“I’m not retiring or resigning. Period.” – 12/31/18
— Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer .
That was the quote coming out of Minnesota, immediately following the Vikings season ending week 17 loss to division foe Chicago Bears. This, amid speculation that the organization might desire or flat out need a change in leadership.
The Vikings had disappointed once again. They regressed in a season many viewed as “what should have been;” largely thought of, in the preseason, as a team ready to make a run at the franchise’s first Super Bowl. The year previous, the Vikings had “miraculously” won their way into the NFC Championship game only to lose to a high flying Philadelphia Eagles team (an embarrassing 38-7 drubbing at Lincoln Financial Field), but there was enough of a performance across that season and a remaining core of a roster to believe that ’18 was going to be the Vikings year to finally cash in and win it all.
As things turned out, in historical Vikings fashion, that hope/belief could not have been more misguided or ill-informed.
The 2018 Vikings were a complete shell of the team that had come within a game of hosting their own Super Bowl. The ’18 season may have been cursed from the beginning. The sudden death of Tony Sparano certainly had an impact, though the most notable change from ’17 to ’18 was the replacement of QB Case Keenum and and signing of Kirk Cousins. Cousins was deemed as the missing link; the final piece to a championship team. Through the first four games, despite Cousins electric play, the Vikings found themselves looking at a 1-2-1 record which included a tie game vs the Packers in Lambeau in week 2, an ugly disinterested trap game loss at home vs Buffalo in week 3, and a back and forth heartbreaking loss in Los Angeles to the Rams in week 4. There was drama within the outcomes of these first few games and wild speculation as well as finger pointing directed at head coach Mike Zimmer.
The tie game with Green Bay cost rookie kicker Daniel Carlson his job (he missed two field goals in overtime, 0-3 for the game). Everson Griffen had some sort of pregame psychotic episode prior to the tilt vs the Bills (something he never fully recovered from in ’18). And in week 4, Zimmer was exposed and out coached by Rams head man Sean McVay (McVay found a way to scheme against LB Anthony Barr twice in pass coverage leading to TD’s that tilted the game in their favor). Postgame vs the Rams, Zimmer was quoted as saying, “We did not play well defensively. Offensively we moved the ball well, but we had too many missed tackles, and too many people were left wide open. I’ve not ever had a team that’s been this poor in pass coverage. We are going to have to look at everything.”
The Vikings bounced back with three straight wins vs Philly, Arizona, and the N.Y. Jets, before losing at home to the Saints. A week later with a defeat of division rival, Detroit Lions, and the Vikings were 5-3-1 heading into their bye; essentially sharing the top spot with the Chicago Bears (5-3) in the standings in the NFC North. The season, to this point, had illustrated that there was promise.
Unfortunately the Vikings failed to realize that promise. They continued to play uninspired football, plagued by issues along on the offensive line and would go on to win only three more games. Minnesota found winning on the road to be ever elusive, dropping games at Chicago, at New England, and at Seattle. As week 17 arrived, the season relied on the outcome of a home game vs Chicago. With a win, the Vikings would clinch a spot in the playoffs and stake claim to a rubber match in the wild card round vs the Bears. With a loss, this up and down season would finally conclude. From the start of that week 17 contest, the Bears looked like the contending team that won eight of its final nine regular season games, while the Vikings looked like they couldn’t get to the off-season or New Year’s eve parties fast enough.
The Vikings had been wildly ineffective on offense with three-and-outs on each of their first four possessions, and finished the game with only 164 total yards. Zimmer was brief in his post game explanation, “They’re pretty good, so give them credit.” The final game of ’18 was also marred by a sideline argument between Cousins and WR Adam Thielen, in which Cousins adamantly took Thielen to task on his route running.
At a glance, the Vikings had witnessed moments of their sheer defensive dominance as evidenced by events such as their 10 sack performance in week 9 vs Detroit, while juxtaposing that with season long offensive ineptitude in running the ball (only two 100-yd rushing games). The issues in the running game were highlighted by offensive line struggles which led to the dismissal of offensive coordinator John DeFilippo after 13 games.
Upon the conclusion of the ’18 season, Mike Zimmer’s overall record in Minnesota was 48-34-1 including playoff games. The Vikings reached the postseason twice in Zimmer’s first five seasons, with a 1-2 record to show for it; their only playoff win coming at home against the Saints in the famed Minneapolis Miracle.
From a critical perspective, this was a championship roster built around a new quarterback. While there was much blame to go around, anyone citing Cousins as the culprit must not have been watching the games. Cousins was a bright light in an otherwise dark offensive effort. He completed 70.1% of his passes, threw for 4,298 yards, threw 30 TD’s to only 10 int’s while running for his life on most passing plays and being sacked 40 times. Through Cousins, Thielen and Diggs both caught over 100 passes, both had over 1,000 yards receiving, and both scored 9 TD’s.
Vikings RB Dalvin Cook spent the ’18 season coming back from injury, and struggled due to a lack of nastiness getting o-lineman downhill. Gone from Cook’s repertoire was his power; in watching Cook’s tape out of Florida State, you see a perfect combination of speed, agility and power. In year two as a pro, Cook’s ability to break tackles was nowhere to be seen.
Statistically, the defense played well, but based on the eye test it was a down year. Schematically the Vikings looked like they were playing an outdated style of football. DE Everson Griffen did not have the impact the Vikings needed him to have. LB Ben Gedeon got washed out on almost every running play he was involved in. LB Anthony Barr was exposed in pass coverage. CB Xavier Rhodes had a down year as well, and just never played up to his ability. Still, the Vikings did finish 4th in overall team defense (yards). They posted a top ten defense is points allowed (9th). They were 3rd against the pass, but fell to 15th against the run. Minnesota tied for 3rd with 50 sacks on the season, but remember 10 of those came in a single game vs Detroit. The Vikings also posted a 0 turnover differential; which you’d prefer to have a clear advantage in takeaways vs giveaways.
In the NFL, a head coach is credited with successes and often scapegoated for failures. 2018 was, by many accounts, an epic failure for Minnesota. The Vikings were 0-6 vs top ten teams, and missed the playoffs while registering a winning season. Despite the team failures, Zimmer’s statistical numbers defensively probably saved his job. That and the fact that games lost in the 2nd half of the season were clearly due more to offensive inefficiencies than anything else. Still, Zimmer does not get a pass by pointing to his relative successes on defense considering the game has and will always be played in three phases. That, to me, makes the ’19 season a make or break year for the Vikings and their relationship with Mike Zimmer. While he’s certainly a quality head coach, capable of building a championship defense, his staff and players must improve offensively if his tenure is to continue beyond this upcoming season.
At this point, Zimmer looks like a man poised to replicate the career path of a Marvin Lewis or a Jeff Fischer; while being surpassed by bright offensive minds like Doug Pederson, Sean McVay, and Frank Reich. Zimmer and the Vikings will look towards new OC Kevin Stefanski and offensive advisor/assistant head coach Gary Kubiak to fix the offense, recommit to the running game, and put points on the board. If the Vikings can score in the high 20’s, their defense should allow them to right their wrongs and win many games in ’19.
Critical Viking 