Winning battles near the goal lines is a focus for Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings are looking to improve their play both offensively and defensively when they are near the goal lines during the 2017 NFL season.

Last season was a tough one for the Minnesota Vikings. Almost nothing went as planned for the team, as many unplanned factors contributed to the team missing the playoffs after winning the NFC North the year before.

The team has their hands full looking forward to the 2017 season. The front office and coaching staff are hard at work trying to plan how to bring the team back to the postseason, and one of those areas was discussed on Vikings.com.

Minnesota had problems near the goal lines in 2016. Whether it was punching in a short touchdown run or keeping the opponents out, the 5 yards on each side of the field in front of the end zone became a struggle.

Head coach Mike Zimmer talked about that struggle recently.

"“Inside the 5-yard line on both sides of the ball was not very good. We need to do a better job there,” Zimmer said during an interview with Vikings.com’s Mike Wobschall. “Obviously, getting more points offensively. I believe that’s going to start with No. 1, the run game, and No. 2, protecting the quarterback.”"

More from The Viking Age

• 6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings history
• Former Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC North
• Bears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take
• 6 Vikings who (maybe) won’t make the 53-man roster in 2023
• Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022

The run game is going to be the big start. Last season, Minnesota started off with an embarrassing rushing attack that thankfully improved toward the end of the season.

Fullback Zach Line preached discipline, organization, and toughness as the keys to making things right offensively.

"“You’ve got to do your job and then win. It’s not just who is the toughest at the goal line,” Line said. “It’s toughness, but you can’t swing and err. We had some of that at the goal line. Then, penalties on the goal line killed us because we’re moving back 5 yards, and we’re getting back into a harder offense with us on a short field.”"

Since Mike Zimmer is a defensive coach, his mind always comes back to stopping the opponents. He discussed the importance of stopping a team from executing on offense and maximizing their opportunities to score off those plays.

"“You get down there, and if you stop them, your (win) percentage is going to go through the roof. And offensively, we were down at the 1-yard line several times this past year and didn’t get in. Zimmer said. “We need to score more points, and that’s part of it, but when we’re in the red zone we need to convert,”"

Next: Vikings doing studies on drafting OL

This will be a challenging offseason for the Minnesota Vikings. If the team can make some moves to improve the offensive line, stay healthy, and keep some of the talented wide receivers around, expectations could be very high going into the 2017 NFL season.