The Vikings’ 2021 season has raised plenty of concerns so far. And the team’s play style has been one of the biggest.
Way too often, the Vikings play a style of football that lends itself to being overly conservative. Mike Zimmer tends to coach a style akin to the early 1990s — run the football and play stout defense.
That strategy makes it harder to put opposing teams away. It epitomizes the “defense wins championships” mantra. But what championships do the Zimmer-era Vikings have to show for this approach?
Yes, you still need to play good defense, but the offense is what will take you to the promised land. Zimmer, however, hasn’t evolved and it is evident by the way his team plays.
So just how conservative is Zimmer?
The Vikings lined up to punt 6 times today (1 punt was negated by a roughing penalty).
On all 6 punts, the statistical advantage would have been to go for it each time per @ben_bot_baldwin.
Not just once. All 6.
— PowerTrip $BETZ (@PowerTripBets) September 20, 2021
In context, the Vikings probably still should have punted in three of the six situations, but the trend is alarming. Consistently punting on the road with the opposing offense dominating your defense is alarming.
Let’s take a deeper look:
