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2 Minute Script November 1, 2021
The number one problem
confronting Mike Zimmer's team is in actually understanding the game.
First & foremost ... you are not playing a team ... you'er playing the
clock. Back in the 70's the mantra of some great teams was ... we didn't
get beat ... we just ran out of time. Yesterday's Patriot's game was a
testimonial to this concept as on consecutive plays, regardless of whether the
ball was caught, or if it was a running play, the Patriot's runner was uniformly
tackled in-bounds which of course allows the clock to run. On one critical
play, the Patriot's runner went down in-bounds 1 yard short of a first down
which turned out to be brilliant. Although the defense might have had a
3rd down stop, the odds favored the offense heavily. That in itself, &
in contrast to this franchise's understanding of the clock, explains why Bill
Belichick is considered a genius all the while this franchise
suffers.
Don't even begin to tell me that last nights game was a fair fight. The
plays being called y Klint Kubiak, by comparison to the Cowboys, were tantamount
to having one hand tied behind our back in a street fight. The bulk of
everything that the Cowboys ran was set up behind our defensive line, down the
field. The bulk of everything that we ran felt like is was from behind our
offensive line ... where we always had to run the gauntlet of Cowboy's eleven
defenders. Is it any wonder why we went 1-13 on 3rd downs? Did you
notice the Cowboy's check downs were well downfield from our defensive line
meaning there were at least 4 defenders with which that the pass catcher didn't
have to contend. Exactly when was Cook set up behind (down the field)
Dallas's defensive line last night. Where was that Cook patented screen
game?
How often do you see wide receiver screens set-up to attack edge press
coverage. Are you insane? On press coverage, you've got to take that
ball down the field as the defender is almost certainly going to get beat by the
wide receiver. Again, how often did we try to attack Dallas's edges, over
and over again, on press coverage to no avail. There is something in
Denmark that smells to high heaven here as the Cowboy's just aren't that good
& their entitlement to prime time leaves me disgusted ... VOMIT EXPRESS
101!
Here is the key difference between teams that win & teams that lose.
On a "2- Minute-Like-Drive", where the offense is trying to take the
lead with the clock is running, the defense calls a time out which allows the
offense to regroup for the final attack. Being behind in the game, the
clock is pressuring the offense into misfiring (bad or no execution).
Never! Ever! Call a time out for an offense in a 2 minute drill. We
did it back-to-back cementing the loss. If you're defense cannot cope with
a 2 minute drill without calling a time out then you're not prepared.
There is no reason for a defense to regroup or for them to have a breather as
they are not on the side of execution. Preserve those time outs for the
most valuable member of your team ... the quarter back. With a lead, if
you're concerned with time, allow the other team to score quickly giving your
offense the opportunity of equaling the result against their tired defense to
regain the lead at games
end.
Do you ever get the feeling that Kirk Cousin's doesn't understand the
significance of securing at least one first down on every offensive opportunity
(drive). If he did ... would he ever post a 1 success in 13 attempts on
3rd down. Do you think Kellen Mond could have posted first
downs? You're right ... not with that play
calling!
My recommendation would be to have this franchise immediately design a "Ten
Play 2-Minute-Script" which would work something like this. It should
flow like a pre-scripted ballet. As for the five offensive linemen, after
the play they know where to immediately align. To chip or defend the
blitz, on each play in series, the running back & tight end will know where
to align based upon the formation ... bleeding out of the backfield, setting up
to get out-of-bounds quickly. Play #3, in a series of 10, is to runs 1st
for example. After that play, the five skill players will know where they
will end Play #3, meaning that if the clock is running, the five skill players
will need to get into Formation X to run Play #4. Formation X should be
designed to minimize the distance for quick alignment. The clock is still
running so after running Play #4, the players are to sprint to get into
formation Y. If the clock continues to run, plays would continue in
sequence to Play #5, setting up into formation Z. In other words, the
formations must make absolute sense ... in your planning ... when the clock
isn't running. You want each player thinking about Formation Z even before
the ball is snapped for Play #4 (Oh crap! After this play is run, I got to
get my but from here to there ASAP, to the point where a player dreads having to
run Play #4). Hopefully, you'll have some defensive minded head coach
that's silly enough to call a time out on defense, to allow the offense the time
to regroup & substitute. If not, you may have two other things
happen. You may be able to call a time out for yourself or the runner ends
up going out of bounds allowing for substitution. Once the clock stops,
you can either continue the sequence or call a different play in the sequence,
say Play #8 for example, that would continue to Play #9, Play #10 & then
back to Play #1 in the sequence, again, if the clock is
running.
If a player is our of formation for some reason, the only thing that's important
is to get set as quickly as possible, where misaligned & to try to get that
clock controlled regardless of the chaos. You can laugh about it
later.
If you're worried about the plays ... or the sequence ... Don't. The only
thing that matters is controlling the clock & the chance to execute plays
even if you think they know exactly what you're planning to do. You have
to believe that it doesn't matter if they know the exact sequence of plays or
not as pure execution will always trump that knowledge. Clock control
& speed of execution to the next play will always result in defensive chaos
that will tip victory into your hands. Call it the "PUKE"
from the movie "Semi-Pro".
I'd rather have this & miserably fail that to have the clock expire in front
of me for a lack of preparation.
Last night was devastating in that it is still clear to me that the Vikings are
a much better team than the Poke's, especially with Michael Pierce in the line
up. Dak not playing destroyed this franchises opportunity of playing in
prime time games, as we definitely belong in the spot light & on our home
field. If you consider for a moment that we blew out the Pokes last night
facing a back up quarterback, would that have been as much entertainment to the
nation as us losing to a back up quarterback. In other words, our victory
last night could have been easily discounted. Instead, the Cowboys are now
on their way to the Super Bowl. Yeah! I'm not fooled! To be
direct, I'd rather beat the Poke's & the Cardinal's in the
playoffs.
"Do you know how bad I had to play last night just to keep this Cowboys
game entertaining?"
It's odd that there are still a few out there that can't count but there are
still ten games remaining in this 2021 season & it is not over by a long
shot. Yesterday's loss might be devastating in our chances to win this division
but there is still a great deal that can happen between now & week 18.
We shall see.
The Viking Ghost Writer
http://MyVikingBlood.org
Date: November 1, 2021
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