Vikings Coach Talks Insider Scouting Report on Detroit’s Leading Man
K. Joudry
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A Vikings coach (or two) has some insider knowledge about the QB1 in Detroit.
Before being employed in Minnesota, Kevin O’Connell and Wes Phillips were employed in LA. O’Connell was the offensive coordinator while Phillips worked with the tight ends and as the passing game coordinator. Their success with the Rams directly fed into their shot to take over as the head coach and offensive coordinator in The State of Hockey.
During this week’s press conference, Phillips reflected on his time working alongside Jared Goff with the Rams. Part of what made the answer so fascinating is that he took a few moments to discuss how the history with the Lions’ starting QB could lead to some insider knowledge that would be relayed to Brian Flores & Friends.
“Yeah, I think [Goff has] grown a lot from when we were with him,” Phillips notes, “but you definitely try to — especially Kevin who coached him personally in that room every day — you try to at least give [the defensive coaches] a few tips about things maybe he struggled with or wasn’t as comfortable with from a defensive look standpoint.”
Vikings Coach Talks Goff as Lions Battle Looms
Jared Goff is putting together a Pro Bowl season.
After the opening fourteen games, Goff is completing 67.1% of his passes. He has tossed for 3,727 yards, 26 TDs, and 10 INTs. Oh, and his team is sitting at a rock-solid 10-4 record. Another victory would guarantee that Detroit claims the divisional crown for the first time since 1993.
Finding a way of making Goff uncomfortable is paramount.
The Lions venture into the game with the NFL’s 5th-best offense by averaging 27.3 points per game. Much of that success flows from the dynamic twosome at running back — David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs — but Goff hasn’t just been along for the ride. He’s legitimately playing well.
PFF insists that he’s the NFL’s 11th-best QB in 2023. His 98.2 passer rating is 7th in the NFL and his 66.0 expected completion percentage is coming in at 10h. In truth, Goff is a top-15 NFL quarterback who can shine when he has a wonderful array of playmakers and a great play caller. That was the formula in LA; that’s what’s currently happening in Detroit.
O’Connell and Phillips were with him for part of his time with the Rams. Eventually, the Rams and Lions pulled off a swap that involved sending Matthew Stafford to LA in exchange for Jared Goff (alongside no shortage of draft picks). Few in the NFL will have a better understanding of Goff’s abilities than the top two offensive coaches in Minnesota.
The best way to shut down a talented group of pass catchers is to get after the quarterback with great regularity. Yes, it’s great when Danielle Hunter can finish things off with yet another sack (the man is going into the game with a career-high 15.5 sacks), but creating a broader state of pressure is what DCs want to see out of their defensive front.
Can Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus pickup a QB hit or two on their blitzes? What about Ivan Pace? Does he find a way of getting into Goff’s lap? Patrick Jones II doesn’t have a sack this season, so he’s due for one; D.J. Wonnum is making an unlikely push toward 10 sacks in 2023 (he’s sitting at 8), so picking up another would certainly help him get to the benchmark.
And then one thinks of the defensive linemen. Harrison Phillips and Jonathan Bullard are getting paid because of their ability to stifle the run, but getting a good push on Detroit’s interior offensive line will certainly make a difference.
A Lions loss without finding a way of making Jared Goff uncomfortable is unlikely. The Flores Fiends need to get the veteran QB off his spot and into rushed decisions. At other times, they need to make contact before the ball can leave his hands.
Helping these players accomplish their goal is the knowledge that can be gleaned from Kevin O’Connell and Wes Phillips. The two coached Goff before (and hold him in high regard), so there will be a strong understanding of what can be done to slow him down on Christmas Eve.
Kickoff will take place at 12 p.m. CST.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, & NFL Next Gen Stats helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.