Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Cohen botched the exchange and the play went for a loss. But the unusual personnel grouping, exotic formation and creative play design is just one example of what the Vikings are expecting from this Matt Nagy-designed and Andy Reid-inspired offense.
“Offensively, they give you a lot of fits with a lot of the things they do,” Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer explained on Wednesday. “Try to misguide your eyes, so we’re going to have to play really, really well on the road to beat them.”
Nagy is a disciple of Andy Reid, having spent two seasons on Reid’s staff in Philadelphia (2011-12) and five on his staff in Kansas City (2013-17). Currently, Reid has perhaps the NFL’s most explosive offense and the use of exotic formations, motion and smooth quarterback ball handling is a staple of the Chiefs offense. Nagy has carried that with him to the job in Chicago, and he’s done so gracefully and effectively.
The challenge for the Vikings defense this week was to catalog the varying personnel groupings, formations and plays, then design defensive concepts to neutralize or at least slow down the production. A big part of this effort for the Vikings has been the training and trusting of the eyes.
“That’s a very important part, and that’s one thing that we’re stressing to our players. There’s a lot of motion, a lot of shifts, a lot of rockets, a lot of go’s, so those things try to really preoccupy the eyes pre-snap,” Vikings Defensive Coordinator George Edwards said. “That’s been something that’s been a league trend over the last couple of years, and we’ve done our due diligence to work on what we need to get done in those situations in the offseason, carrying over to the preseason and in the first couple of ball games.
“We’ve definitely got to carry that to the game and be disciplined with our eyes and our assignments and our alignments.”
Having starting linebacker Anthony Barr back in the fold is significant for the Vikings this week because he knows the Vikings defense inside and out and is also the one who relays the play call and commands of Zimmer to the rest of the defense before every play. Barr and the rest of his defensive teammates will have a tall task on Sunday as they look to contain a Bears offense that features a young quarterback who continually shows progress and is well supported by a cast of athletic and explosive athletes at the skill positions, such as the aforementioned running backs as well former Vikings playmaker Cordarrelle Patterson and veteran receiver Allen Robinson.