Defense wins championships is a moniker that has been widely adopted across the football world. It’s easy to see why, as most of the best single-season defenses have won Super Bowls (85 Bears, 00 Ravens, 02 Buccaneers) and the best offenses have failed to do so (98 Vikings, 07 Patriots).
The Vikings have been winning mostly with the offense and the defense has been a liability. It has also raised questions as to if the Vikings should change their defensive play callers. Defensive coordinator Ed Donatell’s defense is now last in total defense after allowing 464 yards to the Detroit Lions and 400+ yards in the last five games.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about it and he dismissed it right away.
“As of right now, no, not something that I’m considering.”
Is he right in thinking that? I believe so. There are quite a few factors that need to be factored in.
First, Donatell is a first-year defensive coordinator for the Vikings and he is installing a new style of defense. The type of play that is being asked is so different style-wise from what Mike Zimmer was doing that it will take time to adjust the player’s mindset and responsibilities.
Another thing that needs to be considered is the lack of talent the Vikings have on defense. Sure they have a couple of star players, but their back seven is loaded with holes, especially in the secondary.
Lastly, changing play-callers likely won’t do any good since this is a new system and a new voice could only further enhance the miscommunication issues the team is having.
We all want something to be done about the defense, but it’s not exactly something you can fix with a band-aid.
