Good read on the D and Donatell

[purplefaithful]

Mike Zimmer's defenses ranked fifth, sixth, first, ninth, and sixth in points allowed from 2015-19. Significant injuries and key losses in free agency contributed to the two-year slide — ranking 29th and 24th in points allowed — that cost Zimmer his job.
"Mike Zimmer put a nice foundation here," Donatell said. "There are a lot of principles we use that are the same. There is carryover that will be quite useful. But it is going to be different."
Let's ask some of the key figures to explain the benefits in the shift from a 4-3 defense with four down linemen and three linebackers to a 3-4:

• Donatell on having edge rushers in a standing position in a 3-4 as opposed to three-point stance in a 4-3: "It transfers to where football is offensively right now. ... Our guys are stood up to see those things happening. And four backers makes you more versatile with which backers you rush and from where you rush them."
• Edge rusher Danielle Hunter on his role in this defense compared to Zimmer's: "I feel a lot more loose, and I like that feeling."
• Cornerback Patrick Peterson on why there are more takeaway opportunities: "I just believe having more zone concepts gives players more opportunities to see the ball. When you have more eyes on the ball, it gives you more opportunities to make those plays. A lot of defenses I've been in, my back is to the quarterback nine times out of 10."
• Safety Harrison Smith on why this defense can look "muddy" to quarterbacks in that split-second after the ball is snapped: "There's not too much moving around before the snap. It's making things look the same and holding the disguise a little longer. You won't see me moving around as much pre-snap as I've done in the past."
• Inside linebacker Eric Kendricks on how long it will take him to get up to full speed in a new defense after a preseason when nary a key starter played a single down: "Honestly, it's just correlating the things I know about football and making those little adjustments. After that, I think once the ball is snapped, I have an innate ability to go get the rock."
• Za'Darius Smith on how this defense will look after coming from the same scheme in Green Bay: "Ed's a great teacher. He's laid back, which is nice, but he also can get on your butt when he has to. I think we're going to do great things in this defense."

https://www.startribune.com/vikings-seas...600203044/

[Guest]

Seeds for the dramatic change in the way the Vikings will play defense in 2022 were planted in the sod of Soldier Field and the offensively-gifted mind of Rams coach Sean McVay on the night of Dec. 9, 2018.Bears 15, Rams 6 … and McVay utterly blown away by Chicago's 3-4 defense and the concoctions cooked up by coordinator Vic Fangio and his cohort, friend and defensive backs coach Ed Donatell.
Mitch Trubisky was the winning quarterback that night with three interceptions, 110 yards passing and a 33.3 passer rating.
How was that even possible against the second-highest scoring team in the fourth-highest scoring season in NFL history?
Because McVay's quarterback, Jared Goff, threw four interceptions with a 19.1 passer rating. Three weeks after he threw for 413 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions as the Rams beat the Chiefs 54-51 in a modern-day thriller.
"Everything Vic and I poured into this defense since we first came together in San Francisco in 2011 is engineered to make life difficult for the best player in the game, the quarterback," said Donatell, the Vikings' new 65-year-old defensive coordinator, whose Purple debut comes against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium.
"We led the league in interceptions [27] and takeaways [36] in 2018. We set our group up with Khalil Mack, Roquan Smith and those guys, and they took us to another step. Everyone has talent. It's how you present it. It's the way you position your men. It's the shell disguise."
It's not hyperbole to say what Fangio, Donatell and the Bears did to Goff and the Rams that night changed the course of football history for multiple teams, including the Vikings.
The Patriots under Bill Belichick had played more man coverage schemes than any other team heading into Super Bowl LIII two months later. With two weeks to prepare for the Rams, Belichick copied a lot of the Bears' zone concepts and won the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history 13-3.
In 2020, McVay hired 37-year-old Brandon Staley, Fangio's outside linebackers coach with the Bears and Broncos, as defensive coordinator. Staley's top-ranked defense earned him the Chargers' head coaching job a year later.
2021 also saw Green Bay's Matt LaFleur, another McVay disciple, hire Joe Barry, Staley's outside linebackers coach, as defensive coordinator. And McVay, realizing he didn't have the right quarterback to tangle with this fast-spreading defensive scheme, shipped Goff and two first-round picks to Detroit for Matthew Stafford.
The Rams won Super Bowl LVI, and offensive coordinator Kevin O'Connell landed in Minnesota looking for a defensive coordinator. He's really close to Staley, who's really close to Donatell.
"And that Fangio-Donatell family defense has really caused a lot of people problems," O'Connell said. "It puts a lot of stress on the quarterback."

[Guest]

Sounds good.

The last time the Bears beat the Packers was when Donatell was the Bears DB coach under Fangio in 2018.  They are 0-6 since.  Ya have to remember that Rodgers owns the Bears but not Ed Donatell

[Guest]

I’m hoping for a top 15 D. Gotta love the Fangio D, but we did not hire Fangio. Ed has earned his stripes and his career compass is pointing up.  Top 15 should be all this O needs to be a playoff team. 

[Guest]

@Bullazin said:
I’m hoping for a top 15 D. Gotta love the Fangio D, but we did not hire Fangio. Ed has earned his stripes and his career compass is pointing up.  Top 15 should be all this O needs to be a playoff team. 

Had we been even middle of the pack D the last two years Zimmer would still be head coach because we were playoff teams.  Anything can happen, but I agree that if we have even an average defense we make the playoffs.

[Guest]

I remember that Rams-Bears game.  They exposed Goff and the Rams offense, but mostly Goff.  Forced him to take checkdowns, which he wouldn't do.  That cemented Goff's exit from the Rams.  

I hope it works.