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As good as the Titans Oline is, they couldn't run the ball after the first quarter because their defense couldn't stop Mahomes and they lost their ability to use Play Action after falling behind. Tannehill performed just like Cousins when it was an obvious passing down. He's great playing average defenses when he can rely on Henry to pound it, but once he has to win it for you with his arm, he looked like the same failed QB we saw in Miami. You need to run the ball, but it can't be your only identity and main offensive strategy. Eventually, the better teams will stop you. I did think TN was creative in the first quarter, but they were able to use Henry to set-up those plays. Once that went away, they were easy to stop and KC's pass rush is sneaky good.
2nd point is how far off we are from being competitive with the elite offensive teams like KC and SF. Reid and Shanahan have become the masters of misdirection and creativity. We will not win anything under Zimmer's Run First philosophy which is why I'm ready to move on and not extend his deal. We have way too many holes to fill with no cap space to fix all of our issues in one offseason in FA and the Draft. I like Zimmer, and he has done a decent job with this team, but he has reached his ceiling imo. It's definitely a tough decision for the Wilfs, but if you truly want to win a Super Bowl, we will need to make a leadership change. Still not sure on Spielman. I think he works collaboratively with his Coaching Staff and will draft the kind of players that fit their system. This year's draft was one of his best but his failures at securing a franchise QB through the draft and ignoring the OLine could be what costs him his job as well.
Will the Wilfs wait to make any decisions on extensions until after FA and the Draft? One thing is for sure, it will definitely be a drama filled offseason with so much up in the air.
I think the offensive play-calling in this game was really good at times on both sides. I was envious.
That Titan team is very reminiscent of AP in his hey-day with Ponder. Run 1st, good D, god help em if they fall behind.
Anyways, I digress...
We saw the positive impact of the ZBS, but I will say (in retrospect) I much more like the way Shurmur called and managed a game vs Stefanski...
Edit: I'll add Vrabel, Reid and Shanahan have put together some fantastic staffs.
Quote: @TBro said:
"..... We will not win anything under Zimmer's Run First philosophy which is why I'm ready to move on and not extend his deal......"
You mean, like the 49er's philosophy?
Need improvement in the O-line, but the philosophy is sound.
Quote: @muydnbejydk said:
@ TBro said:
"..... We will not win anything under Zimmer's Run First philosophy which is why I'm ready to move on and not extend his deal......"
You mean, like the 49er's philosophy?
Need improvement in the O-line, but the philosophy is sound.
I see what you did there. Yes, Shanahan loves to run the ball, but he also has a very creative passing attack to balance it out which is something the Titans don't have if they can't run the ball and use play action off of Henry. As I said, we have a similar strategy to TN. Just like the Vikings, when that fails they can't morph into a passing team and adjust their in-game attack. The Packers Defense sucked so bad at stopping the run last night, it's skewing the lopsided run/pass ratio for this discussion. One thing is clear, Shanahan has a very versatile offense that can attack you in multiple ways. You can't take one thing away and shut them down. His scheme designs and play calling make the Vikings offense look like a High School team. We've committed to a run first strategy with a shitty OLine that can't pass block and struggles to run the ball against physical defensive fronts, yet 29.15% of this team's salary cap is tied up with it's QB and their star WR duo. Stefanski's passing scheme was ineffective when play action wasn't working. Without some versatility and balance in the offense, this team will be stuck in the middle of the pack. Good enough to occasionally make a wild card, but not good enough to make a deep playoff run and contend. Needing improvement on the Oline is an understatement. The LG and Center were two of the worst performing players at their positions in the league and the LT has continued to decline. Athletes who can move for a ZBS are great, but you also need size and power that can hold up in the passing game so Kirk has time to let routes develop with his inability to buy time and extend plays using his legs. Until that happens, this team is stuck in mediocrity and has run out of time and cap space to fix it. With the turnover in the coaching staff already, is that a sign those coaches have come to the same realization and are bailing while they can?
Stefanski would have been a fool (imo) not to take the promotion to HC. I would have been disappointed if Edwards and Gray had stayed.
So I dont see this as coaches bailing on the Vikings and Zimmer.
There are only so many ways we can say the OL needs improvement - and I think the play calling too.
The window aint as wide as it was with cornerstones on D now the wrong side of 30. But it aint shut either -- too many weapons and pieces still in place.
We all know they need 4 upgrades: LOT, LOG, CB, 3t. This team would be damn competitive if they can pull that off.
I'm a little confused by the OP. 6 of the final 8 playoff teams were very clearly run-first and play defense teams. And the lesson we're supposed to take from that is pass the ball? Jimmy G completed 6 passes yesterday. 11 against us. Maybe there was some creativity in those passes? But I don't see how that could possibly be anyone's take-away lesson from this year's playoffs.
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
I'm a little confused by the OP. 6 of the final 8 playoff teams were very clearly run-first and play defense teams. And the lesson we're supposed to take from that is pass the ball? Jimmy G completed 6 passes yesterday. 11 against us. Maybe there was some creativity in those passes? But I don't see how that could possibly be anyone's take-away lesson from this year's playoffs.
Which is exactly what Zimmer has been attempting to do here...they just dont have the horses up-front on offense and the D got older on them. They need to be more creative on offense and build on the strength of the ZBS. Not sad Stefanski is gone, miss Shurmur.
Its certainly been 6 years of whack-a-mole during zimmers tenure. Mixed in with a healthy dose of snake-bit (see AP suspension, Teddy' leg falling off, Bradford etc.)
Maybe thats just the NFL in general? SF was what 3 or 4 wins not too long ago and everyone was critical of the front office, handsome JG etc.
Build the OL and DL. And be creative in your attempts to run the ball. I think the Vikings had about 6 running plays- and once basic scheme (outside zone). THAT'S the key. Teams (obviously) can win by playing ball control offense and good defense. But if you can't control the ball (i.e. sustain drives), then you can't win that way. Our scheme was too easy (for good teams) to stop. That's on Stefanski.
One thing I kept noticing was that the announcers were giving the KC offensive line a lot of credit, yet Mahomes was pretty much scrambling on every play. It reminded me of Keenum in 2017, no one complained about the OL then. The QB has to help the OL out and move, not every pocket is going to be perfect. Every QB that played this weekend was able to keep plays alive by moving. It is like watching a different game. Our QB never moves a step, either the OL keeps everyone out or he is going to get sacked or have to rush the pass. Every KC scoring drive was keyed by Mahomes extending the play. We just never see that and we are not going to win against good teams without it. No wonder why our WRs get so frustrated.
I think you're spot-on JR...
I also think our reality is KC will not move around like a Mahomes, Rogers, Brady...Let alone a Watson or Jackson.
So the Vikings have no choice but to improve the OL and keep working with him on developing some better in the pocket movement.
To his defense, I bet a bunch of that pressure is right up the middle - about where Bradbury, Elf and Reiff play.
No QB likes the pressure up the middle...
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