Sep 19, 2021; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Minnesota Vikings tackle Brian O'Neill (75) prior to the game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Billy Hardiman-USA TODAY Sports
Head Coach Mike Zimmer is starting to sound like a broken record, as week after week, he comes out and tells everybody he believes the Vikings can be a good football team.
Is it true?
Four weeks in, and a record of 1-3 doesn’t scream this team is good. There is plenty of football left to play, but this team needs to start showing us something now. The team has talent on the roster, but that isn’t translating onto the field. Sure, we can bemoan poor officiating and missed field goals. The fact is, we didn’t do enough to win three of the four games this season. The Seattle game wasn’t left to a last-second play. It was won comfortably. That needs to happen more often. The Cardinals and the Browns are two of the better teams in football at the moment, but there are more good teams on the horizon. If this team wants to be a contender, and if that’s not the attitude, we are all wasting our time, you have to beat these teams.
Of the 32 teams, 20 have a record of 2-2 or above, bettering the Vikings 1-3 record. The various power rankings out there put the team between 17th and 24th. Pro Football Focus grades the team 17th. The 94 points scored by the team are tied for the 17th most while the 92 points allowed are tied for the 11th most. The team ranks and is seen as the middle of the pack at best — a far cry from the hopes and expectations coming into the season. The DVOA is slightly higher.
The three losses have all been close games. There’s been a lot of ifs and buts — arguably, the team could be sitting here 4-0, certainly 3-1 at least. A missed field goal from beating the Arizona Cardinals, the only undefeated team left in the league — a team that comprehensively beat the LA Rams this past week, one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. The combined record of the three teams to defeat the Vikings is 10-2.
Tough close games against good opposition, where the Minnesota Vikings come out on the losing end. It’s an all too familiar tale that will define the Mike Zimmer era unless something drastically changes over the next four months.
Pro Football Focus grades aren’t the be-all and end-all, but they give a reasonable indication of how a team is doing. Only three Vikings starters have a grade above 80 from PFF over the first four games. Justin Jefferson 85.7, Kirk Cousins (85.0), and Danielle Hunter (81,4), the “big names have been playing well. However, Jefferson and Hunter can be even better. The main problem is what comes after that, only Dalvin Tomlinson (79.4) grades in the seventies. Cameron Dantzler (76.2) and Everson Griffen (70.2) do also, but they’ve been behind starters Bashaud Breeland (32.0) and DJ Wonnum (43.4). It seems a couple of undeniable changes are in order.
After that, 14 players grade in the sixties or high fifties. The epitome of mediocrity. Every team will be full of those types of scores. Not every player is going to be great. However, that is too many for a team that thinks it should be “good” and includes some big names that we need to see more from. The likes of Eric Kendricks (60.1), Harrison Smith (68.0), Dalvin Cook (60.5), and Brian O Neill (67.7).
As well as Wonnum and Breeland, there are sub-50 scores for Nick Vigil (48.2) and Rashod Hill (39.3). That’s too many deficient scores. There are potentially obvious fixes here as well. Coach Zimmer this week stated he expects Anthony Barr to return to the fold against the Lions. Nick Vigil has done an adequate job in coverage and pass-rush, including making some splash plays like the pick-6 against the Cardinals. He has struggled badly against the run, with a rush defense grade of 36.7. Having a healthy Anthony Barr in against the rush would be crucial and would also allow them to use Nick Vigil for what he’s best at. The defense has slowly been improving but still needs to be much better.
At left tackle, Christian Darrisaw is waiting in the wings. There is an understandable clamor to start him this week. He needs to be ready to go. If he is, start him. We’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly from the offensive line this season. The concerted guards Ezra Cleveland and Oli Udoh have shown promise yet have looked overmatched at times. At center, Garrett Bradbury is still finding life in the NFL difficult. The big question is, can they hold up as they did in weeks 2 and 3 when faced with a formidable defense like the Browns?
Are the Minnesota Vikings a good football team? The defense needs to continue to get considerably better. The offensive line must be consistently good, and the “big” players need to show up more in big moments. If not, this team isn’t going to be good. It will stay in mediocrity.