Photo Credit: Kyle Hansen
Almost as casually as he might announce his breakfast choice that morning, Mike Zimmer broke a double dose of bad news at Winter Park Wednesday afternoon.
Matt Kalil to the IR, his season likely done.
Adrian Peterson to get surgery, his season possibly over as well.
Both bits of news provide hurtful blows to the offense, which has arguably lost three of its four most important pieces in the last month: its franchise quarterback, its future Hall of Fame running back and, for all his missteps, the man protecting the quarterback’s blind side at left tackle.
Better put Stefon Diggs in bubble wrap.
Every NFL team deals with the injury bug, though in the Vikings’ case it seems more like the debilitating virus. Their depth for the remaining 14 games will be put to the test. At running back, there are reinforcements readily available with the speedy Jerick McKinnon and the brawny Matt Asiata, as well as new signee Ronnie Hillman, who torched the Vikings for a 72-yard touchdown in Week 4 of last season. But at left tackle, the Vikings will be forced to rely on T.J. Clemmings, who was a turnstile at right tackle last season. Beyond Clemmings, Minnesota would have to lean on Jeremiah Sirles, who’s barely sniffed the field in his career, as the next backup.
This is where the Vikings’ ‘next man up’ mantra will be put to the test.
“I think if you go back last year and look at the things that happened,” said Zimmer, “you know we’re not the type of team that’s going to sit back and cry about what’s happening. We’re going to go forward and try to find a way.”
Last year, the Vikings also dealt with offensive line difficulties as two veterans no longer with the team – Phil Loadholt and John Sullivan – missed the entire season. Some might say, though, that the Vikings reached the playoffs in spite of their patchwork offensive line.
Minnesota also played a stretch last year without safety Harrison Smith, linebacker Anthony Barr and nose tackle Linval Joseph. Even with those absences, they nearly beat the Arizona Cardinals on a Thursday night as double-digit underdogs. Then they returned home and soundly thumped the Chicago Bears 38-14.
The present predicament requires another rip-roaring coaching job from Zimmer as he tries to rally the troops, and not just for a handful of weeks but perhaps the rest of the season, while the Vikings played undermanned.
New quarterback Sam Bradford didn’t get much help from the run game in his Vikings debut, but the presence of Peterson has always been a helpful diversion, at minimum. That threat is now gone. “Obviously, when Adrian’s in the game, everyone’s loading the box, trying to stop the run, which gives us a lot of one-on-one matchups on the outside,” said Bradford on Wednesday. “It also makes our play action pretty effective. When they see him coming down hill, everyone’s stepping up to stop the run.”
On one hand, the Vikings are 2-0 with a run game that’s provided next to nothing. On the other hand, the increased emphasis on the pass will only get tougher sans the starting left tackle. While Kalil’s play had been underwhelming in the early season, Clemmings may still represent in drop in performance as he adjusts to a position he’s yet to play in a meaningful NFL game. On the right side, he was the fourth-worst pass blocker in the league last year, according to Pro Football Focus. Fellow lineman, Alex Boone, voiced his support for Clemmings, his new partner on the left side. “He’s long, got great strength, he’s strong, he’s smart, he’s an overall great tackle,” Boone said. “People can say what they want, but he’s going to fit in just fine.”
If there’s anything for the Vikings to be encouraged about, it’s that their identity – the defense – is still intact and as fierce as ever. Dating back to last season, they’ve allowed no more than 17 points in six consecutive games. In that same span, they’ve tallied four defensive touchdowns, including two in the 2016 opener.
With virtually the entire defense back from last season, the Vikings seem to be morphing into the monster that Zimmer always envisioned. And if they continue at this clip, even an offense stripped bare of its greatest weapons won’t be able to play itself out of games. “I’d like to win some 3-0 kind of games,” said defensive end Brian Robison, “shut out some guys.”
When the defense was missing some pieces late last season, the offense picked up the pace and averaged 32 points per game over the final quarter of the season. Now it’s the defense’s opportunity to return the favor. “It’s been a tough couple weeks for us as far as key guys going down,” Robison said, “but the thing that’s great about this team is we’re still hungry to get what we’re gonna get. We have guys that have bought into this system, bought into everything that we’ve got going on here.”
Minnesota gets no free passes. They’ll head to Carolina to face the defending NFC Champions on Sunday; underdogs by roughly a full touchdown.
Zimmer has always enjoyed using doubt from outside Winter Park’s walls as motivation within them. With these two latest setbacks, he’ll have plenty of ammo. “I don’t think many people think we can win this game,” said Zimmer. “I don’t think many people thought we could win the last game.”