RS Chugs the Kool Aid..
General Manager Rick Spielman said Wednesday the 0-3 Vikings are close to getting the season “turned around,” especially on defense where head coach Mike Zimmer’s group is allowing 34 points and 440 yards per loss so far.
Spielman said his optimism is rooted in Zimmer and the coaching staff’s ability to tailor defensive schemes to the player’s skill sets, a process dragging longer into the season as Zimmer “learns what the players can do” after a summer with limited practices and no preseason games. The Vikings haven’t finished a year worse than 11th in points allowed since Zimmer was hired in 2014, and they rank 31st entering Week 4.
“We’re improving each week,” Spielman said. “We have a lot of new faces, a lot of new starters on the defense. Coach Zim and the players down in the locker room have a very strong belief that we’re going to get this turned around.”
Previously, veteran defenses have given Zimmer the luxury of sitting young players until they’re ready. But this year’s roster turnover combined with injuries to defensive end Danielle Hunter and linebacker Anthony Barr have expedited learning curves, according to Zimmer, while extending the process of finding what coverages, blitzes and game-plan approaches work best.
“It’s taken a little longer,” Zimmer said. “You anticipate that you can get everybody in line and understand everything that you’re trying to do with them pretty quickly, but with some of the young guys that we have this year, it’s taken a little bit of time."
https://www.startribune.com/vikings-general-manager-rick-spielman-says-team-close-to-starting-to-win/572595102/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
Absolutely RS has to put on a positive face, especially this early in the season. Heck, he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't.
They got a lot of football left to play, unless Covid F's things up.
Spielman said his optimism is rooted in Zimmer and the coaching staff’s ability to tailor defensive schemes to the player’s skill sets, a process dragging longer into the season as Zimmer “learns what the players can do” after a summer with limited practices and no preseason games.
No offseason, Lose the #1,#2,#3 CB's , all the current CB's are under 25...
But a tailored defensive scheme is gonna somehow fix all that?
@"Mattyman" said: Spielman said his optimism is rooted in Zimmer and the coaching staff’s ability to tailor defensive schemes to the player’s skill sets, a process dragging longer into the season as Zimmer “learns what the players can do” after a summer with limited practices and no preseason games.No offseason, Lose the #1,#2,#3 CB's , all the current CB's are under 25...
But a tailored defensive scheme is gonna somehow fix all that?
Fixed? Probably not. Those corners are going to be on-the-job training all year. But I think a training camp tells you, for example, which CBs you can use in press, which ones off, which ones in man, which ones in zone, inside, boundary, who plays the ball well, who can tackle, etc. Instead, they had to figure all that out during live bullets thrown by the likes of Rodgers and Rivers. And it certainly doesn't help that Hughes and Dantzler are down.
So maybe not fixed but I think the corner play we see in week 17 will be a lot different than what we're seeing now. Damn well better.
Hughes is sure looking like a good first round pick.
Rick doesn't drink the kool aid, he distributes it.
Normally he doesn't do a lot of media during the season but he's doing more p.r. damage control this year. Ezra Cleveland will play soon, Zimmer will coach up this shitpile defense, Zimmer told the guys this or that (which Mike chafed at ). Ricky gotta keep that job!
They will all get a pass in Eagan this year with COVID throwing such a wrench in the works. Next year will be a different story. I think more changes will be in store but maybe handled better with a full offseason, OTAs, training camp and preseason.
Well, every team is facing those pandemic challenges. Vikings seem to have more headwinds though with injuries, kids playing @ NFL level and they're barely ready for that challenge. They lose KC for a few games? It's going to get uglier.
Probably dont see Hunter this year either. Thats a huge loss when coupled with Barr out too.
Then they have have their own decisions that for years continue to haunt them.
Maybe it's pandemic fatigue, but I am ready for a new era in Eagan. I hope it begins with next years draft.
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