Trust the process. That’s the message from Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, who said Wednesday that his vision and plan will work but it might require tighter coverage.
“I think it’s really more execution, just getting tighter,” Donatell said.
Riding a franchise worst streak of five games being bludgeoned by 400+ yards of total offense by the opponent, Donatell appeared calm when asked Wednesday if he’s planning to blitz more frequently or attack with more than four rushers to help alleviate his ailing defense.
“We like our four-man rush and they have been so close so many times. We get a lot of hurries from this group. And it’s just that extra little thing if you can hold the coverage just a little bit longer a lot of those rushes will work with four,” said Donatell.
Donatell doesn’t seem panicked, even though the numbers say the Vikings have zero chance to contend for a Super Bowl with a passing defense that ranks dead last in yards allowed, dead last in passing yards allowed and 25th in points surrendered.
In a way, Donatell is embracing the suck.
“This is a part that you want to embrace as a coach. Looking at people and how do you bring them together to work out of this. This will be good for everybody in here to see because we’ll work out of this. There’s no question that we’ll come out of this.”
Donatell was adamant about the defensive “vision” and knowing what it looks like, expressing confidence that his plan will “shut it down” the way some of the great defenses in Vikings history have.
“That’s what we’re working for, that’s what the vision is. What do you do when you don’t have it? Heck, you’ve gotta roll your sleeves up and get to work. That’s what we’re doing. Do it in harmony and do it together, bring everybody’s energy. That’s what you do. I can’t guarantee it in five days, six days, seven days, but eventually we’ll be there because we know what we’re doing and we’ll do it,” he said.
Donatell is calling plays as a defensive coordinator for the first time since he was the DC in Washington in 2008.
Is it a personnel thing holding the Vikings back or is it Donatell’s scheme? This isn’t Donatell’s first rodeo. He was Denver’s defensive coordinator from 2019 to 2021, though Vic Fangio was head coach and calling the plays. Earlier this week, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said he’s not planning to take play-calling away from Donatell.
Playing off-coverage has killed the Vikings during their five-game defensive slide, which also coincides with a big drop off in pressuring quarterbacks. The Vikings had 25 sacks after going 7-1 in their first eight games and have totaled just six sacks in the past five games.
The lack of pass rush may have been what led to Donatell being fired as defensive coordinator of the Packers in 2004. That and that ’03-’04 Green Bay defense giving up a first down on a 4th-and-26 play in the playoffs that ultimately led to a loss to the Eagles. Here’s the quote from the 2004 ESPN story when Donatell was fired:
The decline in overall standing, and perhaps the lack of a pass rush from the front four that forced the team to blitz more, probably contributed to Donatell’s dismissal. But the play that ultimately will be perceived as having led to his demise will be the fourth-and-26 conversion by the Eagles with just over a minute remaining in Sunday’s defeat.
Is it a talent problem for this year’s Vikings? Let’s look at what Donatell had to work with in Denver the past three seasons based on Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades.
In 2019 the Broncos had two of the best safeties in the NFL in Justin Simmons and Kareem Jackson, who ranked second and seventh, respectively, among safeties, according to PFF. They also had a top-20 corner in Chris Harris Jr. That defense also had two top-20 linebackers (Alexander Johnson and Todd Davis), Von Miller rushing from the edge and a top-15 defensive tackle (Shelby Harris).
In 2020 the Broncos again had two top-10 safeties, PFF’s No. 3-rated cornerback (Bryce Callahan), a top-20 defensive end in Bradley Chubb and a pair of highly-rated linebackers but they still got smoked to the tune of 27.9 points per game.
In 2021 the Broncos had Justin Simmons and Patrick Surtain II in the secondary, but they were literally the only players on defense that rated in the top 30 of their positions in PFF’s rankings. But that defense put up better numbers than the 2020 team. Go figure, right?
Sticking with the theme, the 2022 Vikings have two top-20 interior linemen (Dalvin Tomlinson and Harrison Phillips), the 8th and 11th-ranked edge rushers (Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith) and the seventh-ranked cornerback (Patrick Peterson). Harrison Smith gets a ton of respect but he and Cam Bynum rank 35 and lower on PFF’s safety grades.
So what’s the problem? The scheme worked two of three years in Denver. Is the bend-don’t-break scheme simply a giant risk because it requires elite red-zone defense?
The Vikings are allowing a touchdown on 58.9% of opponent trips inside the red zone. That ranks 22nd in the NFL. The 2021 Broncos had the second-best red-zone defense in the league, while the 2020 and 2019 Bronco defenses both ranked No. 1.
No answer there. No answer anywhere. The only thing we can say for sure is that Donatell trusts the scheme and it’s a race to make it work in time for the playoffs.
