Creating A Mismatch

[Guest]

Creating A Mismatch
BarrNone55 is a discussion forum personality that can be found on our Vikings Discussions The Vikings have added several pieces to their offense that could lead to matchup dilemmas for opponents de…

Read the full story here

[Guest]

INformative breakdown BarrNone55. Thanks for the breakdown. I look forward to what Shurmur can put together on the field. Hopefully having a QB from training camp to end of season helps get the ship going in the right direction.

[Guest]

While the concept of 22 personnel is intriguing, its use in the NFL has largely gone by the wayside. The last team to rely heavily on 22 personnel (off the top of my head) was the 49ers since they could motion a FB to either side in an attempt to create a running lane for Kap. With Vernon Davis being a capable blocker (being big) and a good receiver across the formation, it created a 3-read option attack. More recently teams have moved away from 22 personnel and simply go heavy by putting 6+ O-lineman on the field due to the lack of creativity you can have within the formation. As teams have moved away from the run, 22 personnel has followed. 

I agree that the Vikings will want to utilize their RB's but that is likely going to be best used in a committee out of your most common 11/12 men personnel and possibly implementing a 21 personnel package that will operate primarily out of the gun. In 21 personnel you'd have the ability to run off-tackle on the TE's side of the field and with larger WR's the Vikings could potentially squeeze the DB to the sideline allowing backs room to work. Alternatively you'd have the ability to block the backside of plays (Murray in the gun) to work the ball downfield on the outside or inside with the TE while having a built-in check down with Cook/McKinnon. If you have your heart set on having 2 TE's on the field, which I wouldn't blame you for, 12 personnel gives you more legal formations to run out of. The issue with 22 personnel as stated in your article is that you're going to have trouble keeping the formation legal. Your TE's are going to have to be kept in-line to keep 7 on the LOS and motioning a back into the slot forces them onto the LOS by rule and would be an illegal formation. 

[Guest]

Definitely valid points. 

While the  majority of the NFL is moving more towards a pass oriented look, I believe Zimmer is going to still want to be a run first team. That seems to be hardwired into his DNA. Looking back to the 2015, we were more run centric. I think we return to that attack with more versatile back(s) behind Bradford. 

In addition, with the majority of the NFL NOT using 22 personnel, we show defenses a unique formation they haven't necessarily faced prior. This would be akin to what Sparano did as a head coach in Miami with the Wildcat. 

There's definitely a lot of merit to the 6 ol look. With our inability to pass or run block last year, I'm surprised we didn't incorporate that more last year. Could have been a lack of healthy bodies. Regardless, aside from potential formation challenges,  I prefer having a potentially dynamic hybrid TE on the field over additional OLinemen. 

[Guest]

Nice first article Barr, job well done

[Guest]

Is there any history of it with Shurmur though I wonder? I mean I get that he may get input from sporano but wondering if Shurmur has a tie to it. 

[Guest]

@Mike Olson said:
Is there any history of it with Shurmur though I wonder? I mean I get that he may get input from sporano but wondering if Shurmur has a tie to it. 

Pure speculation on my part. There's another article breaking down 10 teams and their signature formations. It was the inspiration behind the article.

[Guest]

That's the first time I've heard BarrNone called a personailty!  B)
Mismatches in the red zone, coming to a Vikings game near you...

[Guest]

@Kentis said:
That's the first time I've heard BarrNone called a personailty!  B)
Mismatches in the red zone, coming to a Vikings game near you...

There's supposed to be "air quotes" around that...

[Guest]

Nice article.  I'd be surprised if we see a 2 back look very often.  I'm expecting us to use single back a lot, and trying to gain the advantage by having a deep receiving group that can pick on the weakest defenders.  I expect us to pass to setup the run, and to open up chunks of the field to get Cook room in space.  I'd love for us to use motion more often this year to give Bradford clearer reads, but I've been saying that for several years and it hasn't panned out.  I'd also love to see us bring in an the 6th OLine instead of a TE when we want to go physical, but that too was rare.