SteelKing728 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 The early season turmoil started mostly with just the away games and not being able to. establish the run for the most part, putting everything on Cousins. Look at the home wins vs Atlanta and Oakland and you'll see that we accomplished what has been our bread and butter: run the ball and playaction. It goes back to the end of 2018 when Stefanski filled in for a fired JDF. Stefanski and Gary Kubiak have worked extensively together to build this offense. The zone blocking scheme is the epitome of Kubiaks system and requires athletic offensive lineman for it to flourish. First round pick Garrett Bradbury, for all his ups and downs, was key in setting it all up. What I noticed throughout the year is the aggressive approach that Stefanski likes out of his passing offense early, and that came from the early season blunders. He likes to attack on first down, and playaction has been key. With Dalvin Cook having a MVP like start to his season, it was hard to not give him the ball, but teams were selling out to stop him. Unfortunately, the only RBs I've ever seen have more success against 8-9 man boxes than others is Adrian Peterson, a hall of famer to be, and Derrick Henry, this season's rushing leader. Anyways, around the first Detroit game this season, we saw this change in Kevin and the desire to attack. It lead to a lot of big plays to Stefon Diggs deep (nearly 18 yards per catch this year, compared to 10 last season) and stretch plays from the other receivers. The coolest thing was screen game open almost all year to Cook. Teams started rushing Cousins like crazy, only to get torched by Cooks on the screen. Watch the Washington game this season. They had no idea how to stop it, and their front 7 is very strong. Finally, we have a 3 headed monster in the backfield, sometimes 4. Cook is the engine, Mattison is the powerback who gets around 10 touches a game, Boone, although used sparingly, was the fresh legs at the end of the year and Abddullah was used in the playmaker role, running from shotgun, lining up wide or being the safety velve for the QB. Stefanski has a lot to learn (less pitches!!) but is the real deal. He'll make a team happy. I just hope the Vikings get Shurmur back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 5 hours ago, Mind Character said: Ohioan Browns fan here. Formerly lived in Minnesota for 2 years and became a Vikings fan from afar along the way. Every year I watch as many of the games as I can which typically amounts to 5-8 games. As a result, I miss out on a lot and the overall depth understanding of the team. I was looking for thoughtful feedback regarding all things Kevin Stefanski this season including how he navigated the early season offensive turmoil, the quality of his play-calling based on a pre-playoffs regular season review, his strengths, his weaknesses, and to what extent people think the current offense is Gary Kubiak's influence versus not. I've heard and read a wide-variety of things from family that works in the football business, Minnesota beat writers, and "insider," but without being engaged with the team full-time it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. So, what's your guys/gals take on Kevin Stefanski? Thanks in advance. Vikes look like a real competitive force to win in this tournament. You can see some discussion about it here, when @Kiwibrown created a thread a couple of months ago now... Several of us feel that he will be a good head coach, including myself, but I'm just not sure if he's quite ready yet...a year from now, certainly, but I'd like to see repeated success from him first. But, I thought that after Tomlin's first year as our DC as well, and then the Steelers came calling. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 Albright is pretty good with his “predictions”. He’s got a good finger on the pulse of the NFL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 I just hope the Vikings keep winning, so we can put off the Stefanski head coaching tour as long as possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vikes_Bolts1228 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 27 minutes ago, swede700 said: I just hope the Vikings keep winning, so we can put off the Stefanski head coaching tour as long as possible. Am I wrong for wanting a rule in the NFL where a coordinator has to have 3 years of service at their position on their team before they can move on to a HC gig? This entire "One and gone" thing is annoying and it's been haunting us first with Shurmur and now potentially with Stefanski 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Vikes_Bolts1228 said: Am I wrong for wanting a rule in the NFL where a coordinator has to have 3 years of service at their position on their team before they can move on to a HC gig? This entire "One and gone" thing is annoying and it's been haunting us first with Shurmur and now potentially with Stefanski It is somewhat annoying, but it's understandable. As someone online pointed out, it's a very attractive position for any potential head coach, because with a defensive-minded head coach, you get full control of the offense and if you have success, you're really wanted around the league, because you receive a lot of recognition for it. Edited January 6, 2020 by swede700 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VikeManDan Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 1 hour ago, SemperFeist said: Albright is pretty good with his “predictions”. He’s got a good finger on the pulse of the NFL. This would be ideal since only Eric "Sleeping with" Bieniemy is alive in the post-season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
since72 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 If the Vikings really really want to keep Stefanski, can they give him a title of “assistant head coach” or something like that to keep him from interviewing with other teams? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 3 minutes ago, since72 said: If the Vikings really really want to keep Stefanski, can they give him a title of “assistant head coach” or something like that to keep him from interviewing with other teams? That still can't stop him from interviewing for a HC job. Plus, Kubiak already has that title, so I'm not sure how they could spin it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
since72 Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 OK. That’s why. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mind Character Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 2 hours ago, swede700 said: You can see some discussion about it here, when kiwibrown created a thread a couple of months ago now... Several of us feel that he will be a good head coach, including myself, but I'm just not sure if he's quite ready yet...a year from now, certainly, but I'd like to see repeated success from him first. But, I thought that after Tomlin's first year as our DC as well, and then the Steelers came calling. Thanks a lot for the info. Much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nozizaki Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Shurmur is gonna be blacklisted as a coach at this point right? I mean he 100% wasn't the problem in NY or in Cleveland, and may actually be a good coach, but after 2 firings he'd be more than likely to stick around for a long time, a la McDaniels in Foxoboro. I like Stefanski, but I still think Shurmur matched Zimmer's mindset of running the balance and being balanced, but actually throwing sometimes on first down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Via Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Vikings signed former CFL cornerback Marcus Sayles to a futures contract on Friday. Sayles tried to crack into the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Division II West Georgia in 2017 with the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams. However, Sayles had to go north of the border for his next opportunity with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Sayles won a Grey Cup with Winnipeg this past season and was named to the West All-Star team in 2019. Sayles counts against Minnesota’s 90-man offseason roster and doesn’t factor into their current postseason run. https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/01/07/vikings-sign-former-cfl-cornerback-marcus-sayles-to-futures-contract/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SemperFeist Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Stefanski won’t be getting that interview with Carolina anymore. So, hopefully, he’ll be back as the OC. He should stay as far away from the Cleveland job as possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 1 minute ago, SemperFeist said: Stefanski won’t be getting that interview with Carolina anymore. So, hopefully, he’ll be back as the OC. He should stay as far away from the Cleveland job as possible. Agreed. That's why the Vikings need to keep winning...maybe Cleveland will hire someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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