almost 400 total yards. San Francisco gained 25 first downs, including 14 rushing, and held the ball for over 33 minutes.
The 49ers present a different test on offense, with a power run game and a mobile quarterback combining to create a unique dilemma for defenses. Carlos Hyde, a sophomore back, looks like a breakout star, and Colin Kaepernick was just safe enough passing and running to move the football.
The Vikings won't face many offenses in the same mold as San Francisco. But it's still clear Zimmer has work to do with his young group, especially in the front seven. The brakes probably needed to be pumped on a defense that looks no closer to solving its issues against the run.
Rising: RB Jerick McKinnon
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While Adrian Peterson's return was a dud, Jerick McKinnon—Minnesota's leading rusher a year ago—played well in a more limited role Monday night.
Over only a handful of snaps, the second-year back carried three times for 20 yards and caught two passes for eight yards. He created two plays over 10 yards: a 15-yard run and a 10-yard catch-and-run.
McKinnon showed many of the same attributes he featured as a rookie, both in terms of versatility and as an electric player in space. While Peterson is still the lead dog for the Minnesota offense, it's clear offensive coordinator Norv Turner should continue to find ways of getting McKinnon involved.
Peterson can be a square peg fitting into a round hole for some things Turner wants to do. McKinnon will have a role.
Falling: Opportunistic Offense
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The Vikings were the only team not to score a touchdown in Week 1.
At least part of the reason why was Minnesota's inability to take advantage of golden opportunities presented by the 49ers.
A blocked kick on San Francisco's first possession set up the Vikings at the 49ers' 26-yard line, but three straight incompletions from Teddy Bridgewater and a missed field goal sapped any momentum created by the early special teams play.
Later in the first quarter, a muffed punt gave Minnesota the football at the their own 43-yard line. Three plays netting negative-nine yards forced the Vikings to punt, once again botching a scoring opportunity and taking away any swing of momentum.
Minnesota failed in many facets of offense in San Francisco. Finishing 1-for-9 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down highlighted how hard it was for the Vikings to hold the football. And even when Minnesota was handed great field position, the offense did next to nothing. The Vikings must be better of taking advantage of opportunities moving forward.
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