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Mike Zimmer left Saturday’s second preseason game feeling much better about the Minnesota Vikings defense, which responded well to the gashing they suffered in the first exhibition last week against the Denver Broncos. But it was far from a perfect outing for Zimmer’s squad, which has just one preseason game remaining before the season opener in Cincinnati three weeks from now.
For the first time since Zimmer became a head coach, his Vikings lost back-to-back preseason games, thanks in large part to a brutal performance from the offense. The Vikings fell 12-10 to the Indianapolis Colts in the final game at US Bank Stadium for more than a month. Let’s dive into what we learned in the loss.
1. The offense is really strugglingThe Vikings don’t have an offensive touchdown through two preseason games. It’s certainly easy to dismiss the worry that would accompany that stat with reasonable caveats. Justin Jefferson and Dalvin Cook haven’t played. Adam Thielen only took three snaps before an injury scare convinced the team to be cautious with him. Kirk Cousins played barely more than a quarter. These are, after all, meaningless exhibition games. All of that is fair.
But it’s also worth reflecting on just how bad the offense has looked as it tries to navigate life with a new offensive coordinator and a new offensive line. The unit went three-and-out on three of its first five drives. The group didn’t complete a pass to a wide receiver on any of those possessions. It went three-and-out on its first six drives of the second half.
The offensive line opened up some impressive holes in the running game and Ezra Cleveland and Oli Udoh both shined. But it was also a reminder of how one poor play from the front five can derail things. Rashod Hill, the starting left tackle with Christian Darrisaw still injured, was easily beaten to the outside and allowed a sack on Kirk Cousins.
The backup tight ends struggled to make an impression. The receivers struggled to get open. All in all, it was another bad night for the offense one week after another bad performance in the preseason opener.
Perhaps most concerning was that this wasn’t an aberration for the offense based on the last week. Throughout recent practices, the offense has been sloppy and is certainly behind where the defense is.
There’s a chance all of that means nothing when the Vikings go to Cincinnati in three weeks for the season opener. But you’d certainly prefer that they were clicking in the preseason.
2. The linebackers are starting to get itZimmer has bemoaned throughout the preseason the struggles from the depth linebackers on the team. Nick Vigil has stepped up and seems to have earned the No. 3 linebacker job. But behind him, the Vikings needed to see a lot more. Finally, they did.
Troy Dye had a pick-six for the first touchdown of the Vikings’ preseason, then added a tackle for loss. Blake Lynch made a great tackle on third-and-2 to keep the Colts from a first down. And Chazz Surratt was a standout on special teams.
It wasn’t a perfect performance. On one screen pass that moved the chains, Dye was flattened and wiped out by a blocker. But for a unit that hasn’t had a lot of bright spots, Saturday night was a step in the right direction.
3. Health will be importantThis topic was a major issue a year ago, and the point remains: The Vikings have a top-heavy roster. That’s fine if the players stay healthy. But it’s not a roster that’s built to withstand much turnover.
The running back room has plenty of depth. The interior defensive line does, too. But outside of that, there’s not really a position with the kind of depth that would ease injury concerns.
After Saturday, safety is especially a concern. The Vikings are set with above-average starters at the position in Harrison Smith and Xavier Woods. But there’s a giant drop-off between them and whoever ends up being their No. 3 safety. Rookie Cam Bynum struggled again on Saturday, while Myles Dorn and Josh Metellus haven’t done much.
4. A better game from Stephen WeatherlyWhen the Vikings worked out former star Everson Griffen this week, it could have been seen as an indictment of Stephen Weatherly. The Vikings had signed Weatherly to a one-year deal in the offseason with the idea that he’d be the team’s starting defensive end opposite Danielle Hunter.
But Weatherly started slowly in training camp and his spot was being threatened by DJ Wonnum. On Saturday, Weatherly played pretty well. In limited action, he had a pressure on the quarterback and three tackles. He probably did enough to retain his spot as a starter.
5. Britton Colquitt reboundedThe punter struggled so much in the Vikings’ first preseason game that Zimmer called out the veteran after the game and worked out a free-agent punter, signaling the team’s seriousness in replacing Colquitt.
But on Saturday, Colquitt responded well to the challenges from the Vikings brass. After averaging 40 yards on his punts last week, Colquitt averaged 46 yards against the Colts. The Minnesota offense may have been bad, but it gave Colquitt plenty of chances, as he boomed eight total punts.
6. Kris Boyd is climbing the depth chartAt the start of training camp, Cameron Dantzler was competing with Bashaud Breeland for the No. 2 cornerback spot opposite Patrick Peterson. But by Saturday night, Dantzler was slipping down the depth chart.
Breeland has established himself as the team’s second starting outside cornerback and played very well on Saturday. With Peterson sitting out the game, Boyd played with the first-team defense, a bad sign for Dantzler.
Their performances didn’t do much to indicate changes to the depth chart any time soon. Boyd made a couple of impressive plays, while Dantzler was again beaten deep, this time for a 28-yard catch in the third quarter.
7. Ihmir Smith-Marsette made a statementThe rookie receiver from Iowa has been impressive catching passes during practices, but Zimmer emphasized that he still wanted to see more on special teams from the confident 21-year-old.
Smith-Marsette delivered on that desire Saturday. He had a 41-yard kick return and a 16-yard punt return. A year ago, in the midst of the Vikings’ woes on special teams, they didn’t have a kick return longer than 38 yards and didn’t have a punt return longer than 13 yards.
Barring an injury or catastrophic play in the next two weeks, Smith-Marsette has probably done enough to earn a spot on the 53-man roster.
Starting OL and DL impress, mostlyThe biggest positive takeaway from the time the Vikings' starters spent on the field is that they looked good in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
The Vikings debuts for massive defensive tackles Michael Pierce and Dalvin Tomlinson didn't disappoint. They were a load in the middle of the D-line, holding Colts running backs to 27 yards on their first nine carries. With those two up front and Eric Kendricks behind them, it seems like it's going to be awfully tough to run the ball on the Vikings this year.
On the other side of the ball, the Vikings' offensive line was its usual excellent self in the running game. Guards Ezra Cleveland and Oli Udoh appeared to play well in opening up holes for Ameer Abdullah to run through.
With that said, the left tackle spot remains a concern. Rashod Hill was beaten badly by rookie Kwity Paye for a sack. Until Christian Darrisaw gets healthy, that might be one of the biggest weaknesses of the first-team offense.
Other players who stood out - Ihmir Smith-Marsette looks good as a returner. He had a 41-yard kickoff return from deep in the end zone and a 16-yard punt return on Saturday. Each of those surpassed the Vikings' longest return in those areas in all of the 2020 season (38 yards and 13 yards, respectively).
- Bashaud Breeland had a really good game and showed why he's going to be a starting outside cornerback this year. He deflected the ball that led to the Dye pick-six, and later made a nice breakup on a third down. Breeland was very sticky in coverage. Meanwhile, it seems like Cameron Dantzler may have even been surpassed by Kris Boyd on the depth chart at CB.
- Chad Beebe made his case for a roster spot with two catches for 47 yards in the two-minute drill before the half.
- Armon Watts continues to play well, showcasing the Vikings' impressive depth at defensive tackle. He beat his man and put a hit on a Colts QB, nearly leading to another interception for Dye.
- Britton Colquitt had a much better day punting the ball this week. He averaged 46.1 yards on eight punts, landing three of them inside the 20.
- Greg Joseph went 1 for 2 on long field goals, missing wide right from 51 yards out and converting from 49.
Mike Zimmer bluntly says Kris Boyd has been better than Cameron Dantzler. Dantzler was playing with the third-team defense tonight. Sounds like Mike Zimmer might play some starters on offense in the preseason finale next Friday night. "Offensively, we need to play, yeah." Danielle Hunter might also play after sitting out tonight.
JJ should have gotten some plays last night - unless he's still nursing something.
Needle's descent is disappointing, I had a feeling Breeland was going to be a starter. He's got some Dawg in em.
Offense is really struggling...They'll go as far as Hill lets em. Hope Kubes is a real deal OC. I'm trying NOT to have to brace myself for a another slow, KC start to the season. Trying hard.
My pre-season beating of the back-up QB drum will continue and grows louder.
Cook may be the elixir the O needs more than anything. This is still a play action offense at its best.
But Browning otherwise struggled for the second week in a row, completing only six of 15 passes for 82 yards while either trying to evade pressure or occasionally inviting it by holding the ball in the pocket. Kellen Mond came in to start the third quarter, recovering a botched exchange on his first snap; the Vikings punted on the first four drives of the second half before Mond connected with Myron Mitchell over the middle for a first down with just over five minutes left in the game.
Mond hit six of 12 passes for 61 yards, completing one of his final two throws after an Isaiah Kaufusi interception was ruled incomplete.
"I think it's really hard to evaluate young rookie quarterbacks, and I think you see, in all of these preseason games, some of these real high picks struggle with certain areas," Zimmer said. "He does some good things. I think he had a really good week of practice.
He started out shaky [on Saturday] with the fumbled snap, but the only way to get him experience is to play him. But at some point, we've got to get ready to play a game, too."
There will be one more opportunity for the Vikings' young backups to play before the team decides if it needs a more established backup for Cousins.
"We'll talk more about it this week," Zimmer said, "but with the monetary situation, we have to be careful about it, as well."
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-offe...600089988/
Quote: @purplefaithful said:
But Browning otherwise struggled for the second week in a row, completing only six of 15 passes for 82 yards while either trying to evade pressure or occasionally inviting it by holding the ball in the pocket. Kellen Mond came in to start the third quarter, recovering a botched exchange on his first snap; the Vikings punted on the first four drives of the second half before Mond connected with Myron Mitchell over the middle for a first down with just over five minutes left in the game.
Mond hit six of 12 passes for 61 yards, completing one of his final two throws after an Isaiah Kaufusi interception was ruled incomplete.
"I think it's really hard to evaluate young rookie quarterbacks, and I think you see, in all of these preseason games, some of these real high picks struggle with certain areas," Zimmer said. "He does some good things. I think he had a really good week of practice.
He started out shaky [on Saturday] with the fumbled snap, but the only way to get him experience is to play him. But at some point, we've got to get ready to play a game, too."
There will be one more opportunity for the Vikings' young backups to play before the team decides if it needs a more established backup for Cousins.
"We'll talk more about it this week," Zimmer said, "but with the monetary situation, we have to be careful about it, as well."
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-offe...600089988/
Like I said a couple weeks ago...I think we need a veteran backup.
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