The Vikings Can Beat an Eight Man Front
Since I'm paying out the nose for the NFL Network (which is simultaneously more and less palatable here in Chicago, since Comcast thought it'd be a good idea to put ESPN 2, ESPN Classic, and FSN/CSN on the same "special" -- read: "more expensive" -- Sports Tier, I figure I'd spend some time watching it. After just a couple of days of watching game film while trying desperately to ignore Brian Baldinger, What's-His-Name, and some metrosexual host with the kind of beard not even Eli Manning would envy, I've learned something that I think is vitally important.
How to beat an eight man defensive front.
This season, Adrian Peterson burst onto the scene and dominated for his first eight games. Then teams decided to try to stop him, forcing the Vikings to beat them through the air (which didn't happen). At first, I figured that the main thing the team needed to improve was the passing game; after all, if the defense puts eight guys in the box, all you have to do is pass over the top and punish them until they stop, at which point AD can run again.
I continued to get worried when one of the Vikings' defensive lineman, whose team had played against Peterson's Oklahoma in college, spoke up late in the season. He said that Peterson had ripped them for 200 yards the first time they played, but every subsequent time they just put 8 guys in the box and it successfully stopped the running game. Was it possible that Peterson simply can't beat an eight man front?
Well, now I've watched some tape. And I've seen how to beat such a defensive scheme without requiring a decent quarterback. (Although that would be preferable in the long run, of course.)
First, install a zone blocking scheme. The Vikings have already done this. Second, run off-tackle towards the left. At this point, the defense has two options: Crash down onto the offensive line as it moves left, or stay parallel to the line and attack.
If they crash, it creates an open cutback lane on the right side for the running back. He gets about 3-5 yards upfield before meeting one defender, either an outside linebacker or a defensive back, and if he beats that guy (either by running over or around him), he gets to run wild in the defensive secondary. Ladainian Tomlinson gets most of his 40 yard gains this way.
If they don't crash, the fact that the offensive line is moving to the left overloads the defense and blocks half of the defensive front away from the play. The running back continues to the left, breaking it outside once he gets to the line. A single downfield block by a wide receiver -- on a cornerback -- will spring a long run. Tomlinson does this too.
(My example has the offense running to the left. It works equally well if the play starts to the right.)
This scheme makes some assumptions. It assumes you have a good, athletic offensive line -- the Vikings' line is good, but unbalanced. McKinnie probably isn't athletic enough to pull to the right, while at the same time the right side of the line probably isn't good enough to run behind consistently. So the Vikings would have to run mostly to the left until and unless they upgrade the right side of the line. Secondly, it assumes you have a talented, smart running back, which the Vikings appear to have.
Finally, it assumes that the defense is in a somewhat base eight man front, rather than stacking the outside to prevent any off-tackle runs. However, I think it's pretty safe to make that assumption, because if they did that it'd be obvious immediately, and the quarterback should have the presence of mind to audible to a run up the middle, allowing the running back to run it right down the defense's throat, where they're weakest (in case they line up this way).
I'm stunned that a solution to the Vikings' problem is this simple -- I can't imagine that Childress and the offense don't watch enough tape to be able to come up with something like this. But I haven't seen the Vikings attempt very many off-tackle runs, and I'm well aware of Childress' inability (or unwillingness) to learn anything new or change the way he does things. So hopefully he gets an offensive coordinator who's not an idiot (and allows him to call the plays) so Peterson can take his rightful place in The 2000 Yard Club.
Posted by Sean Schulte at 2008-01-13 18:06:53
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