02-16-2020, 04:52 PM
When Mike Zimmer starts the 2020 season, only Bud Grant and Dennis Green will have coached the Vikings longer than him.
The fact is that he was hired because the Wilf family and the Vikings front office believed he could turn the team into a dominant defensive club, and Zimmer has done just that.
Since Zimmer took over as coach in 2014, the Vikings rank No. 2 in the NFL in points against with 1,848, trailing only the New England Patriots.
But even Zimmer would admit that the Vikings defense struggled a bit during a 2019 season that saw them reach the postseason for the third time in his tenure, win a playoff game at New Orleans and ultimately fall at San Francisco to a 49ers team that should have won the Super Bowl.
If you want to know how a defense can rank fifth in the NFL in points against, like the Vikings did in 2019, and still need big changes, consider that they had five games in which they gave up 140 rushing yards or more, and they lost all five games.
That included giving up 184 rushing yards to the Packers in a Week 16 loss at home and 144 yards in a Week 2 loss at Green Bay.
The trend continued in the playoffs, when the 49ers ran for 186 yards and completely dominated the Vikings defense in a 27-10 victory.
Overall, the Vikings defense ranked 14th in the NFL in 2019, tied for the worst mark in Zimmer’s tenure
http://www.startribune.com/mike-zimmer-k...567912392/
The fact is that he was hired because the Wilf family and the Vikings front office believed he could turn the team into a dominant defensive club, and Zimmer has done just that.
Since Zimmer took over as coach in 2014, the Vikings rank No. 2 in the NFL in points against with 1,848, trailing only the New England Patriots.
But even Zimmer would admit that the Vikings defense struggled a bit during a 2019 season that saw them reach the postseason for the third time in his tenure, win a playoff game at New Orleans and ultimately fall at San Francisco to a 49ers team that should have won the Super Bowl.
If you want to know how a defense can rank fifth in the NFL in points against, like the Vikings did in 2019, and still need big changes, consider that they had five games in which they gave up 140 rushing yards or more, and they lost all five games.
That included giving up 184 rushing yards to the Packers in a Week 16 loss at home and 144 yards in a Week 2 loss at Green Bay.
The trend continued in the playoffs, when the 49ers ran for 186 yards and completely dominated the Vikings defense in a 27-10 victory.
Overall, the Vikings defense ranked 14th in the NFL in 2019, tied for the worst mark in Zimmer’s tenure
http://www.startribune.com/mike-zimmer-k...567912392/