I have many questions and concerns about the Vikings other than the quarterback position. Here are the primary ones: I intend to explore these questions more fully throughout August. Quarterback is obviously an important position, but the answers to these questions are critical to the 2009 season.
A. How will 3/5 of the offensive line perform?
B. Do Brad Childress and Darrell Bevell have the creativity/ability to use the Vikings' talented skill position players?
C. Outside of the reliably good Antoine Winfield, how will the relatively unfamiliar secondary perform?
D. Will E.J. Henderson recover from his foot injuries to perform at his previous high level?
E. Will the Vikings improve their special teams?
I'm not in the Childress/Bevell fan club, but I really do think football fans, and even experienced NFL coaches and executives, underestimate the degree to which creativity is a function of player talent. The Vikings do not have a qb who has shown that he has better than mediocre talent, and have not since Childress arrived. If the Vkings do not have a qb this year with better than mediocre talent, I suspect that Childress/Bevell will continue to appear to have limited creativity, because it is quite rare that a coach will apeear to be creative when the quarterback is limited, even if there is talent elesewhere.
ReplyDeleteLast year, Jackson was not able to show that he could handle the responsibility of reading the entire field, which maqkes the job of the opposing defensive coordinator much, much, easier. Frerotte made some of the most damnably stupid throws I've ever seen, and he had the interception rate to show for it. If the qb performance doesn't change, the offense will continue to look very noncreative.
I agree the poor QB quality is a major factor. However, Childress/Bevell now have some very talented skill position players to work with (Peterson, Taylor, Berrian, Harvin). They've got to find ways to get those players the ball, and in situations in which they can make plays. That won't all depend on the quality of the QB. Whether that means using some Wildcat/Single Wing formations occasionally, throwing quick screens to WRs, playing AP and Taylor at the same time more, etc., they must find ways to get these players opportunities to make plays.
ReplyDeleteMy disdain with Childress/Bevell's skills really came out last year when they weren't putting out any plays that matched their players' skills.
ReplyDeleteMost of the examples are listed at the Daily Norseman, but the big ones that come to mind are that Peterson and Taylor were never both on the field at once, and that for the last 3 games plus the playoff game, the team didn't throw a screen pass until the 4th quarter.
Yes, Joe, but the ability to get guys the ball is in large part dependent on the the threat of a qb who can use the whole field effectively. The Vikings don't have a qb who has demonstrated that ability. Maybe it will change, maybe it won't, but the odds of any coach looking creative with a mediocre qb are pretty long. I'll say it again; the most damning criticism of Childress is the guys he has brought in to play qb, not the plays he has called for them.
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