Friday Mailbag: What do we make of all this?

Week 2 threw the Vikings into disarray. What happens now?

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By Matthew Coller

Happy Friday, everyone. Hopefully you all got through the week with your sanity. Let’s dive into your questions…

Billy J… Do you think this is the week we finally see an attacking mindset start to finish on both sides of the ball? I miss the exciting style of offense and defense they played for stretches last season.

I don’t know if we can say that they didn’t have an attacking mindset in the first two games. They certainly didn’t have the execution that they had at the beginning of last season when they started 5-0.

The one thing we can say is pretty clear is that there are a lot of people to blame for this mediocre start to the season. JJ McCarthy, the banged-up offensive line, the receivers who never practiced with McCarthy, some of the things the coaches asked McCarthy to do, Jordan Addison’s suspension, the 20th ranked run game, the injuries to Cashman and Van Ginkel, the decision to revamp the D-line with pass rushers and not keeping run-defense specialists etc. etc. etc.

Last year they were completely healthy with a quarterback who had played a ton of football in his career and had a massive arm and they played a bag Giants team, bad Texans O-line, injured 49ers team, injured Jordan Love. Things went right for them.

I would expect that against the Bengals we will see KOC try to use Carson Wentz’s big arm to be aggressive in throwing to Justin Jefferson a lot more often.

On the defensive side, their blitzing statistics aren’t as high because they didn’t blitz Williams early in the Bears game and Penix was good at getting rid of the ball so he isn’t a guy that you want to blitz too much. That might be the case with Browning too because he had the fastest snap-to-release time in the league.

It seems like they need to have things click for a single game in order to find a groove and get some confidence in their identity back.

Bradley P…I know it’s been a rough two weeks for the youngster but how much blame can we pin on a kid who misses a day of practice for the birth of his child, has four offensive linemen who were rated as four of the worst players Sunday by PFF, is missing his favorite receiver, etc?

Why do the Vikings continue to have issues with the kickoff return? Why continue to run the ball out when you’re not getting anywhere with it?

The thing about PFF grades that’s important to remember is context. If your quarterback holds onto the ball longer than anybody else in the league that week, it’s pretty likely that your offensive line is going to have negative plays and get graded worse. If the QB sets the protection wrong, the OL is going to look worse.

All the things that you mentioned are factors. There was nothing he could do about a couple of the instant sacks. At the same time, we can’t reasonably watch one of the worst played games by a QB in the last 20 years of Vikings football and say that it’s everybody else’s fault. We have seen other QBs play down Christian Darrisaw or down a top receiver or without the benefit of a dominant running game and they can usually grind out 13 points by the fourth quarter.

We can acknowledge the other issues and still say that McCarthy was nowhere near the level he needed to play in order to win. We also don’t have to call the kid a bust because that game was legitimately putrid.

As far as the kickoff goes, my guess is that they were hoping Myles Price could spark something with a big return because they were struggling on offense. But any time the ball goes into the end zone, they should kneel down.

Ben… On a macro level KOC is a good coach who wins and players love and respect. On a micro level there are these little things that keep popping up and they don’t seem to be improving ( I.e not running the football at times when it’s efficient to do so) what are your thoughts on him now that we are 3 years and a few games into his tenure??

I think one of the toughest things in this league is judging head coaches and play callers because one week they can look like a genius and the next week they can look like a dope based on the team they play, the players’ ups and downs and luck.

Here’s what I know: Almost every fan base is driven insane by their coach’s tendencies because they watch every play of every game and notice every single thing that they don’t do well.

I agree with some of the common critiques like that O’Connell hasn’t run the ball effectively since he arrived here and that it has felt like too much has been placed on the shoulders of the QBs like they are all Matthew Stafford. Last year Jefferson mentioned going to KOC and asking him to back off some of the pre-snap stuff so they could get ahead of the play clock. I’m not sure that he’s as good at the easy-button stuff as a coach like Matt LaFleur or can flip a switch like the way Zac Taylor adapted for Jake Browning in 2023.

At the same time, we have a very large sample of evidence to suggest that the areas where he’s strongest correlate to winning. Creating explosive plays by breaking two-high defenses is a pretty darn big deal. Putting QBs in positions to win when the opportunities are there in the fourth quarters or on final drives. Having a play-action game that ranked second in passer rating last year despite not having the most effective run game.

When you have a QB who can execute it and a line that can block it, it works really well.

I don’t think anybody should be suddenly thinking that KOC is anything other than a top-notch coach because the first two games with a new QB went poorly. That doesn’t mean he gets a free pass for the playoffs or shortcomings but let’s not lose the forest through the trees out of frustration.

It feels like there has been a lot of looking around looking for anyone to blame when the answer is right in front of us: A bunch of stuff went wrong with injuries and the young QB was not prepared for that yet.

Walleyepike…I blame you for my unfounded optimism Coller! (As a lifelong Vikings fan, I should have known better.)

I wouldn’t use the word “unfounded.” It was founded. This strategy has worked many times before. They are coming off a 14-win season. McCarthy has a lot of talent. The roster is very good.

I’m actually surprised at how many people have wanted to give up already. It’s Week 3 man. Week 3!

Francis v… Just a one question…. Why us?

It could be worse. My wife’s uncle is a Jets fan.

Brad L… Could JJ’s injury be a blessing in disguise? Thinking long term. He’s seen game speed now. When he watches it’ll be with different eyes. So maybe helpful? Or am I just desperately grasping at straws?

I respect that you’re trying here but you’re desperately grasping at straws. He needs to play football games. Every game he misses is more opportunities to get used to playing at NFL speed and getting experienced in KOC’s offense. Every play he misses is falling farther behind in his development.

That’s why I didn’t understand the “shadow benching” stuff from folks. Playing against a mediocre Cincinnati defense would have been a great chance for him to get back on the horse.

It’s much tougher to have to sit there and think about the miserable game than get back out there.

We need to keep in mind that Bo Nix had a game where he threw 25 passes for 60 yards. Jordan Love threw three picks against the Raiders in his first year as a starter. Jayden Daniels took five sacks in his second start.

This stuff happens. Gotta be on the field to work through it.

Nolan….How did Dallas Turner look with his increased workload? I was in too much distress to keep an eye on him during the game.'