We've been saying this all season long, Kurt

[PurpleCrush]

Some of it on the players, sure....but this was one of the most poorly coached units I've seen in some time.

Kurt Warner

@kurt13warner

Wanting to build a #StudyBall for #DanielJones after his great performance yesterday & what jumps off the page is what is

@Vikings D doing on a number of these plays? Mess ups in man coverage, some guys playing man others zone letting ppl run free, leaving zones wide open??

10:20 AM · Jan 16, 2023· 9,048 Views

[Guest]

To think that this defensive performance, which is among the worst we've seen all season, is actually worse than we thought, is a pretty remarkable thing. 

Donatell should've been fired mid-season. 

[Guest]

Agreed, Petine is on the staff. Make him interim DC. 

[Guest]

Vikings flaws were always on display throughout their thrilling season
They were an enigma all season. A fun team that produced a lot of dramatic finishes, but an enigma nonetheless.

Really, how good were these Vikings?
That was the question that clung to them like lint throughout the entire 17-game regular season.
Were they lucky? Resilient? True contenders? Or a team that somehow won 13 games despite its obvious flaws?
The verdict has been rendered.
Thirteen wins and a record number of one-score victories (11) provided high entertainment value, but this team had little chance to do anything significant in the playoffs.
Not with that albatross defense.
That reality will serve as the epitaph on the 2022 season after one of the wackiest seasons in team history fizzled like a sparkler Sunday.
Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell described his team's 31-24 loss to the New York Giants as an "abrupt" ending, but it barely measured a reading on the surprise meter.
Disappointing? Sure. But surprised? No way.
The better team won — the team that entered the playoffs having won only two of its final eight games of the regular season.
The team that won 13 games and a division title to earn a home playoff game garnered so little confidence among national viewers and NFL pundits that the outcome likely left people coast to coast with a similar response: "See, told ya. The Vikings weren't that good."
Year 1 of the new regime provided many thrills, but it's hard to take a team seriously when it has a defense as over-matched as the one the Vikings trotted out.
The Vikings dragged one of the NFL's worst defenses into the playoffs, and that unit sabotaged any hope of being more than a one-and-done flameout. There were many lowlights Sunday, but allowing the Giants to piece together a 20-play drive took first prize.
O'Connell said he will evaluate every facet of his team in conducting a season autopsy, but he shouldn't need much time figuring out what to do with his defense. The starting point is a change at defensive coordinator after Ed Donatell's first season produced disastrous results in implementing his 3-4 scheme.
Donatell's D banked on timely takeaways and some luck, a blueprint doomed to fail. Even as the Vikings pulled out close victory after close victory, the defense always loomed as a rebuttal. A "yeah but …" argument that probably annoyed coaches and players who felt they didn't get enough credit for a successful regular season, but the skepticism proved to be valid.
The Giants are not a great team armed with an explosive offense, but they feasted on a vulnerable defense that is old, slow and poorly coached.
New York punted only twice as quarterback Daniel Jones never once looked rattled by the headache-inducing noise inside U.S. Bank Stadium or anything that Donatell threw at him.
With the score tied 24-24 in the fourth quarter and the crowd at fever pitch, the Giants calmly marched 75 yards in 12 plays for a touchdown.
The Vikings had two chances after that to match the score. The first drive lasted three plays. The final hope ended with Kirk Cousins throwing well short of the first-down marker on fourth-and-8.
"It's kind of raw right now," veteran safety Harrison Smith said when asked how he will remember this season.
None of the Vikings were in the mood to offer big-picture analysis about the season with any clarity in the immediate aftermath.
Changes are coming this offseason. Perhaps significant changes to the roster. As enjoyable as the season felt, the team's brain trust must evaluate the roster with a realistic perspective.
The team won 13 games despite finishing with a negative point differential. That's an anomaly.
Ultimately, there were two truths about the 2022 Vikings. They produced one of the wildest, most dramatic regular seasons in team history. And their flaws prevented them from being a legitimate playoff threat.


https://www.startribune.com/these-minnesota-vikings-were-a-thrill-but-this-offseason-cannot-be-chill-chip-scoggins/600243771/

[Guest]

It's time for the Vikings to overhaul their defense, they can start by firing Ed DonatellFive years after the Minneapolis Miracle, the 2022 Vikings proved that they were the Minnesota Mirage.

Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, they were shredded by the New York Giants' previously mediocre offense, losing 31-24 in the first round of the playoffs.
Ludacris performed at halftime. Ludicrous described the Vikings' defensive performance before and after.
The Vikings became the second team this season to allow 30 points to the Giants. The other: the woeful Colts.
This aging, plodding Vikings defense allowed Giants quarterback Daniel Jones to produce 379 yards, his second-highest total this season. Only the Lions, the one team who finished behind Minnesota in total defense, allowed him to produce more.
Once the Vikings' new brain trust congratulates itself on an impressive debut season and slaps a few backs, they need to fire defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.
Two names on their list of replacements should be Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley, if he is fired, and Wade Phillips, father of Vikings offensive coordinator Wes Phillips and current XFL head coach.
Staley is coming off a terrible performance in Jacksonville in the Chargers' playoff loss, but he is close with Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell. He's also young and bright and would fit into what the Vikings are trying to build.
Wade Phillips is 75 and tends to have a three-year shelf life wherever he coaches. He's also a Hall of Fame-caliber defensive coordinator and could put the Vikings defense on the right path in a year or two.
The Vikings could hand the defense to assistant head coach Mike Pettine or inside linebackers coach Greg Manusky, both former NFL defensive coordinators. Or they could look to Broncos defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who has worked with O'Connell and Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
As poorly as Donatell performed, this defense didn't fail merely because of subpar coaching.
It was Donatell's fault that this defense was predictable and passive.
It was not his fault that this defense can't cover ground or receivers.
This group is old and slow at too many positions, and the only way to fix it will be to jettison a number of highly popular and formerly productive players.
Which means that next season, in what should be an improved division filling up with offensive playmakers, the Vikings will have difficulty defending their NFC North title.
"Just didn't do enough to win the football game," O'Connell said. "We'll have to take a long, hard look at that — every aspect of what we do — to make sure we give ourselves the ability to continue to strive to compete at a championship level, and that's what we'll begin working on immediately.''
O'Connell hinted that he was displeased with Donatell's defense in December. While he chose not to delve into specifics on Sunday night, he did nothing to quash the notion that he'll be hiring a new defensive coordinator in the near future.
In addition to mentioning the "explosive" plays the Giants made, he noted that his offense didn't get to take advantage of its full capabilities because New York dominated time of possession (33:36 to 26:24).
O'Connell also noted that Jones' running was certain to be a key to the Giants' game plan. "We wanted to try to keep him in the pocket," O'Connell said. "We wanted to try to get a rush, to change the game with some of our playmakers up there, but not let him get out and have an impact.''
Jones had his fourth-best rushing total of the season, with 78 yards.
O'Connell hired Wes Phillips as his offensive coordinator after the two worked on the Rams' staff during last year's Super Bowl run. That made sense.
Donatell always felt like a generic, store-brand defensive coordinator who was hired because O'Connell didn't have better options.
Donatell is being ridiculed for saying that the playoffs would be his defense's "time to shine," and that fans would "like" what they saw.
If he had assigned a linebacker or safety to shadow Jones, those words might not sound so silly today.
https://www.startribune.com/minnesota-vikings-defense-needs-new-coordinator-players-ed-donatell-jim-souhan/600243764/

[Guest]

[Guest]

As for the Offensive side of the ball, I'd also say that KOC needs to do a much better job of getting the running game up to snuff. Being tied for 27th in the league in rushing, not involving Mattison & Kene as much as he probably should have, is unacceptable. The Giants' defense was bad against the run all year long and we only run the ball 15 times.

[Guest]

@purplefaithful said:

Besides Asamoah, I would like to see Metellus get a full time role on defense next season which gives him a full year to prove himself as a Starter. 

[Guest]

Yup.  Watching Danny throw that short crossing route in the middle of the field with the outside db trying to keep up over and over.  He loves throwing in the middle of the field, yet the LBs were no where to be seen.  I think I remember EK having one pass defensed play.