Ed Donatell’s Quotes Don’t Express a Desire for Change, but the Vikings Actions Do
Josh Frey
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Following the Minnesota Vikings demoralizing 34-23 defeat at the hands of the Detroit Lions, one thing seemed clear among fans: changes needed to be made on the defensive side of the ball. Well, Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell spoke this week on his thoughts on the defense, and it became obvious that he doesn’t seem to want to see change to that side of the ball.
On Wednesday afternoon, Donatell took to the podium and suggested that much of the Vikings woes on defense, to the tune of 464 yards of offense allowed to Detroit, was more because of execution rather than scheme. The defensive coordinator suggested that players needed to be “tighter in coverage”, and that the team has “a good mix of schemes”.
Perhaps execution could be the sole blame if this was one random, off week for the Vikings defense. That simply isn’t the case, though. Rather, the Vikings have allowed teams to pile up 400+ yards in five consecutive games, and their opponents have scored 25+ points in four of the five games. As a result of this stretch, the Vikings rank No. 32 out of 32 in terms of yards allowed this season.
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Put simply, these struggles have been apparent for far too long for the problem to simply be “execution”. At some point, adjustments must be made, especially considering how much star talent the Vikings are supposed to have on that side of the ball. Prior to the season, Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith were hailed as one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league, and they’ve gone silent in recent weeks.
While Donatell’s quotes this week don’t necessarily express a desire to make changes, the Vikings actions this week do. On Wednesday alone, they made moves revolving around three separate defenders at all three levels of the defense. They added DT Sheldon Day to the practice squad, signed LB William Kwenkeu to the 53-man roster, and signed CB Kalon Barnes off the Dolphins practice squad.
Throughout his seven-year career, Day has been a rotational defensive tackle who is adept as a pass rusher. He can potentially help be an interior pass rusher for a Vikings defense that has been unable to generate pressure from the middle of its defensive line.
Then, towards the back of the defense, the other two moves add some speed to the Vikings defense. Kwenkeu is a speedy linebacker who could help be more of a sideline-to-sideline player than veteran Jordan Hicks has been to this point in the season. Meanwhile, Barnes currently holds the second-fastest 40-yard dash we’ve ever seen at the NFL Combine. He recorded a 4.23 this past spring, and while he doesn’t necessarily have the cleanest coverage skills, his speed helps make up for many of those problems.
In the end, while Donatell didn’t exactly relay a desire to change things up defensively with his words, the actions of the Vikings organization is doing just that. This should be one more beacon of hope in what has been a rather disappointing and stressful month for Vikings fans. Of course, we’re yet to see these changes play out on the field, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens on Saturday before drawing further conclusions.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho with a bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing. He also earned minors in History, Human Biology, and Journalism. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys marathon training, playing video games, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. For more of his opinions, check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.