Minnesota Vikings game plan issues ‘blown out of proportion’
By Adam Carlson
Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer says the alleged issues of player insubordination in week 16 are being ‘blown out of proportion.’
Yesterday, The Viking Age drew attention to an article on the website of The Star Tribune discussing the Minnesota Vikings tactics when covering Jordy Nelson of the Green Bay Packers in week 16 of the 2016 season.
The article contained a quote from cornerback Xavier Rhodes about how the team went about this game just like the others they have played and stayed on their side of the field instead of having Rhodes shadow the star Packers receiver for the first half of play.
The reporting of this story, as well as claims on many sites of a mutiny against head coach Mike Zimmer or problems in the organization has drawn the attention of those close to the team, including cornerback Xavier Rhodes, who took to Twitter in disbelief.
Of course, it is never good to jump to conclusions about stories like this. While it is hard not to wonder what caused this situation in the Vikings secondary, it will be interesting to see what happens with the team going forward.
In fact, there has already been a report from ESPN.com that the team only used their technique for only one series compared to an entire half of play and cited a ‘well-placed Vikings source’ that relayed that information to the usually very reliable Adam Schefter.
According to the piece from ESPN, the Vikings strategy was for Rhodes to follow Nelson around the field except for when the Green Bay pass catcher lined up in the slot. Mike Zimmer had little to say about the reports, except that they are being “blown out of proportion.”
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The speculation on this situation has fans of the Minnesota Vikings thinking the absolute worst, but odds are there was likely some miscommunication along the way between the team and coaches, especially since the players and coaches missed their strategy meeting the night before the game due to problems with their plane.