Mike Zimmer Needs To Step On The Gas
Tom Woldum
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Mike Zimmer, the gruff, surly Head Coach of the Minnesota Vikings, has a perception problem. Specifically, fans, members of the media and, one would assume, members of his football team’s top brass, are beginning to perceive him as a Coach who can talk the talk but is no longer able to walk the walk. Is his tough-guy persona a ruse? Is it some kind of long-ago conceived, elaborate bluff?
Since his arrival with the Vikings in 2014, Coach Zim has been trading heavily on his reputation as a defensive mastermind, and by extension a rough-and-tumble, chop-busting, ass-kicking, man’s man. But in 2021 the cracks in the armor are starting to show. It’s getting hard to tell if Mike Zimmer is the baddest cat in the room or just a Fraidy Cat.
This is a year that has started with Zimmer palpably aware that his job is on the line. It’s progressed with an uncharacteristically kind defense of kicker Greg Joseph after his field goal missed in the Arizona game — for which Joseph repaid Zimmer last Sunday, first with a heart-attack-waiting-to-happen missed field goal that could have sealed the deal for the Vikings, then with a cold-blooded long-range game-winner at the buzzer.
He has seen Rashod Hill turn in another dismal quarter-of-a-season, and yet with 1st-Round draft pick Christian Darrisaw waiting in the wings, he stated a preference for “easing the rookie” into the picture. Since when does Mike Zimmer worry about a player’s “ease”? He’s got an instant opportunity to improve the team, and yet he is hesitating to take that step for concern of overburdening the youngster.
Then there’s the decision to limit the snap count of Everson Griffen, the aging edge rusher who has discovered the fountain of youth only to be told to stop drinking so much. Zimmer is concerned that Griffen, at 33 years of age, only has so many snaps left in him. Where’s the heavy reliance on his best defensive players that has helped make Zimmer successful for so many years?
This evolution might be the feel-good story of the year, if not for one problem: it’s not showing up in the win column. In fact, the most egregious examples of Zimmer coaching soft showed itself in the Lions game last week, and it wasn’t pretty. With over a minute to go in the first half, the Vikings, looking every bit the superior team in the first two quarters but having little to show for it with a 13-6 lead, decided the wise decision was to run the clock down. With Justin Jefferson already having piled up over 100 yards and a touchdown in the first half, it was the ideal time to push hard and remind the Lions that they were not in the same class as the Vikings. It was time for the proverbially stepping on the opponent’s throat. Zimmer either got scared or didn’t believe the Lions were not in the same class as the Vikings.
In his Monday press conference, Zimmer tried to reprise his tough-guy persona before answering ESPN’s Courtney Cronin’s question about what he was thinking. “I shouldn’t have to explain all of this to you,” he began, immediately begging two questions: why shouldn’t you? and, who is the “you” you shouldn’t have to explain this to? Cronin? The press in general? The fans? Whatever his intentions, the comment came off as extremely dismissive—and that was before he actually attempted to answer the question by explaining that the first run was meant as a sort of litmus test to whether his offense was up to the challenge, and that they had failed. It was, in fact, the strategy (or lack thereof) that failed, as Detroit was clearly waiting for Alexander Mattison to get the ball. By way of explanation, Zimmer stated “we screwed a couple plays at the end of the first half this year”…and that “the plan was to run the ball the first play, see how much yards we get”.
Dude, I guess you were right—you shouldn’t have to explain your plan to us. Most of us just think it was a lame plan. Why give up when you have presumably addressed the previous “screwed plays” in practice this week? Test your coaching, and your offense’s execution mettle. For that matter, the way the Vikings defense was playing (very well) – why were you even worried what would happen if we botched three pass plays and were then forced to punt with only a few ticks remaining on the clock? The Lions had managed two field goals at this point. It was clear and obvious that the odds were stacked in the Vikings’ favor. But instead, Zimmer and company chose to run out the clock, thereby inviting an inferior opponent to believe.
In the second half, the fear continued. Jefferson had shredded the Lions defense, but was rarely used the rest of the way. Zimmer explained that J.J. was being double-teamed, and that the Vikings “identity” lies with the run anyway. If you choose to believe in the Vikings at all, you’re likely to believe that the Vikes are far from one dimensional as a team, and on offense. The quarterback is, of course, highly compensated for his ability to throw an accurate pass, even in traffic, as he demonstrated on an early deep ball to Jefferson down the left sideline. Jefferson’s receiving partner, Adam Thielen, is not chopped liver, and he showed in the closing seconds of the second half exactly what might have been in the first, when he hauled in a key pass that directly led to the game-winning kick. In fact, that entire final drive at the end of the game (beginning with :37 remaining on the clock) was the perfect illustration of what could have happened at the end of the half, when there were 41 ticks to work with.
The bottom line here is that the coach was afraid of what might happen if he and his staff didn’t play it conservative. This is ironic considering his history of dialing up the defensive pressure in key situations—taking risks and seeing them pay off more often than not in key points of the game. It’s that damn-it-we’re-better-than-they-are mentality that made him a strong Defensive Coordinator and made him a strong head coach for the Vikes for many years as well. Maybe it’s a lack of understanding about offense, since he’s a “defensive guy”, maybe (probably) it’s more the fact that his job is on the line in a big way these days, but whatever the reason, he needs to get over it and step on the gas when these opportunities present themselves.
One thing’s for sure, starting with Sunday’s matchup with Carolina, the schedule will only get tougher, and these opportunities to initiate more scoring and pressure the other side will only become more important. At this juncture of this season, it’s not enough to talk snide in the press conferences. Viking fans everywhere are finding themselves longing for the return of Take-No-Prisoners Mike on the sidelines on Sunday, and not just by dialing up a blitz on “D”, but by stretching the field—and the clock—on “O” as often as possible.
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