The Minnesota Vikings offense is in a different spot now than it was to start the season. They were explosive in their first four games, averaging 29 points per game. In their last three, they are down five points per game in averaging 24.
What has changed for the Vikings? It's been evident that they haven't been quite as effective on offense that they were in their first four games by both the eye test and the advanced metrics.
Justin Jefferson unveils what changed for Vikings' offense
What has changed about the Vikings' offense over the last few weeks? According to Justin Jefferson via ESPN's Kevin Seifert, head coach Kevin O'Connell has "kind ofdialed it down for us"
"We're just going out there and justplaying, not really focusing on too much of the concepts and more focusing on the players that we have out there on the field, and our ability to get open against any coverage. And that's kind of something we're tryijng to maintain and keep consistent.
"It doesn't have to be something that we draw up the best play that you've ever had. It's all about just going out there and executing -- our men versus their men and being the ones to come out on top. That's what I mean at that. I feel like this game he is going to let us just go out there and play."
This quote from Jefferson is kinda worrisome. Trying to read between the lines here, it seems that O'Connell just relying on the players to win matchups over scheming them open. There is going to be some missing context because scheme is always going to be important, especially since Jefferson's comments might be focusing a little too much on the skill of the players and not conveying how much scheme they are actually utilizing.
The reality is likely that they have shrunk the playbook a little bit and focused, as Jefferson said, on putting players in positions to win matchups. With the skillset on the outside like Jefferson and Jordan Addison, that is a very viable strategy. However, having a play caller like O'Connell gives them a major advantage because of his ability to scheme and make things easier for his offense.
Their lives will be much easier with the return of T.J. Hockenson on Sunday night, especially with spacing, as he will dominate up up the middle while Addison and Jefferson win their matchups on the outside.
How much will that be impacted by O'Connell shifting to focus on a more "fast break" style approach that we opined about earlier this week? Sunday will tell us a lot.
