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Bruce Johnson -> RE: General Vikes Talk (6/17/2019 2:34:59 PM)
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Coming back to the idea that our team has decided to "punish teams that stay in nickel". We're going run the ball more this year with athletic and mobile offensive linemen, but good running backs who are physical and who are especially adept at getting yards after the first hit. Also, we are going with the two tight end formation where we replace the third receiver with a tight end for more blocking force. That should help wear down the nickel defenses which are down a linebacker. Picture this: defenses are down a little beef and the offense is up a little beef Linebackers usually make most of the tackles vs. the running game and we are going to punish teams that try to defend the run with only two of them. Mattison could be a real key if the team is leading in the fourth quarter and the defenses are already tiring. The offensive linemen should be happy because I always hear that they prefer to run block over pass block. They have the advantage because they know where they are going and the defense becomes more reactive. Of course, with the run/ pass option, they will already be a step behind as they try to analyze the play and figure out what to do. That will especially work if the running game is working.
Now on defense, our team is trying to stay ahead of the curve. We have a really deep defensive line and the plan is to do a lot of rotations to keep them fresher. In addition, maybe (not clear yet) we will be using big safeties like Kearse as kind of like hybrid linebackers. We managed to keep Anthony Barr because as a tall pass defender he helps squeeze the zones on the backside, but yet is also a lethal threat to rush the quarterback. Kearse is tall like Barr and could be a little bit like a Barr II. They may even try using him occasionally to rush the passer. They want to confuse the quarterbacks by not showing where the pass rush will come from. Transcendent players who are flexible in multiple roles make it so there are less "tells" on offense, but also on defense too.
In basketball, a lot of success for teams comes on the basis of exploiting "match ups". The Vikings will be hard to play against because they will have options where they can look at the other team and decide which match ups are better to attack. They can make changes during the game and the opposing teams will go crazy preparing against the Vikings because we will make it difficult to know what we are going to do and because we can choose different things based on the personnel of the defense. The bottom line is that we will be less predictable and there will be more confusion.
I'm just sort of thinking out loud here. I am completely an amateur football analyst, but does this make sense?
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