Is a Scheme Adjustment Enough for Minnesota Vikings Offense?
I’ve been among those wondering if the Vikings are being foolish about their coaching staff optimism. Sure, Klint Kubiak struggled, and Mike Zimmer has never been a game-management expert. Can we really expect Kevin O’Connell and Friends to have a massive impact, though? Will changes and/or adjustments to the Minnesota Vikings scheme be enough to resurrect this once-proud roster?
Every coaching staff, to a certain extent, needs to get in bed with hubris. If a coach truly doesn’t believe her/himself capable of outfoxing the team on the opposite sideline, then why get into coaching? It’s a wonderful chess battle, one that involves a remarkable amount of effort to exploit the other side’s weaknesses while defending one’s own.
Quite often, though, this hubris proves to be misguided. Not everyone can be Bill Belichick.
The old football saying is that “it’s about the Jimmys and the Joes, not the Xs and the Os.” Pat Shurmer would voice a similar perspective when he was the OC, suggesting that “it’s about the players, not the plays.” In other words, the wise coach ought to understand that players are the ones who matter. Ideally, a coach will concoct a scheme that allows his players to succeed by: A) simplifying the game; B) magnifying the skills & abilities present among the players. It sounds easy, but coaches regularly fall short.
One has to wonder if Kevin O’Connell will have what it takes to be that kind of coach, someone who allows his players to reach hitherto unreached heights.
To help get some clarity on the matter, I reached out to Arif Hasan of The Athletic (who is on Twitter). His recent work has discussed how Kirk Cousins won’t rise to elite, how the Vikings are essentially running it back, and several other topics.
To my mind, he’s one of the best in the purple business.
For this reason, I reached out to ask about the Minnesota Vikings scheme. Take a look at the question I hit him with about the offense’s ability to improve through tweaks on offense (I got a great answer about the defensive scheme that will be included in a separate piece):
Again, I want to ask you about scheme, but this time for the offense. The decision to bring Kirk Cousins back caused no little debate among Vikings fans. Can we really expect Kevin O’Connell’s offense to finally push KC into the nexl level of QB play? [sic; d’oh!] Or, perhaps, are we putting our hope in the wrong thing? Rather than focus on Cousins, should we be hopeful that the offensive line can take a step forward? Might the receivers have a much easier time? In my understanding (which may be misguided), the offense isn’t going to be altogether different from last season’s. Instead, it seems that the hope is K/O will do a better job with the play calling and that the other tweaks will make a noticeably better offense. Will this be enough to get the offense to the next level without a major talent infusion?
His answer:
I think it’s likely that Kevin O’Connell will be able to increase the level and quality of play from Kirk Cousins but I don’t think he’ll fundamentally change who Cousins is as a quarterback. He’ll still follow the play design and be averse to improvisation and adaptability. They will require a step forward from the offensive line. Again, I think personnel will play a bigger role here than with scheme. Maybe with the right moves in the draft or more moves in free agency they can pull that line together. It wouldn’t take much to improve at the two spots they need more bodies. But I think that can only help — the offense has generally been good, the key has been Cousins. The OL will make it better but only Cousins can make it elite.
If Hasan is correct – and it’s likely that he is – then the onus really falls to K/O as a play caller. This is an analogy I’ve made before, but it’s worth repeating.
Kirk Cousins is the NFL’s version of Ron Burgundy. Like the anchorman’s relationship with the teleprompter, Cousins will do whatever the play calls for (even if it’s a bad idea). At times, Burgundy will articulate a phrase that offends the fine folks of San Diego. At times, Cousins will hit his RB for 3 yards even though the team needed 9 to pick up the first down.
What I’m trying to suggest is that K/O needs to ensure the message on the teleprompter is continually pristine. If the situation needs aggression, the play call needs built-in aggression.
So, the scheme adjustments aren’t insignificant, but one wonders if Kevin O’Connell will have what it takes to push this Minnesota Vikings offense into elite territory. I’m cautiously expecting an improvement. Whether that is enough to get the Vikings offense into the NFL’s top-tier remains to be seen.
Editor’s Note: Purple PTSD extends a sincere thanks to Arif Hasan for taking the time to provide insight for this piece. Readers can find his work on The Athletic and on Twitter.
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