How to Field an Ineffective Offense

[Mothman]

I'm going to go through the Vikes/TB game quarter by quarter and see what happened on each play in an effort to get a clear picture of why the offense was largely ineffective. I did the first quarter over lunch. I'll get to the others as I can. I hope this is enlightening for all of us!

1ST QUARTER

1st possession
1-10-MIN 20 Ponder fakes handoff, faces immediate, unblocked pressure from Bennett. Rudolph releases him, Loadholt blocks inside. Nowhere to go with the ball. Ponder throws it away.
2-10-MIN 20 Peterson makes a nice run up the middle for 8 yards. Well-blocked.
3-2-MN 28 Ponder misses an easy throw to Harvin on a bubble screen that had very little chance of success (Barber had a bead on him and was coming in fast). Bad throw, arguably an overly predictable call by Musgrave.

2nd possession
1-10-MIN 33 Peterson runs for 5 yards off tackle. Nice blocking by the left side of the line.
2-5-MIN 38 Ponder throws down sideline for Simpson, who cuts off his fade route after the ball is in the air. We've discussed this in detail elsewhere. Miscommunication leads to an incompletion.
3-5-MN 38 Barber blitzes threw the hole between Kalil and Johnson, untouched. He's followed by #54, through the same hole, also unblocked. As Mayock said on the broadcast, it was a pass protection bust. Ponder had no chance. He threw it away.

3rd possession
1-10-MIN 20 Peterson runs for 4. Good solid play on the left side.
2-6-MN 24 handoff to Harvin, who goes nowhere. Sullivan misses his block on DT Miller, who gets across Sullivan's body and tackles Harvin for a loss.
3-7-MIN 23 Loadholt commits a false start penalty.
3-12-MN 18 Ponder drops, rolls to buy time, throws an incomplete pass toward Jenkins, who is covered at the 20, well short of the first down anyway. Mayock said nobody was open on the play and then they illustrated that on the broadcast.

4th possession
1-10-MIN 20 Peterson runs left for 11 yards, through a HUGE hole created on the left side of the line.
1-10 -MN 31 Peterson runs for 11 more yards. this time he went up the middle, through another big hole created by the o-line and FB Felton.
1-10-MN 42 Harvin goes in motion, comes behind Peterson in the backfield. Ponder fakes a handoff to Peterson, who sets up to block #31 coming into the backfield. Ponder then looks downfield to his right and immediately takes off through a gap up the middle. Unfortunately, #31 recognizes this before AD can get a piece of him and brings Ponder down for a 1 yard gain. Ponder was looking for Simpson down the right sideline but TB had the route read and covered.
2-9-MN 43 Ponder throws a quick slant to Simpson on the left. The pass is high but caught. Simpson breaks a tackle but the gets caught up in a crowd. Barber punches the ball loose. TB recovers.

There you have it!
— The first possession was killed by a bad throw on a doomed play.
— The second ended when two Vikes linemen completely whiffed on two blitzers.
— The third was sabotaged by a loss of yards on second down, a false start and a 3rd and long play with nobody open.
— The 4th was finished by a fumble.

There's plenty of blame to go around in that quarter. The second quarter is up next!

[J. Kapp 11]

Well, I was at the game, expecting much better of the Vikings.

Basically, what I saw (from some very good seats) was pressure up the middle on virtually every pass play that wasn't a quick release. I don't know if it's Sullivan, the guards, or all three, but there was rarely what you would call a real pocket.

I also saw an offensive coordinator who, in my opinion, out-thought himself. From the beginning of this game, it was clear to me and everyone else in the building that Tampa Bay had no consistent answer for Adrian Peterson. Yet they just wouldn't feed him the ball consistently. He is most obviously all the way back, as his 64-yard burst proved. He had an incredible bounce about him. Yet he carried only 13 times. When it became obvious that Tampa had no answer, Adrian should have been fed the rock. I'm talking, of course, about the first half, when the game was still close enough to warrant running the ball.

The other issue -- admittedly not about offense -- was that the defense was absolutely horrific on third down. Didn't matter the distance. On Tampa Bay's final scoring drive, they converted five consecutive times on third down (including the touchdown). Most of them came on third and more than five. The margin was two scores at that point. We still had a chance, but they couldn't get off the field. What on earth has happened to our defense?

[Texas Vike]

What on earth has happened to our defense?

That is the question to ask. Many fans have been focused on the offensive woes, but our D has allowed 38, 14 and 36 points the last three games.

[Mothman]

Well, I was at the game, expecting much better of the Vikings.

Basically, what I saw (from some very good seats) was pressure up the middle on virtually every pass play that wasn't a quick release. I don't know if it's Sullivan, the guards, or all three, but there was rarely what you would call a real pocket.

I saw the same problem last week against Arizona.

I also saw an offensive coordinator who, in my opinion, out-thought himself. From the beginning of this game, it was clear to me and everyone else in the building that Tampa Bay had no consistent answer for Adrian Peterson. Yet they just wouldn't feed him the ball consistently. He is most obviously all the way back, as his 64-yard burst proved. He had an incredible bounce about him. Yet he carried only 13 times. When it became obvious that Tampa had no answer, Adrian should have been fed the rock. I'm talking, of course, about the first half, when the game was still close enough to warrant running the ball.

I think he had 15 carries but either way, that wasn't enough. As you said, it was apparent right from the start that the Bucs had no answer for Peterson. I was practically begging the Vikes to feed him the ball but you're right, Musgrave out-thought himself, trying to get something else going instead of making TB stop a running game that was hammering them early in the game.

The other issue -- admittedly not about offense -- was that the defense was absolutely horrific on third down. Didn't matter the distance. On Tampa Bay's final scoring drive, they converted five consecutive times on third down (including the touchdown). Most of them came on third and more than five. The margin was two scores at that point. We still had a chance, but they couldn't get off the field. What on earth has happened to our defense?

I don't know. They're suddenly tackling very poorly. The past two weeks, they've sold out to take away outside receiving threats and as a consequence, suffered in the running game. They seem to be pressing and Frazier said they lost gap discipline in the first half against the Bucs.

[PurpleKoolaid]

JA doesnt even have time to take his helmet off, spray some water on his face, have a drink of gatoraid and sit down before mr happy feet has screwed up and JA is heading off to the field again.

[Hunter Morrow]

Any other team with a superstar RB and a second string caliber sophomore QB would give Peterson the ball 35 to 35 times a game and move heave and earth to keep him in on 3rd down. Instead we play him about 2/3 of the time and give him about 15 touches a game. We pay what, 11 million a game for him? Make him sing for his supper!

[losperros]

I also saw an offensive coordinator who, in my opinion, out-thought himself. From the beginning of this game, it was clear to me and everyone else in the building that Tampa Bay had no consistent answer for Adrian Peterson. Yet they just wouldn't feed him the ball consistently. He is most obviously all the way back, as his 64-yard burst proved. He had an incredible bounce about him. Yet he carried only 13 times. When it became obvious that Tampa had no answer, Adrian should have been fed the rock. I'm talking, of course, about the first half, when the game was still close enough to warrant running the ball.

I couldn't possibly agree more. Not only am I convinced that AD was underused but I'm beginning to think that Musgrave might actually be giving into public pressure. The fans and some of the media have been calling for the Vikings to throw the ball more often, particularly down field. I'm not saying that the passing game shouldn't be better, because it certainly needs to be, but if the offense is moving with AD on the front burner then don't mess with success.

This is not a Culpepper to Moss and Carter offense. It's Peterson and Harvin now, and both those guys are studs. Jerome Simpson can be used more thoughtfully too. Sending Simpson out on fades that all look the same isn't going to cut it either.

The other issue -- admittedly not about offense -- was that the defense was absolutely horrific on third down. Didn't matter the distance. On Tampa Bay's final scoring drive, they converted five consecutive times on third down (including the touchdown). Most of them came on third and more than five. The margin was two scores at that point. We still had a chance, but they couldn't get off the field. What on earth has happened to our defense?

I think the D has been showing signs of poor mechanics, such as bad tackling, for a while now. I have no idea what happened to them. They started out looking as if they were truly a recharged unit earlier this season.

[J. Kapp 11]

I couldn't possibly agree more. Not only am I convinced that AD was underused but I'm beginning to think that Musgrave might actually be giving into public pressure. The fans and some of the media have been calling for the Vikings to throw the ball more often, particularly down field. I'm not saying that the passing game shouldn't be better, because it certainly needs to be, but if the offense is moving with AD on the front burner then don't mess with success.

The other thing that feeding Peterson does is open up the possibilities for Simpson down the field on play-action passes. Get those safeties sucking in toward the LOS, and you have a chance to get Simpson one-on-one. Tampa couldn't cover him one-on-one ... Ponder missed him a couple of times, and he caught one plus drew a P.I.

[Texas Vike]

There's only so many 3 and outs you can take, and turnovers on your own side of the field

I hear you, but if the D gives up 36 or 38 I take it as a given that we'll lose. Our O looked decent in those 5 wins, but not explosive enough to put up 40 plus points. That was my point.

[dead_poet]

I agree wholeheartedly about just giving the ball to AD in this one. But I'm 99% sure Musgrave saw the stacked boxes and figured they could exploit a team practically begging them to pass. While it's a good thing that he had the confidence in putting the ball in Ponder's hands, there should've been a point where he recognized even stacked fronts weren't any match for AD's carries that seemed to always net at least 3-4 yards a clip and he was playing away from our biggest strength (and what was clearly working FAR more than Ponder in this one). The winning recipe in this and most of our games should probably be in the Texans/49ers mold with Ponder being the game-manager and Peterson (with some Gerhart sprinkled in) being the focal point. Of course, before the game many thought that due to Tampa's supposedly stout run defense and abysmal pass defense the prudent thing in this one would be to attack their weakness. Problem is, that's also ours.

[Mothman]

I agree wholeheartedly about just giving the ball to AD in this one. But I'm 99% sure Musgrave saw the stacked boxes and figured they could exploit a team practically begging them to pass. While it's a good thing that he had the confidence in putting the ball in Ponder's hands, there should've been a point where he recognized even stacked fronts weren't any match for AD's carries that seemed to always net at least 3-4 yards a clip and he was playing away from our biggest strength (and what was clearly working FAR more than Ponder in this one). The winning recipe in this and most of our games should probably be in the Texans/49ers mold with Ponder being the game-manager and Peterson (with some Gerhart sprinkled in) being the focal point. Of course, before the game many thought that due to Tampa's supposedly stout run defense and abysmal pass defense the prudent thing in this one would be to attack their weakness. Problem is, that's also ours.

Your last few points are excellent. I think this is a case where it's easy for us to criticize the game plan in retrospect but it's also easy to see what Musgrave was trying to do. I definitely think he should have stuck with AD more, especially when he saw that the passing game wasn't working and the running game was kicking ####. However, it's easy to understand why he wanted to attack TB's defense through the air too. There's no way he could know his line would struggle right out of the gate, or that Ponder and his receivers would be so out of sync early. He had the right idea calling for play action after 2 consecutive 11 yard runs by Peterson but Simpson wasn't open.

What stands out to me most in that first quarter is the lack of execution across the board. In just the first 4 series we saw multiple missed blocks that ruined plays, 2 cases where QB and receiver weren't on the same page, a false start, a 3rd down play with nobody open and a turnover. Thus the name of this thread...

It will be interesting to see what that list looks like over the other 3 quarters.

[J. Kapp 11]

I don't know what it looked like on TV, but live, it was obvious that Adrian was on another level. It honestly didn't matter what Tampa Bay did ... eight in the box, whatever. This was the best Adrian has looked in a couple of years. A number of us in our section were commenting that it was only a matter of time for him to break one, that this was the night. And sure enough, he did.

If my amateur eyes can see it, then Musgrave's professional eyes should have. Their guy (Martin) ran for over 100 yards in the first half. They wore our defense out. That's what we should have done to them. We have the best running back in football.

[CalVike]

I also saw an offensive coordinator who, in my opinion, out-thought himself. From the beginning of this game, it was clear to me and everyone else in the building that Tampa Bay had no consistent answer for Adrian Peterson. Yet they just wouldn't feed him the ball consistently. He is most obviously all the way back, as his 64-yard burst proved. ... I couldn't possibly agree more.

Oh good, another thread about this. I could not disagree more. The Vikes trailed 10-0 after one, 20-10 after two, 30-17 after three, and 36-17 after four. This is not the game where the "let's run AD more" theory holds water. The two first half fumbles, one by the man himself, killed it.

Close games where the team does not turnover might be won with such a myopic, predictable, downright boring approach to NFL offense. Thursday was not such a night. The team failed to execute on every level. Musgrave did not call complex pass plays. He just thought his O-Line could block and his star RB might pick up a blitz, oh, let's say ever. Let's hope next week they pick it up on every level!

Dave

Go Vikes!

[losperros]

Oh good, another thread about this. I could not disagree more. The Vikes trailed 10-0 after one, 20-10 after two, 30-17 after three, and 36-17 after four. This is not the game where the "let's run AD more" theory holds water. The two first half fumbles, one by the man himself, killed it.

Close games where the team does not turnover might be won with such a myopic, predictable, downright boring approach to NFL offense. Thursday was not such a night. The team failed to execute on every level. Musgrave did not call complex pass plays. He just thought his O-Line could block and his star RB might pick up a blitz, oh, let's say ever. Let's hope next week they pick it up on every level!

I'm not understanding what's stressing you. The best thing about the offense was Adrian Peterson's performance. The worst part was the horrid job passing by the offense. But if I'm understanding you correctly, you think running AD more often would have been a "myopic, predictable, downright boring" approach to the game. What would you have done during a game when Ponder was playing his worst football? Aired it out more?

The execution on every level was bad, save for Peterson's unrelenting efforts. Yes, he fumbled once. He also ran for 153 yards and a TD. His running was all that was working.

[J. Kapp 11]

Oh good, another thread about this. I could not disagree more. The Vikes trailed 10-0 after one, 20-10 after two, 30-17 after three, and 36-17 after four. This is not the game where the "let's run AD more" theory holds water. The two first half fumbles, one by the man himself, killed it.

Close games where the team does not turnover might be won with such a myopic, predictable, downright boring approach to NFL offense. Thursday was not such a night. The team failed to execute on every level. Musgrave did not call complex pass plays. He just thought his O-Line could block and his star RB might pick up a blitz, oh, let's say ever. Let's hope next week they pick it up on every level!

Dave

Go Vikes!

WTF are you talking about? Nobody said anything about running when the Vikings were down in the second half. And sorry, but who gives a sh!t whether you're bored?

The point, which you have completely missed, is this ... from the get-go, it was obvious that Peterson was not going to be stopped consistently. If we had gone to him early, instead of stubbornly trying to show that Christian Ponder can carry the team, the entire tenor of the game may well have changed. Tampa Bay didn't exactly start like a house afire on offense. If we could have strung together some first downs early, this might have been a different game.

Frankly, I'm tired of this "the NFL is a passing league" argument. A team has to do what it does well, and it's pretty obvious that the Vikings aren't built to throw 50 times a game. The best running back in the game was on fire, yet THEIR rookie running back was the one with 100 yards at the half. Funny, but I don't see you criticizing Tampa Bay for running the ball.