Patriots 2014 Opponents, 5 First Impressions of the Minnesota Vikings
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Adrian Peterson remains the gold standard for running backs in the NFL and will provide a tough matchup for New England. (USA Today photo)[/caption]
The New England Patriots go on the road for the second consecutive week to open the 2014 NFL season to face the Minnesota Vikings. The Patriots were outplayed and outcoached in a second half meltdown that saw the Miami Dolphins score 23 unanswered points to take the opener 33-20.
Minnesota was very impressive in curb-stomping the St. Louis Rams 34-6 on the road giving new head coach Mike Zimmer a victory in his debut as the Vikes chief. Zimmer inherited a team that had been worst in the league in 2013 in points allowed and Sunday’s performance has the Minnesota faithful excited for the future.
Here are five first impressions of the Minnesota Vikings:
Zimmer Is Building A Defense Like Cincinnati: Zimmer after coming over from the Bengals to take the reins of a 5-10-1 team with the worst defense in terms of points allowed in 2013 has already revamped this unit.
Gone are the days where the pass rush consisted of Jared Allen off the edge and everyone else trying to contain. Zimmer has implemented the Cincy approach of mixing his fronts and bringing pressure from all points and overloading the offensive line.
Case in point on Sunday; the Vikings forced as many punts (6) as points allowed while registering 5 sacks from four different players (Everson Griffen had 2) with even safety Harrison Smith involved. Smith in the past languished deep in the Vikes Tampa 2, now he’s getting looks close to the line and will be brought as a blitzer.
Minnesota also got two interceptions and scored a touchdown on a pick-six as well as holding the Rams to just 4 for14 on third downs. After having a debacle in pass protection last week in Miami, New England can watch tape of last week’s Rams’ game as well as last year’s struggles in Cincinnati in preparing for what to expect.
Running Game Key for the Vikings: The Patriots were searching for answers after Miami gashed the Patriots rush defense in South Florida. Now they face arguably the best back in the NFL in Adrian Peterson and things don’t get any easier.
Peterson did all the heavy lifting for Minnesota last week against a very stout Rams front four rushing for 75 yards in 21 carries but remains a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball.
But the big news of last week was Minnesota’s decision to place WR Cordarrelle Patterson in the backfield. He carried three times for 102 yards including a highlight reel 67 yard touchdown where he broke numerous tackles on the way to the end zone.
Minnesota’s offensive line did a good job on negating a very tough Rams front four on Sunday and the Patriots will have to come up with a much better effort on Sunday.
Jennings Highlights Good Receiving Group: Minnesota has former Green Bay standout Greg Jennings at one wide receiver position and Patterson at the other. They are flanked by emerging tight end Kyle Rudolph as a nice trio in coordinator’s Norv Turner’s offense.
Jennings isn’t going to blow by many defenders as in the past but can still get open and move the chains as more of a possession receiver. Patterson is just scratching the surface in the passing game as Rudolph is becoming a go-to guy especially in the red zone.
And if Turner decides to he can try to get Peterson in space against linebackers, something the Patriots haven’t been great at the past few years. So while the Vikings aren’t throwing a ton of weapons at the opposition in the passing game, they have some very nice options to utilize.
Matt Cassel Hanging In As Starting QB: With the drafting of Teddy Bridgewater in the 2014 NFL Draft, many were writing the end for quarterback Matt Cassel who used to be Tom Brady’s backup in New England.
But Cassel has hung in there and quietly gone about his business and has developed good chemistry with Jennings, something that probably went a long way with the Vikes coaches to give him the starting nod over the much touted rookie.
Jennings minced few words in support of Cassel, stating the Pioneer Press, "Matt, obviously he's worked hard...He does a lot of outstanding things. He understands the game, and obviously he puts us in the best position to win is...the conclusion coaches have come to."
Cassel was efficient last week, not flashy but put up decent numbers against the Rams completing 17-25 for 170 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions for a QB rating of 113.8. After Week 1 he’s in the Top 5 for QB rating while his former teammate Brady languishes in the bottom five.
Last week Minnesota only attempted three passes longer than 10 yards out of respect for the St. Louis pass rush. Look for Cassel to stretch the field a bit more this week as New England doesn’t attack on defense like the Rams nor have the pieces to put him under a ton of pressure.
Milestone Days For the Vikes: A couple of records that could fall on Sunday in the Vikings first home game for 2014 include: Adrian Peterson needs 78 net yards to break Cris Carter’s record (12,410) for the most combined net yards in a career for a Viking.
Peterson also needs three touchdowns will move him past Randy Moss (93) for the second-most touchdowns in Vikings history. Cris Carter leads the franchise with 110 touchdowns. Greg Jennings’s next reception will be the 500th of his career.
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