Takeaways from Mike Zimmer's state-of-the-team address
The Vikings' coach was clearly excited about the upgrades in defensive personnel
By Sam Ekstrom and Matthew Coller
With less than a month until the draft and free agency options dwindling, Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer hopped on a Zoom call with local reporters to discuss the team’s moves thus far and its mindset heading down the stretch to the draft.
The Vikings’ head coach was expectedly thrilled with the club’s defensive acquisitions and spoke extensively about his excitement to try new things defensively in 2021. Plus, he offered updates on the left tackle situation, backup quarterback and even his good friend Deion Sanders.
Here are the biggest takeaways:
Zimmer was down on the defense when the offseason began — he isn’t now
The breaking point for Mike Zimmer with his defense came on Christmas day when the Vikings gave up 52 points to the New Orleans Saints and six touchdowns to Alvin Kamara. After the game he called the defense “bad” and said it was the worst he’s ever had.
Zimmer gave the impression on Wednesday that he entered the offseason short on confidence that they would be able to make the leaps and bounds of improvement on the roster necessary to get back to his typical standard of defensive play.
“When we looked at the defense after the season and evaluated it, it was pretty barren in there,” Zimmer said. “So we had to address that. Honestly, at the end of the season, I was kind of down in the dumps when I kept looking at the depth chart and knowing what kind of salary cap space we had.”
Zimmer perked up when the front office used every possible maneuver to create more cap space and add six defensive free agents without losing any of the remaining key players.
“Rob and Rick have done an unbelievable job…they’ve gotten me rejuvenated with the guys that they’ve brought in and the players that (they’ve brought in) to help and then you’ve got guys like Anthony Barr… he decides to restructure his contract because he wants to be here,” Zimmer said. “You’ve got guys like Stephen Weatherly and Mackensie [Alexander] and a lot of these other guys that really want to be here and Patrick Peterson. Those kinds of things get me excited.”
The Vikings’ head coach called the Peterson signing a “lucky break” because the eight-time Pro Bowler targeted Minnesota as a place he wanted to play in 2021.
“He kind of initiated wanting to come here so I thought that was really important,” Zimmer said. “I anticipate him playing corner, that's what he is. He's always been a great corner. He wants to continue to get better and he wants to continue to play longer and we're hopeful that we can help him to do that.”
Last year it was particularly demoralizing to Zimmer’s defense to see opponents dominating them in the run game. They allowed the fifth most yards and ninth highest yards per attempt rate. Zimmer called free agent Dalvin Tomlinson and Michael Pierce, who is returning from opt out, “space-eaters” and said linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks will be pleased to have them controlling the line of scrimmage.
“It’s going to look completely different when we get out there, and I’m excited about the whole crew,” Zimmer said. “[Tomlinson and Pierce] specifically, they’re both great guys. They’re both really really good run players who can push the pocket, and I think that’s going to help, not only Hunter and Barr and Wonnum and Weatherly, some of these other guys we have.”
Defensive adaptation on the way
Zimmer has readily admitted for years that he’s trying to adjust his defense to keep up with modern offenses. In recent seasons, that’s meant going away from using double-A-gap blitzes as often, playing more nickel personnel and utilizing defensive ends as inside rushers on pass-rushing downs.
It sounds like more schematic changes are coming.
“I’m not used to that level of performance from one of our groups,” Zimmer said. “You know – it’s crazy because all the coaches are in the building now – we’ve had some of the best meetings that I’ve had in eight years, probably. We’re dissecting every little thing that we do, going through everything with a fine-tooth comb. I’ve been really impressed with the coaches that are in there, but also the offenses have changed so much in the last four or five years, it’s time that we need to do some things differently and change and adapt.”
The Vikings’ head coach feels his defense was getting caught thinking too much last year, and because of limitations on practicing and meeting in person, they struggled to adjust. Specifically Zimmer may have special plans for the team’s suddenly-deep cornerback room. He’s got at least five playable cornerbacks if Mike Hughes is healthy, and several of them can play in the slot.
“We’re trying figure out where we can use each one of these guys,” Zimmer said. “What can Gladney do different? We’ve talked about things with him. What can Mackensie do? We’ve talked about things with him. What if we decide to play more DBs? There are so many options that we have. Right now, they’re just puzzle pieces and we’re just trying to fit them in as best we can. It might be a lot of different packages.”
The latest on Danielle Hunter
There’s been no resolution regarding Danielle Hunter’s contract, and until there is, it’s unclear whether Hunter will participate in offseason activities like OTAs and minicamp. The Vikings, though, haven’t seemed fazed. Rick Spielman spoke optimistically about Hunter’s return before free agency, and Zimmer echoed that on Wednesday.
“Well, I know he’s talked to Andre [Patterson]. I have not talked to him,” said Zimmer. “He’s been sending back videos of his workouts, and they’re very, very impressive. So we’re excited to get him back on the field. He’s a great team guy, he’s a terrific player, and he’s one of the best people that I’ve been around in professional football.”
Minnesota opens up more cap space on June 1 when Kyle Rudolph’s money comes off the books, so any type of Hunter contract extension that adds money to the salary cap may have to wait until then.
Ezra Cleveland a guard?
Zimmer gave mixed signals regarding Ezra Cleveland’s status on Wednesday.
Early in the media session, Zimmer was asked about the left tackle spot, and he responded by listing four candidates to play tackle, including Cleveland (Brian O’Neill, Rashod Hill and Oli Udoh were the other three).
Later, though, when asked more directly about Cleveland’s position, Zimmer said he’s presently a right guard.
“Well, right now he’s right guard, but all those things can change depending on what happens the rest of the way in free agency and what else happens in the draft,” Zimmer said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in those places, and obviously there’s other positions that we can draft. I’m sure at some point we’re going to try and address all those things.”
It may be in the team’s best interest to remain ambiguous about the offensive line so other teams can’t predict their draft strategy. As of now, there’s no way of knowing for certain whether the Vikings feel they need a starting guard or starting tackle (or both) in the draft.
Who’s the backup QB?
The Vikings are still without a No. 2 quarterback, but it looks like it’ll be one of the usual suspects: Sean Mannion (a free agent still), Jake Browning or Nate Stanley.
“We really like Browning and Stanley,” Zimmer said. “Stanley’s a big, big strong-armed kid. Browning’s been great the two years that he’s been here. Sean’s been outstanding in the room. So, again, without saying, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this or that,’ there’s a lot of options there I believe.’’
There are journeymen backups galore on the free agent list right now, so the Vikings needn’t be in a rush. Of course, the longer they wait to sign a No. 2, the more steam they’ll generate about possibly drafting Cousins backup.
Xavier Woods can be better
Both Xavier Woods and Zimmer acknowledged this week that the Vikings’ new starting safety did not play his best football last season. The metrics back that up. His QB rating allowed on passes into his coverage skyrocketed from 56.4 in 2019 to 129.0 in 2020 and his PFF coverage grade dropped.
Zimmer said he thinks Woods will be in the right position for a bounce back.
“I just told him that this is going to be a good situation for him here,” the Vikings’ head coach said. “The things that we do are things he’s done before. Areas how we can use him in addition to Harrison. I watch all the tapes and I think he’s got another level to go to. I think he’s also got a chip on his shoulder as well. So I like that about guys. I like bringing in guys when other people say they’re probably not good enough somewhere else.”
Generally the job alongside Smith has been belonged to free safeties who play deep. Last year Woods split his snaps between the deep safety, box safety and nickel corner positions.
“[Defensive backs coach] Karl Scott had him in college, so he knows him very, very well, so that’s a positive,” Zimmer said. “He wasn’t always in the box. He played deep, he played some robber, he played a lot of different place for him. So he has some versatility to do all those things.”
Klint Kubiak is ready
Among the changes this offseason to the Vikings’ coaching staff, the most notable was switching offensive coordinators from Gary Kubiak to his son Klint.
The biggest questions surrounding Klint’s hiring are: Is he ready to take over after only a few years as a quarterbacks coach? What type of freedom will he have to make changes?
“He’s ready for it,” Zimmer said. “Somebody was asking me about that today. Klint, he’s a lot like how Kevin (Stefanski) was when he was there. He’s very detailed. He brings up the subject that they want to discuss. He’ll have his opinions. He’ll listen to the other guys’ opinions in the room and then kind of go from there. He’s done a good job.”
Klint will be calling plays for the first time, which doesn’t seem to concern Zimmer.
“Everybody’s going to wonder what it’s going to be like when you’re a first-time play caller but at the end of the day every one of us was always a first-time play caller at one point,” he said.
17th game, offseason schedule
The Vikings didn’t exactly draw the easiest matchup when the NFL tacked on a 17th game onto everyone’s 2021 slate. They will play the Los Angeles Chargers, a team with the 2020 Rookie of the Year at quarterback, on the road.
“It’s another west coast game, I don’t know if they’ll put it at the end of the year, the beginning of the year, the middle, or whatever,” Zimmer said. “It’s just something else they tell us to do, and we do it like good soldiers.”
The Vikings will have the extra home game in 2022.
On the matter of whether the offseason will be virtual or in person, Zimmer naturally wants to get a look at his squad on the field before they hit camp.
“I think it’s important not for just the young players, but the new players [and] the coaches,” he said. “It just helps with the process of trying to build a football team, in my opinion. I really don’t know. Again, we’ll do what they tell us to do.”
Deion Sanders, head coach
Zimmer and Deion Sanders have long had a unique coach-player relationship, spanning years after Sanders retired. Now it’s a coach-coach relationship with Sanders taking the Jackson State head coaching job in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.
“Oh yeah, I’ve talked to him a lot,” Zimmer said. “He’s doing great. … I love him and I know he’s doing a great job. I know he’s got a lot of guys that he’s recruited that can’t play this year and will play next year. I know he’s looking forward to finishing up this year strong and then getting going next year. I guess ‘surprised’ wouldn’t be the right word to use, but he does a great job. I knew he would. He told me for a few years that he would coach college football and I knew he’d be an unbelievable recruiter because he’s very quick-witted and very smart and obviously his reputation is pretty good.”
Through four weeks of their spring season, Sanders and the Bulldogs are 3-1.
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Mike is happy. Now we'll be back to Zimmer/Spielman Viking football. The defense will be good to great and the offense will be just okay. Kirk will be making poor decisions, due to the pass rush up the middle, he'll get sacked, fumble the ball and throw interceptions and next year we'll be talking about the need for offensive line improvement and Rick and Zim still won't do anything about it. If they still have a job that is.
Does anyone ever ask Zim and Rick about this regime's complete failure to draft and develop a single quality defensive lineman since Hunter? How about their failure to draft and develop any quality offensive lineman other than O'Neill? The Vikings have invested a fair amount of draft capital on both lines, but the returns have been mostly goose eggs.
Have to say, the most surprising takeaway from this Zimmer meeting is how "depressed" he was... maybe I'm looking too hard at things like needing to be reinvigorated, but if coach really was fizzling because his vaunted reputation/defense was slipping... couldn't that be used as motivation to push elsewhere, like say the offense?! Outscoring the other guys is never a sure-fire victory, but it sure beats depending on a shaky defense. Things should be different this season... fingers crossed.