by Jayson Brown | @brownjayson
Throughout this
offseason, the Vikings have made a concerted effort to improve the offensive
unit that finished 2016 ranked 22nd in points per drive (1.72) and
26th in DVOA (-9.3%).
Heading into free
agency and the draft, many people, including myself, lamented the lack of
resources poured into the offensive unit in recent years. Rick Spielman acknowledged the need to
bolster the unit by signing Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers during free agency and
by adding Dalvin Cook, Pat Elflein, Rodney Adams, Danny Isidora, Bucky Hodges,
and Stacey Coley in the draft.
Much of this
offseason has been spent with Vikings fan focused on the offense. Each week we engage in spirited dialogue
discussing the virtues of Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater. Countless gif threads from Jake, Myles, Tim,
and JR have filled our minds with endless possibilities for what our offense
can become.
Gif thread @dalvincook vs NC. Best w/ counters and sweeps but shows adequate power, good vision and explosive bursts. #Vikings #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/9UzmQyxQbr— Jake Anderson (@nfldrafttalker) May 1, 2017
It’s fun to
fantasize about a high-powered Vikings offense, but the reality is Mike
Zimmer’s defense is the engine that will power our team’s success. Zimmer’s recent comments reinforce the notion
that our philosophy is anchored to the strength of his defense.
#Vikings coach Mike Zimmer: “What we’re trying to do is score 21 points however we can do it.''— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) May 20, 2017
Zimmer inherited
the 32nd ranked defense for points allowed when he became head coach in 2014. In year one of the Zimmer rebuild, the
defense improved to 11th followed by 5th and 6th
place finishes in 2015 and 2016. In the
past two season, the Vikings defense have held opponents under 310 total points
scored (302 – 2015; 307 – 2016).
Since 1997, 14
defenses have extended streaks of holding opponents under 310 points beyond two
seasons. The expectation for most fans
is the Vikings streak will continue and the defense will continue to improve. This optimism is backed by the steady points
per drive improvement during the Zimmer era.
In 2014, Minnesota’s defense ranked 18th (1.92) and improved
steadily during Zimmer tenure posting finishes of 12th in 2015
(1.77) and 7th in 2016 (1.72).
Football Outsiders Defense-adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA) metric shows
a similar trend with Minnesota going from 23rd to 14th to
9th across the past three seasons.
The progression
of the Zim Reapers (copyright pending Saxy Prince Ent.) will be a fascinating
storyline heading into 2017. Will the
Vikings be the 15th team to extend its streak of holding opponents under
310 points to three seasons? Will the positive
trends in points per drive and DVOA continue?
Will the Minnesota’s defense become an elite or historic unit? Will replacing Captain Munnerlyn be
seamless? Will the depth hold up if key
players miss time? Are the front seven reinforcements enough to account for our lack of proven commodities in the secondary?
During this
offseason, we’ll undoubtedly spend countless hours debating who should be QB1
but maybe it’s time to turn our attention to who will be CB4.
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