Photo Credit: Kyle Hansen (Cumulus Media)
During training camp I wrote a piece that spotlighted the Minnesota Vikings’ effort to create more turnovers this year. Whether it was interceptions or causing fumbles, there was room to improve in both areas after finishing below the league average in both categories in 2015.
Through three games, the Vikings are second in takeaways (nine) and first in turnover differential (plus-8). The defense has scored 14 points on its own and has arguably swung both road games in the team’s favor.
So how have they done it?
“They’re coming to the ball with a purpose.”
There’s been an increased emphasis on creating fumbles, for one. Stripping the football is a skill that can be practiced and perfected, even moreso than interceptions, which often rely on a poor decision or throw by a quarterback. The Vikings recovered two fumbles against Tennessee in Week 1 and forced four of them against Green Bay, though they were only able to retain one.
“They’re coming to the ball with a purpose, and we’re doing a pretty decent job of tackling in the open field,” said defensive coordinator George Edwards last Thursday. “The first guy getting the tackle; the next guy coming in and getting the football out. That’s a credit to those guys and the effort that they’re putting in to make that happen. It’s something that we preach about, it’s something that we work on out at practice.”
Edwards also said that they’ve been working on the recovering of the fumbles, but getting the ball loose is a great place to start.
Here’s an example from the Green Bay game. Captain Munnerlyn has Davante Adams in his clutches, so Eric Kendricks flies in to punch the ball out on the first play of the game. Andrew Sendejo recovered, only to have it taken away by Randall Cobb.
“When you have two evenly matched teams, the turnovers always end up being the difference,” Zimmer said after the 17-14 win versus Green Bay, in which the Vikings took the ball away twice late in the fourth quarter, lending credence to Zimmer’s claim.
The head coach also believes that turnovers can help turn otherwise-close games into routs. The Vikings turned their game against the Titans on its head with two defensive touchdowns after halftime and comfortably led by 15 in the fourth quarter.
“The thing about turnovers is if you can get them and you’re doing things right you have a chance to — I don’t know if blowout the team is the right word — you have the chance to get bigger leads because you’re going to have more opportunities with the football,” said Zimmer following a preseason win over San Diego.
The Vikings have also used the blitz to force unwise decisions from quarterbacks.
The game-clinching interception of Green Bay was a prime example. Having put the Packers in a third-and-14 situation, Minnesota lined up eight men at the line of scrimmage pre-snap – a common look from Zimmer’s defense.
The Vikings ended up dropping Kendricks and Anthony Barr in coverage but sent Harrison Smith and Captain Munnerlyn to the quarterback. Munnerlyn got around the edge, forcing Rodgers to throw it quickly and into the hands of Trae Waynes. “A lot of times it comes down to pressure and the quarterback throwing it a little bit behind the guy and also being tight in coverage, too,” Zimmer said Monday about the team’s interceptions.
Minnesota also displayed the show-eight-send-six look on Sunday against Carolina on a fourth-and-10. Marcus Sherels and Chad Greenway blitzed, which parted the Red Sea for Everson Griffen. Instead of giving Griffen his fourth sack of the day, Newton threw it awkwardly toward Tom Johnson, who got his first career interception.
“It’s just trying to keep the offense on edge, I guess, the best we can,” Zimmer said. “If we didn’t have good guys, smart guys and then guys that can win one-on-one we wouldn’t be able to do a lot of stuff that we do.”
The defense is full of smart players, but it’s also fully intact from last season with all 11 starters back (though Sharrif Floyd is missing time with a knee injury). The Vikings’ apparent comfort on the defensive side is evidence that continuity counts for something in the NFL, and that multiple years in a system can open up more avenues for coaches — and players — to get creative. When they are less focused on performing the right steps or remembering the plays, they can concentrate on other things, like forcing turnovers.
“I think they can play a little faster,” said Zimmer. “I can go up to Harrison (Smith) during the week and say, ‘Hey, you know, why don’t you do this a little bit this week.’ … I typically don’t do this, but in the last ball game, not this past one, we had one of the pressures that we practiced a lot, but we didn’t have in the game plan this week. I went over and talked to the guys and said, ‘Hey, you guys good with this?’ And they said yes, so we ran it.”
The Viking are off to a start that could put them in rarefied air defensively if they’re able to sustain their high level of production. But as Zimmer reminded the media on Monday, things can change in a heartbeat. “When I was in Dallas one year, we were – I think with four games left – we were fifth in the league in defense, and we were good; we had good players.
“We didn’t play very good the last four games,” said Zimmer, “and we ended up 13th in the league.”
