Defense Must Take Huge Strides Under DC Ed Donatell

The preliminaries are out of the way for the Minnesota Vikings and the test will begin in earnest September 11 for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and rookie head coach Kevin O’Connell. That’s when the team opens the season with a home game against the arch-rival Green Bay Packers.

Many of the preseason prognostications indicate that the Vikings will be a playoff team this year and may even wrest the NFC North title from the Packers. Part of that optimism is based on the high level of talent on the offensive side of the ball combined with the creativity that O’Connell is supposed to deliver.

The former offensive coordinator of the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams is going to modernize the team’s attack after the Vikings were largely a run-first team under former head coach Mike Zimmer. The only thing that could hold back the offense is the dreaded injury factor that can impact any team at any point in the season. That’s simply a variable that the Vikings can’t control.

O’Connell is not expected to serve as a miracle worker with the team’s defense. That was Zimmer’s specialty and the reason he was hired in the first place prior to the 2014 season. Despite impeccable credentials, the Minnesota defense fell apart in each of the last two seasons. The team’s inability to stop opponents late in the first half of games and at other crucial points crushed the Vikings and sent the team into a tailspin that it could not recover from.

The responsibility of reviving the defense falls to veteran defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, who has 42 years of coaching experience, including 31 years in the NFL. He most recently served as the defensive coordinator of the Denver Broncos, and he goes about his business in a much different way than Zimmer.

The most notable aspect of the changes that Donatell is bringing to the team is the move from Zimmer’s 4-3 defense to a 3-4 look. One of the key aspects to this change is the confusion it is likely to deliver to opposing offenses.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins was unable to decipher how that defense was planning to attack when he went up against it during training camp. “Everything looks the same, and at some point, I stopped trying to figure it out pre-snap,” Cousins said. “I just try to figure it out post-snap because it’s so muddy pre-snap. … I think it’s a point of emphasis for their defense, a big coaching point for them, and they’re getting it done. They’re taking away a lot of explosives.”

That’s a big part of the formula for success of any defense. If a quarterback can’t determine where pressure is coming from before the snap, it becomes a guessing game as to whether the correct protections will be called and the play will be successful.

The other factor that Donatell is likely to influence is the state of mind of his players. He has attempted to put together a defensive gameplan that matches his players’ skill sets and talents. One of the top examples is how Donatell plans to use veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson.

Early in his career, Peterson was one of the best in the league at man coverage. However, at this point in his career, Peterson is better suited to zone coverage and that’s what the Vikings will play most of the time.

Donatell’s vast knowledge of X’s and O’s has enabled him to design defenses that take advantage of his players’ talents. O’Connell sees his defensive coordinator as a leader who can make sharp adjustments on the fly and communicate them to his players.

“He’s an educator and he’s going to provide them with the things they need individually to have success and collectively have success as a group,” O’Connell said. “… This scheme may exist in other places, but this is the Minnesota Vikings version of it, [it’s] is going to be our own, and we’re pretty proud of that.”

Donatell is more communicative and adjustable than Zimmer was, but it will come down to player performance. He is going to need superstar-level performances from outside linebackers Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith if the Vikings are going to become the kind of defensive team that can challenge the Packers and other top NFC teams over the course of a 17-game season.

Both players have been troubled by injuries in recent seasons, and that’s what the Vikings are hoping to avoid. Hunter and Smith have formed a strong partnership in training camp and appear ready to join forces and have a dominating partnership when it comes to rushing the passer.

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The Vikings biggest moves on cut-down day came at the quarterback position. At the start of camp, Sean Mannion was listed as the backup while Kellen Mond was on the third team. Both quarterbacks had a couple of decent moments this summer, but neither was able to sustain success and convince O’Connell and the rest of the coaching staff that they could help the team if they were needed to step in for Cousins. Both were cut.

Neither of those moves were considered surprising. The Vikings acquired backup quarterback Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders during training camp, and that move indicated that these changes were coming.

Mullens is clearly learning the Vikings’ system, but he has started 17 games in his four-year career with the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers. He has completed 407 of 630 passes for 4,861 yards with 26 touchdowns and 22 interceptions.