Curtis Allen’s week three watch points (vs Vikings)

Note:  This is a guest post by Curtis Allen and the latest piece in a weekly series. Curtis looks at the Seahawks and their opponents and discusses key factors…

Time to get right back on the horse.

In Week Three, the Seahawks face a team that are paced by a dominant running back and a very efficient quarterback who is throwing to two threatening wide receivers.

Sound familiar?

Whether they can adjust, refocus and return a more complete effort than they did on Sunday against Tennessee might give us some further clues about how the 2021 season is going to unfold for this team.

Both the Seahawks and the Vikings have unfinished business from their Week Five matchup last season.

For the Vikings, it is obvious. They would love another shot at the Seahawks and the chance to break their head-to-head losing streak — particularly after losing their last meeting in a heartbreakingly dramatic fashion.

For the Seahawks, it might be less obvious but no less important. The Vikings dominated them on the ground to the tune of 201 rushing yards, pushing the Seahawks defense up and down the field and thumbing their nose at two excellent Michael Dickson punts that pinned them deep. 

The manner in which they won that match is hardly a sustainable recipe for success. Completing the circle in all three phases against that same tough opponent this Sunday could really send this team in the right direction.

This time around, the defense should have six players returning that did not play in last year’s game due to injury: Jordyn Brooks, Jamal Adams, Rasheem Green, Marquise Blair, D.J. Reed, and Darrell Taylor.

No two games are alike. The Seahawks have an opportunity to break the mode they have found themselves in with a game that is winnable for them.  How can they do it?

Contain Dalvin Cook

The beat marches on. The Seahawks opened their schedule with three consecutive games against a team that fields one of the top running backs and systems in the NFL.  How have they done so far?

Week One against Jonathan Taylor: Job done.

Week Two against Derrick Henry: Not so much.

Two out of three looks so much better than one out of three.

Limiting the damage Cook can do is key to having success against this offense. How can the Seahawks do that?

1. Set the edge on defense

The defense has witnessed two great zone schemes so far, but this one might be their biggest test yet. Why?

The Kubiak offense schemes both inside and outside zone runs and does an excellent job of masking their intentions and getting blockers downfield. It is a fantastic marriage with Cook’s elite vision and burst. 

We have already seen it work both ways in 2021. Cook has four explosive runs out at the edges and three explosives between the tackles in just two games this season. 

So, pick your poison.

The Seahawks have proven to be vulnerable at the edges and in defending the screen game, as predicted, with K.J. Wright no longer on the team. As stout as they have been on the interior, they are lacking strength at the edge of the defense.

Let’s take a look at how the Vikings do it so well by examining how they succeeded in their game against the Seahawks last year.

On back-to-back plays the Viking offense wrecks the edges of the Seahawk defense and gives Cook room to run untouched.

The video starts at :49.  And it is not for the faint of heart…

Watch Bobby Wagner. He reads the play perfectly, reacts and knifes past Riley Reiff like he is standing still. Brilliant.

However Cook is just too quick to hit the hole and he runs past him. That is not a failure on Wagner’s part. 

Cook can accelerate because the edge has been blown wide open. 

Alton Robinson’s job on the play is to set the edge. If Robinson can even remotely set the edge, or disengage from the Irv Smith block to occupy that hole, Cook will be forced to hesitate and give Wagner just enough time to bring him down for a minimal gain or even a loss.

Smith blocks Robinson into the parking lot. The hole is so big that Cook easily accelerates away from Wagner and runs for ten yards as Robinson helplessly dives, flailing to try and make a play.

Let the video run. On the very next play, the exact same thing happens. Except this time Cook gets an escort to the end zone.

Off the snap, Reiff easily handles L.J. Collier and Kyle Rudolph stands up K.J. Fullback C.J. Hamm beats tracks through the hole and takes Wagner out of the play and Dakota Dozier gets two full steps to build up a head of steam to block Cody Barton and easily erases him. Touchdown Vikings.

Alexander Mattison gets a turn at it at 9:58 in that video in case you are not convinced of the Vikings’ run dominance in this game.

Ugly business.

They have to get tougher on the edges. 

Perhaps rotating one of their monster interior linemen out there occasionally is the answer? A Red Bryant type role might be an effective stopgap solution.

How about this – and trust me, I am fully aware of the irony of suggesting this, given what we just watched – using Alton Robinson more at that spot? 

He has gotten much more experience since that game last year, posted PFF grades of 63 and 71 for run defense so far in 2021, and has the versatility to both play the run and rush the passer — something Seattle does not currently posses an abundance of on the defensive line.

They need to get creative to find a solution or this Sunday’s tape will look awfully familiar to what we just looked at.

2.  Sound tackling is key

As you just saw, the zone system gives Cook gaps and holes to run in. The Vikings excel at opening holes and sending blockers through them to pave the way.

But it gets worse. Cook is not one of those flashy backs that breaks off big runs but goes down on first contact. He can both run away from defenders and regularly break tackles in tight quarters.

How good is he at breaking tackles?

Cook was the second-best at it in the entire league in 2020, behind only David Montgomery.

The Seahawks had a season-high eighteen missed tackles in that Vikings game last year. Every starter on defense recorded a missed tackle.

The good news is they did end the season with the fifth-fewest missed tackles in the NFL, so they are capable of better tackling. 

But there have been issues in 2021 so far with tackling. Pete Carroll was asked about this after the Colts game and said the ‘team has some things to clean up’ there. And we all saw that was true Sunday against the Titans.

For this game coming up, against that runner, facing that offensive system, they cannot afford to let Cook get past the first guy to get a hand on him.

They must be better at wrapping up in order to keep Cook from wrecking this game like Henry did.

And, as always, an effective run game sets up the play action.

Kirk Cousins is extremely good in play action. They ran about a quarter of their pass plays out of it and Cousins’ quarterback rating was a whole 24% better than when they did not.

Cook sets up their offense. They have to prevent him from using his speed and skill to open up their full package of plays.

Pressure Kirk Cousins at least 10 times

In Kirk Cousins’ three-year tenure in Minnesota, you can practically draw a straight line between the amount of pressures the Vikings allow and whether they win the game or not:

  • Average pressures in a Viking win: 6.9
  • Average pressures in a Vikings loss: 12.4

But that is just academic, isn’t it? Just about every team in the league can tie winning the game to pressuring the quarterback, right? 

What makes Kirk Cousins any different?

This does — when Cousins was blitzed in 2020, his completion percentage dropped from 71.40% to 59.50%.

You read that correctly. He goes from sharpshooter to peashooter when blitzed.

Here is the list of quarterbacks with 500 throws who had a bigger accuracy drop than Kirk Cousins when blitzed last year:

Deshaun Watson

End of list.

Another stat — in only four of the Vikings’ losses with Cousins at quarterback in the last three years did they surrender less than nine pressures. The other twenty losses? Nine or more.

Pressure Cousins. By any means necessary.

Preferably, that means bottling up Dalvin Cook first and forcing Cousins to be the answer. Then skillfully using the defensive line depth to create pressure. This includes solving the substitution challenges they experienced against the Titans.

And finally, mixing some creative blitzes as well.

If you are still not convinced this is a sound strategy, consider this about Cousins’ favorite target, Adam Theilen. Last year, 89% of Theilen’s catches were for either a first down or a touchdown. Those are elite numbers in company with other pass-catching greats like DK Metcalf, Mike Evans and Travis Kelce.

Passes to Theilen from Cousins traveled an average of 9.2 air yards per catch before they were received.

Which requires time for Theilen to get downfield and make his break.

Want to prevent Theilen from getting a first down or touchdown? Do not let Cousins have time in the pocket Sunday.

Minnesota’s offensive line has been banged up so far this year. The Seahawks must take advantage.

Use the tight ends

The Seahawks had success with their tight ends in the Week One win and then completely avoided them in the Week Two loss.

Getting them heavily involved this Sunday is not just a good idea; it is a critical key to success. Why?

Once again, let’s go to the numbers.

In 2020 the Vikings conceded an awful 12.3 yards per catch to tight ends. That was the next-to-last average in the NFL, beaten to the bottom only by the Jaguars at 12.6 yards per tight end catch.

How are the Vikings doing in 2021, you ask? Even worse. They have conceded 14 yards per catch, with four explosive plays in two games.

Did the Seahawks exploit this weakness in their game against the Vikings last year? Yes they did — but not nearly enough. 

Greg Olsen had one catch for twenty yards and Will Dissly had one catch for nineteen yards and a touchdown. 

Both of them only had one target each.

That is both bad and easy to fix.

There is another reason to involve the tight ends though — dominating the edges in the running game.

The Seahawks will need to focus a lot of offensive attention on those edges this Sunday. Why?

The Vikings have reinvested in their defensive interior and it is producing good results. Michael Pierce is one of the stoutest tackles out there and even had two sacks in Week One to add to his repertoire. 

If Michael Pierce’s name is familiar, it should be. He paired with Brandon Williams for the Ravens game against the Seahawks in Week Seven in 2019. He helped hold Chris Carson to 65 yards and held him under one yard or less on 8 of his runs. Four of those were in the first half and four in the second.

Now being paired with Dalvin Tomlinson, they are going to be a formidable match in the run game for Kyle Fuller.

Conversely, the Vikings are vulnerable on the edge. How about giving them a taste of their own medicine on offense there?

James Connor had 27 yards on 5 carries attacking the Viking defensive edges Sunday.

How did he do in between the tackles? Not good. He had -1 yard on 3 carries.

The Bengals exploited this vulnerability in Week One with Joe Mixon. He had runs to the edge of 8, 10, 12, and 19 yards. 

Let’s look at the tape on the 19 yard run. 

Watch the Bengals motion their tight end CJ Uzomah to the edge and completely seal it off with fantastic blocks to spring Mixon (also, pulling guard Xavier Su’a-Filo chipping one guy and blocking another is a treat):

This type of play is not beyond the Seahawks’ capability. They had several nice creative runs to the edge against the Colts. We need to see that creativity continue to blossom.

Stubbornly ramming the ball into the middle of the defense is just not advisable. Especially when there is an opponent’s vulnerability in other areas of the field and usable assets at tight end that have not been fully activated yet. The tight ends must be featured in this game to restore the offensive balance that the Seahawks lost Sunday against the Titans.

Attack the corners — both of them

Patrick Peterson has been getting some of that ‘he is not getting thrown at because he is so amazing’ shine for Minnesota so far this year. That is nice. 

But here is the real reason teams are not throwing his way:

Breeland has been absolutely dreadful so far this year. At one point he had a perfect quarterback rating allowed. Why would you not throw at him?

While Peterson is still a good player, he is not what he once was. In two games against the Seahawks last year for the Cardinals he conceded 130 yards, 2 touchdowns and a 119 passer rating. That includes that strange busted-play interception in Week Seven off of Russell Wilson.

The Seahawks need to be like Tyler Lockett in that very game.

The first offensive play of the game, Peterson thought he would be cheeky and jam Lockett at the line. Not only did he fail to move Lockett in the least, the force of the jam rocked Peterson himself out of position just slightly and Lockett and Russell Wilson took advantage for a thirty-four yard beauty that let the Cards know just what was coming.

Get off me. I got things to do.

This is the attitude the Seahawks need to bring to Sunday’s game.

Note — On Wednesday at 2pm (PST) Rob will be hosting a live stream with Jeff Simmons. You can tune in live via YouTube or the blog or watch on-demand. You can subscribe to the channel to never miss a video by clicking here.

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58 Comments

  1. cha

    The time stamp didn’t work apparently on the YouTube clips

    The Mixon run clip starts at 7:25

    Rob can you please insert a note after “ Let’s look at the tape on the 19 yard run. “?

  2. J.P.

    The concerning thing about the Vikings being stout inside but weak to the edges is that run game is going to suck because they’ll try to establish the run game with Carson early.

    Frankly with Wilson’s history with the Vikings in recent years, I expect him to lock onto DK Metcalf and try to bomb it on Zimmer’s defense as they try to prevent the deep pass all game.

    Carson isn’t always the best match up. He’s the best RB they have, but for example, back in 2019, he was completely neutralized against that Eagle’s front. They could’ve easily abandoned the run, but instead Penny finally got his shot that season when Carson fumbled out of the game and he ran all over the Eagles. He’s just quicker than Carson, he hits the edges better. That’s what’s frustrating about last game. Yes, Carson wasn’t doing anything, but why not toss a few out to Homer? Why not let Collins get a crack at it instead of abandoning the run?

  3. Denver Hawker

    These are such great write-ups Cha. Thank you.

    I’m curious if the Hawks use this data (like the Cousins blitzing stats) in scheming of if they just rely on game tape. Point being, I wonder if teams sometimes overthink a game plan by viewing tape and analyzing schemes, plays, players, etc. Instead, the solution is blitz Cousins.

    • Denver Hawker

      Like this: https://imgflip.com/i/5nqyvz

      P.S. I’m a newb meme creator, no idea if this works

    • cha

      I think those are great questions. I’d love a peek behind the curtain to see how they combine experience, opposition scouting and analytics.

      I’m just scratching the surface.

      How and when you implement the points I highlighted are the real meat of the matter.

  4. Paul Cook

    Great write up again.

    What was interesting for me to see was statistical confirmation of my own eye test and opinion of Kirk Cousins. When things are going well for Cousins, when you give him time to throw, he can beat you like just about any top franchise QB can. It’s when the going gets tough for him in the ways that you mentioned that he can turn back into Clark Kent in a hurry.

    • Rob Staton

      Better start practising my 40

      • Sea Mode

        You’ll boost your TEF score on the bench… 💪

        • Rob Staton

          💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

  5. L80

    Getting after the QB that has a banged up line in front of him is EXACTLY what the Hawks couldn’t do Sunday. Inexplicably Taylor and Robinson barely played, while Mayowa played almost the whole game, that is just STUPID……

    Play those guys.

    • cha

      I alluded to it in the piece about the substitution challenges.

      PC made a vague comment that the Titans basically outsmarted them on personnel changes at times when questioned about snaps for the pass rushers.

      • Paul Cook

        Outsmarted themselves is more like it. Is it so hard to have your best, or potentially best DE’s in the game the majority of the time you’re on defense, rotating others in for them when they could use a blow to keep them strong and fresh as long as possible. What am I missing here?

        • DC

          Out coached is the correct term.

          • L80

            Coached OUT is actually the proper term……Draft them and sit them….BRILLIANT

        • Pran

          At this point nothing is a surprise…year after year same story.

          Here is the formulae from Pete to other teams… we will play vanilla O and D, we expect our players to out execute yours (though we dont have a better roster). if your players out execute us or your coaches make changes proactively we will give up and you win!

  6. Rob Staton

    https://twitter.com/seahawks/status/1440409818561273861?s=21

    No. Just no.

    • L80

      Whats next?….Hilfiger?…..I mean on a coffee cup?

      I wish he was still a Jet…..We are witnessing the destruction of our team.

      Sad Times.

      • Rob Staton

        I wouldn’t say the destruction of the team.

        But bringing a $2200 coffee cup to the podium seems needlessly showy and slightly irritating after a crap loss/performance.

        The team highlight it, all the more so.

    • TomLPDX

      That really pissed me off and decided right at the moment I saw that blatant crap from him that he is garbage.

      On a positive note, I scrolled down to other tweets and got to watch the highlights for Doug Baldwin. That dude was special. Love him or hate him he was special!

      • Rob Staton

        Just don’t understand why placing a $2200 coffee cup on the podium, seemingly just to show off, is anything anyone would ever do.

        Why even bring that thing to the press conference?

        • cha

          Reporter: What happened on that long touchdown run?

          Adams: He scored.

          • Rob Staton

            ‘Nobody likes a smart arse’

            • Paul Cook

              Boy, it certainly does take a lot of imagination to envision getting 17 million dollars worth out of him this year. We need to see big hits, sacks, INT’s, pass break ups, etc… consistently and in bunches. And we need to see some real leadership out of him, though I don’t quite know what that would entail other than high performance and enthusiasm.

              • Rob Staton

                I’m yet to see any semblance of leadership from Jamal Adams.

                He seems to talk a lot on the field. His press conferences are full of nonsense IMO.

                But leadership?

                Don’t see it at all.

                And we all know what leadership looks like because we saw it plainly and clearly in 2011-2014 within certain individuals.

                • bmseattle

                  I see a poseur.

                  Man I hate it when I don’t like the “star” players on my favorite teams.

                  • Rob Staton

                    I see a poseur.

                    Yup

                  • pdway

                    for me personally, I dont really care much about any of these kind of trendy or status-y things that pro athletes do. Adams is far from the only one who makes these kind of over-the-top gestures, half the NBA stars show up to games in absurd fashionista wear that costs who knows what. I guess I chalk it up to being young and w more money that you ever imagined.

                    But I do care about the on-field play. And I’ve been trying very hard to keep an open mind… but it’s getting harder and harder to see what he’s going to do to justify that salary cap hit. He’s just not the playmaker that Mathieu or Budda Baker are (to pick two highly paid safeties).

                  • Big Mike

                    Ditto on “poseur”

                • Paul Cook

                  I haven’t see it either other than his self confident enthusiasm, if such a thing could be considered a leadership quality in its infectiousness.

                  So far, I don’t think he’s a smart football player, or at least I haven’t seen it yet. So if you take that out of the equation, what’s left?

                  What’s more, and I don’t want to sound like I’m piling on here, but he strikes me as being kind of oblivious in a few different ways, kind of unaware of what’s called for at any given moment, or what’s out of place, or the discrepancy between perceived and actual impact, and the like.

                  Oh boy. We’ve just got to hope he’s better utilized, especially if he can’t figure out how to do so himself.

                  Oh boy.

        • Palatypus

          Rob Wrote, “Just don’t understand why placing a $2200 coffee cup on the podium, seemingly just to show off, is anything anyone would ever do.

          Why even bring that thing to the press conference?”

          Obviously to inspire the $4,400 hungry kids Russell Wilson could have fed with that money to win forever!

    • Andrew

      What a douche. In the off-season I mentioned to a friend that while I hope Adams has a great career for the Hawks, there is just something I don’t like about him. It’s just the asshole instinct kicking in.

      • Rob Staton

        I know what you mean

  7. GoHawks5151

    Great write up.

    For me they need to figure out the DL rotation. Robinson needs snaps. Taylor needs his snaps too. Mayowa needs to take a step back. I’d be willing to give Green a shot at the Red Bryant 5 tech spot just because I think he could recover outside if beaten. Getting Mone back would help too. Play Dunlap however you want but the man needs to be the closer he was last year and play all 4th quarter.

    In keeping with the TE point, where are the LA Ram crossing routes we were promised? They need to work the middle of the field and give DK and hopefully Eskridge a shot at some YAC. Also the screen game should be back on.

    Also for god’s sake run left on 3rd and short. It’s money time. Run behind your best player and your road grader young guard.

  8. cha

    Aaron Wilson
    @AaronWilson_NFL
    · 2h
    Seattle Seahawks worked out former Texans starting DT Brandon Dunn today, according to a league source

  9. pdway

    just realized the Vikes are 0-2, that makes me nervous, because 0-3 is damn near a season ender, and they are playing in front of a home crowd, and are still good enough to believe that they should not be out of it this early.

    It’s going to take a high-end effort to win this one.

    • pran

      if not for Cook injury they pretty much kicked Pete’s arse last time …this time would not be any different.

      • pdway

        Bob Condotta
        @bcondotta
        ·
        2h
        Interesting coaching matchup Sunday. Pete Carroll is 8-1 against Vikings, including playoffs, while Mike Zimmer is 0-5 including playoffs.

    • jed

      Great point. I did a quickie Google search and only 6 teams since 1981 have gone 0-3 and made the playoffs. Granted, there are 2 more playoff teams this year, but the Vikings are essentially playing for their season this week.

      On the other hand (again, quick Google search), about 50% of 2-1 teams make the playoffs and about 25% of 1-2 teams make it. Big week for both teams early in the season.

  10. pdway

    coming off a bitter fantasy loss last night b/c Aaron Jones caught THREE td passes coming out of the backfield – it begs the question, why are we the only team that doesn’t target our RB’s on pass plays?

    The TE question is of course legitimate, but almost equally so, is the lack of RB passes. Seems like every other good offensive team does it. Often the yards are small, but still, that’s how you convert 3rd and 3’s, etc. Frustrating.

    • Paul Cook

      Carson has shown some promise in that regard, too. In the times I’ve seen him in that capacity, I’ve thought he’s a better receiver out of the backfield than I thought he’d be.

  11. Paul Cook

    PS> They’ve also got to find ways to get Eskridge the ball, quick outs, bubble screens more fly sweeps, end arounds, whatever…make him our gadget play guy. Hell, we made him a high draft pick. Use him. He showed in the first game that he can be effective.

  12. Rob Staton

    Something I just realised.

    Nobody ever talks about Earl Thomas. His name never even comes up any more, anywhere. The NFL retired him after his exit from Baltimore. And we here Sherman trying to come back etc. But not a single bit of noise about Earl wanting back in.

    What a sad situation.

    • pdway

      you’re not wrong. was it just his personality issues (on and off field) that got him retired, or was his play on the field in Baltimore not great either?

      FWIW, I’ll always remember him well – he was my favorite Seahawk from the SB era team. Man did he fly around out there.

      • Paul Cook

        Ditto on Earl. He was my favorite on defense and Marshawn my favorite on offense. I think there was a five year stretch where he only got beat over the toap once, something insane like that. Also there were those TD saving hustle plays that belong on any Seahawks highlight reel. And, of course, that hit on Gronk. LOL

      • Big Mike

        pdway: I think it was some of both. His play definitely deteriorated and of the personality issues weren’t good either. If a guy can produce, NFL teams will overlook a lot of stuff, but if that production wanes, their career does too.

    • Ashish

      What a shame. Earl was my #1 fav player ahead of Kam, Sherman or Wilson.

  13. Palatypus

    Cynthia Frelund has Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson in her top five fantasy picks this week against the Seahawks. Fortunately, she’s wrong about us A LOT.

    In other news, I am completely fascinated with how she is totally hot and kind of weird-looking at the same time. It’s like looking at the Mona Lisa and the Hypno-Toad.

    • Denver Hawker

      I had a friend tell me once there are two kinds of hot people under 35: those that stay hot, and those that don’t. Don’t fall for the latter.

      • L80

        Sherree Burruss is smokin hot. Saw her for the first time in our game Sunday.

        • UkAlex6674

          Jane Slater all day long.

  14. GoHawksDani

    Great article!

    What I would love to see?
    Outside runs with Alex Collins. That guy seems quick. Homer is also solid for outside runs.
    I’d be happy with something like this: 10 outside runs for Collins, 9 outside and 4 inside runs for Carson, 4 outside runs for Penny, 3 outside runs for Homer. That is 30 carries. Obviously if someone does better, you can shift runs to him.

    I’d be happy with 5-6 screens and jet sweeps for Eskridge, Homer and Swain

    Use these and fake the hell out of the Vikings for pass plays

    I’d love to see them target Everett and Dissly for a combined of 10 passes

    Use all these to set up deeper passing game. Fake the handoff to th RB, pump to the TE for a fake quick pass, and pass to DK/Lockett for a mid/deep pass

    Not sure how many cross they ran with DK and Lockett, but that worked a lot previously. I hope they’ll use that more

    On the defense, use more Robinson, Taylor and Dunlap on the edge for passing downs. For base downs I’d use Dunlap, Green, Robinson mostly

    We could blitz 9-10 times, but not only with Adams. Use BWagz, Adams, Flowers, Amadi or Blair, Brooks. Like 5-6 for Adams and spread the rest. And use delayed blitzes if the Vikings are behind and Cousins needs to hold the ball longer

  15. DAVID K JOAQUIN

    great article and yes I agree with comments Run Collins outside I had the Titans game as a win and this as a lost …if Hawks pull this off were all good if not we are taking hikes on sunday

  16. Big Boi

    Dark Horse factors for Sunday:
    Vikings’ back up QB spent a full month on the Seahawks’ roster during training camp/preseason. Seahawks paid him $20k to now be a mole for the opposition. There’s an unwritten code that players aren’t supposed to help out their new team against their former team, but the Vikings are in panic mode, as alluded to above. They are going to pull out all the stops to win this game and attempt to save their season. If you don’t think Sean Mannion is spending time with the DC, you’re kidding yourself.

    Cornerback depth chart: Starting left CB is DJ, starting right CB is Tre. Behind them on the official depth chart? Three players that weren’t even on the roster for a vast majority of the preseason: John Reid, Sidney Jones IV, and Blessuan Austin. The first two were traded for at the cutdown and the last one lost his job to a sixth round rookie and the Jets attempted to trade but couldn’t find any takers. If there are injuries to the starting CB duo, I expect a different shuffle- i.e. Ugo- than this depth chart, but it’s discouraging to look at.

    • Denver Hawker

      I used to think this way, but I think the concern is way overblown.

      Mannion may have an understanding of concepts and playbook materials, but none of that will be specific to the Vikings. They’ll be scheming plays based on tape of the Vikings, and vice versa. I do t believe he’ll possess some secret knowledge that Viking coaches can’t get from film study.

      More importantly, execution is what matters.

      • Big Boi

        First off, there have only been two games of Waldron’s fancy new offense, so there isn’t that much tape to dissect. There are things Mannion has seen none of us knows even exists.

        Second off, we’re talking about a guy who, by all appearances,
        was going to make this roster. There’s things in the QB room that go way above and beyond scheme and execution. There are things like technique, philosophy, “tells”. What does Russ think DK’s weakness is? How can DK most easily be triggered? What weakness does Duane have? Does Chris Carson favor one side over the other? Granted, there may be a “super secret” QB room for just Geno and Russ, but I can guarantee you there are things- little things- Mannion can give them. Will this help them? No guarantee at all, but in a game of inches, every advantage matters.

        • Denver Hawker

          You seem to have more knowledge of what goes on in the room than I do. If he mastered it so well as you presume, I’d expect he’d still be with the team.

          Also, if what you resume is true about these QBs, perhaps we should resign Etling for the week who was with the Vikings for camp this year.

  17. Big Mike

    So what percentage would you place on Pete seemingly being loathe to give Collins a few more touches Sunday, none the week before and seemingly downplayed him all through camp too because he is absolutely desperate to have Penny show some shred of success?
    I’d put the likelihood at around 90%.

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