Everything we learned from conference calls with Vikings coordinators
Marwan Maalouf, Gary Kubiak, Andre Patterson and Adam Zimmer talked to the Twin Cities media and there were many takeaways
*Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings
It’s a strange time to be an NFL coordinator with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing teams to install their offenses, defenses and special teams via virtual meetings rather than giving the hands-on instruction they would prefer.
Last week the Minnesota Vikings made four coordinators available via Zoom call with the Twin Cities media to discuss how they have adapted to the unique circumstances and comment on some storylines and positional battles as we approach training camp….
Gary Kubiak will play to Justin Jefferson’s slot strengths
Since Justin Jefferson was drafted, you’ve probably heard the numbers more than a few times about his usage in the LSU offense. He played nearly every snap in the slot after spending 2018 with the Tigers as an outside receiver. His production exploded from 54 in 2018 to 111 receptions in LSU’s run to a national title.
Jefferson’s exceptional play out of the slot complicates the idea that he will take over the role of Stefon Diggs, who spent just 17.1% of snaps in the slot per Pro Football Focus.
The reality for receivers in today’s NFL is that they have to be able to handle multiple roles so Gary Kubiak sees Jefferson’s college experience as being helpful.
“He was playing inside, but he was playing inside in like a lot of bunch sets,” Kubiak said. “He was playing in the backfield sometimes. He was moving around a bunch. He runs a lot of choice routes; that's a way of getting your best player the ball in our league. I think he's done some things that give him a good head start moving forward.”
But Kubiak understands that the adjustment from college to the NFL for receivers is steep even during normal offseason circumstances. No rookie receiver last year was targeted 100 times and only one rookie cleared 1,000 yards.
“We've got to be smart here, we haven't run one football play this whole offseason,” Kubiak said. “So we've got to be smart when we get these guys in here and taking it a day at a time and try not to do too much too quick because it's gonna be about the season and not about the first day. We've got a plan in place, and Justin's doing his part. Now hopefully here pretty soon it'll be time for us to do our part.”
Last offseason Kubiak said that rookie Irv Smith was “swimming” early in camp but after several weeks he found his footing and contributed to the offense in a multi-dimensional role. The Vikings will hope for the same from Jefferson.
Kubiak is going to run the ball no matter who’s in the backfield
There is still plenty of time for the Vikings and Dalvin Cook to work out their contract differences and have the Pro Bowl running back on the practice field for the first day of training camp but if he elects to fight for a contract extension into the season as we’ve seen from Le’Veon Bell and Melvin Gordon in recent years, the Vikings will need to adapt their offense, of which Cook is essentially the centerpiece.
During Wednesday’s call, Kubiak made it clear that he wants Cook in the backfield and believes star running backs still make a difference. The natural follow-up question, however, was about his past history of taking late-round or undrafted free agent running backs and helping them become stars. He responded by saying that the Vikings won’t suddenly revert to 2018’s pass-happy style if Cook isn’t in the backfield.
“We really start our classroom offensively, we walk into a room and tell our guys we’re committed to running the football and being a physical team,” Kubiak said. “I work for a head coach that talks that same way. It’s really just a mindset and saying hey we’re going to be good at doing this and we’re not going to find ways not to run the ball; we’re going to find ways to run the ball. So, I just think it gets back to commitment.”
Alexander Mattison and Mike Boone combined for 735 yards on 149 carries (4.9 yards per attempt) last season.
Expectations are sky high for Irv Smith
*Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings
The raw statistics don’t tell the entire story for the Vikings’ second-round pick in 2019. He caught a solid 36 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns but he stepped up when Adam Thielen was out, catching 24 of those passes from Week 7 to Week 13.
With Diggs traded to Buffalo, pressure will be on Smith to step into a bigger role as a versatile weapon and eat up a chunk of the receptions that were subtracted from the offense.
Kubiak was asked to assess Smith’s first year.
“You watch throughout the course of the season, we called on Irv more and more. I think there’s a big, big upside here,” Kubiak said. “I love Irv as a kid and as a competitor. He really enjoys coming to work every day, and he’s benefited from sitting back there right next to Rudy every day and watching a seasoned pro go about it. So I think there’s a lot more there, and Irv’s going to give it to us, and I’ve got to make sure that I get him in position to do that.”
Kubiak’s offenses have always leaned heavily on tight ends, from Shannon Sharpe in Denver to Owen Daniels in Houston, Baltimore and Denver. Personnel groupings that include Kyle Rudolph and Smith create mismatches by forcing the defense to either put in a run-stopping package or face a disadvantage versus the ground game.
What separates Smith from most tight ends is his athletic ability. At the Combine in 2019 he ran a 4.63 40-yard dash and proved during the season that he could block despite being undersized for the position.
The virtual offseason has changed development but not always in a bad way
Every team has been forced to adapt their typical process for the offseason because of COVID but what the Vikings are discovering is that some of the new things they have implemented might help them down the road.
For example, Patterson talked about having the chance to create film cut-ups for every rookie and give them specific advice on what will and won’t translate to the NFL.
“We made tapes of all four of the college guys that we signed and I was able to go through and coach them up like, 'see if you had done this right here with your feet or done this with your hands you could have had success on this rush' and the same thing with the run game,” Patterson said. “So they start to see that they have to do these qualities within the scheme to be successful.”
Patterson explained that they changed from the typical system of installing something in meetings and practicing it on the field during OTAs and minicamp to spending two days installing the same concept.
“We're really able to work on the fine tune little things that go in with each coverage and each front that we installed the day before,” Patterson said.
“We've taught and slowed it down, and it's been really good, not only for the young players but even for the veterans,” Adam Zimmer added. “They've been able to understand the grand scheme of the defense because they're hearing everybody talk about their own position. I think that's been good. We went into it saying, 'Hey, everybody has to go through this. How are we going to do it the best we can?'“
On the offensive side, Kubiak has been drawing up offensive scripts, treating things exactly like they were going to go onto the field and practice. The biggest change for him was trying to push players to form personal bonds, which would happen organically in the locker room but has to be facilitated in a Zoom call setting.
“We tried to do a lot of interaction amongst the players and probably the biggest challenge was having players get to know each other,” Kubiak said. “I mean, we’ve got players, they know each other’s names, but they’ve never met. So we tried to have some interaction on the computer, talking about their lives, about their families, so that we can make up a little ground from that standpoint. So it’s been very challenging, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
Kubiak said that he sees receiver as a position that will have a learning curve because it will be “very competitive” between some young players including Jefferson and Bisi Johnson but most of the offense has at least enough experience from last season to get on the field and run his offense.
“We could probably line up today and go right back to work, we should make up some ground very quickly,” he said. “I'm hoping that carryover helps us make a quick transition into this season but we are still going to have to catch up and have some young guys help us.”
Defensive tackle will be a top camp battle
The Vikings only have two players that you could call “proven” at defensive tackle and the rest of the positions are up for grabs heading into camp. Aside from Michael Pierce and Shamar Stephen, the DTs are all on their rookie contracts with Jaleel Johnson, Armon Watts, Jalyn Holmes, Hercules Mata’afa and rookie James Lynch all battling for roles.
“I'm excited about that group, there's great talent within the group,” Patterson said. “There's a good mix of old and youth. You've still got a good group of guys that are working to continue to progress their games and I think we've got some guys that are ready to turn the corner.”
Holmes and Mata’afa were both given a run at carving out roles last season and failed to do so, leading to Stephen playing the majority of the snaps and the interior rushing jobs on third downs went to Stephen Weatherly and Ifeadi Odengibo. But Weatherly signed in Carolina and Odenigbo is very likely the starting defensive end, leaving the position up for grabs. Watts’s small sample size showing puts him toward the top of the list but we’ve seen players go from the bubble to starting before under Patterson.
Punt returner competition will have plenty of candidates
For years the Vikings were set at punt returner with Marcus Sherels. They struggled so much last year to find his replacement that they brought him back into the mix but the best days were past Sherels. Now special teams coordinator Marawn Maalouf will start up the search again, beginning with draft pick KJ Osborn, who was one of the nation’s better returners for the Miami Hurricanes last year.
“He gets downhill very quickly and has a knack for catching the ball. That’s one of the most important things that gets overlooked,” Maalouf said. “I think people sometimes look for athletic guys but you have to be able to catch the ball and he’s done both in college and done it very well. You can see his explosiveness and his vision and his anticipation before he catches the ball, you can see his eyes scanning. He has the talent to do that.”
Mallouf said that the Vikings could use more than one returner — possibly even more than one at a time — and Jefferson will be in consideration.
“Justin Jefferson can catch punts. There’s a few guys that can do it and the more the better…I’ve talked to coach about putting two guys back there depending on who we play and he could possibly be one of those guys,” Maalouf said. “Not to mention we’ve got Mike Hughes. I think Mike was getting really, really good toward the end of the season.”
There’s always a chance for dark horse candidates at returner but it’s tough to put odds on which players might emerge until the team is actually on the field.
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