04-11-2022, 08:50 PM
Patrick Peterson still remember the first time he met Ed Donatell.
Ahead of the 2011 NFL Draft, Peterson was a hotshot prospect destined to be one of the first 10 players picked, while Donatell was starting his first season as defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers. They crossed paths during the predraft process, and while the Arizona Cardinals ultimately selected Peterson with the No. 5 overall pick, he made sure to stay in touch with Donatell as much as he could.
Which makes this offseason the most interesting part of their story.
With the Vikings going through wholesale changes on the coaching staff a couple of months ago, Donatell agreed to become the Vikings’ new defensive coordinator. As fate would have it, a month and a half later, Peterson re-signed with the Vikings.
“I was like, ‘This would be a great opportunity to finally get to play for Coach Ed,’ ” Peterson said. “Now I’m here.”
That mutual respect between Peterson and Donatell should do wonders for the Vikings this season.
As for the new scheme, Peterson emphasized how it does a good job confusing opposing quarterbacks. He referenced how Donatell was an extension of Vic Fangio with the 49ers from 2011-14.
“That three- to four-year span, that defense was unreal,” Peterson said. “They didn’t do anything spectacular. They didn’t blitz a whole lot. They didn’t do a lot of different fire zones. What they did was disguise a lot of their defenses to make the quarterback think a little bit longer.”
More often than not, Peterson said, that confusion translated into either a sack or a turnover.
“Just watching the scheme that he’s always been around, it travels very well,” Peterson said. “No matter where he went, the numbers spoke for themselves.”
After leaving the 49ers, Donatell served as Fangio’s defensive backs coach with the Chicago Bears, then as his defensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos. The stint with the Vikings marks the first time in more than a decade that Donatell has not coached under Fangio.
On the bright side, it’s also the first time Donatell gets to coach Peterson. They are finally together more than a decade later.
Asked why he thinks they stayed in touch for so long, Peterson praised Donatell’s demeanor.
“You could just tell he’s a guy that wants to get to know the person,” Peterson said. “He couldn’t care less about the football player. He wanted to get to know Patrick Peterson the person. Just a very genuine person, and it’s hard to not want to be around those kinds of people.”
https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/pa...e-vikings/
Ahead of the 2011 NFL Draft, Peterson was a hotshot prospect destined to be one of the first 10 players picked, while Donatell was starting his first season as defensive backs coach for the San Francisco 49ers. They crossed paths during the predraft process, and while the Arizona Cardinals ultimately selected Peterson with the No. 5 overall pick, he made sure to stay in touch with Donatell as much as he could.
Which makes this offseason the most interesting part of their story.
With the Vikings going through wholesale changes on the coaching staff a couple of months ago, Donatell agreed to become the Vikings’ new defensive coordinator. As fate would have it, a month and a half later, Peterson re-signed with the Vikings.
“I was like, ‘This would be a great opportunity to finally get to play for Coach Ed,’ ” Peterson said. “Now I’m here.”
That mutual respect between Peterson and Donatell should do wonders for the Vikings this season.
As for the new scheme, Peterson emphasized how it does a good job confusing opposing quarterbacks. He referenced how Donatell was an extension of Vic Fangio with the 49ers from 2011-14.
“That three- to four-year span, that defense was unreal,” Peterson said. “They didn’t do anything spectacular. They didn’t blitz a whole lot. They didn’t do a lot of different fire zones. What they did was disguise a lot of their defenses to make the quarterback think a little bit longer.”
More often than not, Peterson said, that confusion translated into either a sack or a turnover.
“Just watching the scheme that he’s always been around, it travels very well,” Peterson said. “No matter where he went, the numbers spoke for themselves.”
After leaving the 49ers, Donatell served as Fangio’s defensive backs coach with the Chicago Bears, then as his defensive coordinator with the Denver Broncos. The stint with the Vikings marks the first time in more than a decade that Donatell has not coached under Fangio.
On the bright side, it’s also the first time Donatell gets to coach Peterson. They are finally together more than a decade later.
Asked why he thinks they stayed in touch for so long, Peterson praised Donatell’s demeanor.
“You could just tell he’s a guy that wants to get to know the person,” Peterson said. “He couldn’t care less about the football player. He wanted to get to know Patrick Peterson the person. Just a very genuine person, and it’s hard to not want to be around those kinds of people.”
https://www.twincities.com/2022/04/11/pa...e-vikings/
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