Vikings Players Questioning Decisions Of Coaches

Dec 23, 2012; Houston, TX, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Alan Williams coaches against the Houston Texans during the fourth quarter at Reliant Stadium. The Vikings won 23-6. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sports

Whenever a team is losing, the fault always falls on someone.  This week, the Vikings locker room has been pointing fingers at the team’s offensive and defensive coordinators.

The decision was made late in the game against the Dallas Cowboys to stop sending extra pass rushers against Tony Romo and drop more players into coverage.  The secondary was a makeshift one, at best.  While injuries have decimated the team, moving away from what was working did not sit well with many of the players.  Defensive end Brian Robison was quite public about his dismay in the play calling and what it revealed.

"Sep 22, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive end Brian Robison (96) celebrates a sack during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Browns defeated the Vikings 31-27. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports“We were putting heat on him the whole day. We had (three) sacks today. That’s a pretty dang good day and then all of a sudden we get a drive, we’re going to rush three guys and we don’t get to him. You’ve got five guys to block three. It says a lot of things. It says obviously when we rush four, we’re pretty dang good. We can be pretty dang good, especially when we rush four against five,” he said. “I like the odds of that in our favor every week. I feel like when we’re in a rhythm, and guys are dropping out, (it) kind of takes it out of that.”"

Kevin Williams showed some disappointment in the defensive strategy as well in his post game talk.

"Sep 28, 2013; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams (93) at the NFL on Regent Street block party in advance of the NFL International Series game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Vikings. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports“From that standpoint, it’s kind of terrible when you’re trying to stop him,” Williams said. “I know they were in empty and were going to throw it quick and all, but if we can make him hold it one second, we can hopefully get that."

Even head coach Leslie Frazier got a little jab in on Alan Williams.  Frazier had been working with Williams earlier in the week and there had been some speculation as to whether or not Frazier had taken over control of defensive play calling duties.

"Oct 27, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier looks on during the fourth quarter against the Green Bay Packers at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Packers defeated the Vikings 44-31. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports“I just tried to do whatever I could to help us play better than we have been playing,” said Frazier. “No, not taking over. Making suggestions about this here and there,” he said."

It’s never a good sign when the players don’t believe in the job that the coordinators are doing.  When you have players on the defense who are just “following orders”.  The team has to buy into the scheme and feel that they are a part of it.  This is all part of a much larger problem on this team on the defensive side of the ball.

It’s anyone’s guess if Alan Williams (or the Tampa 2 defense) will be around next season for the Vikings.