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In the aftermath of a 42-10 victory over Detroit on Sunday, Vikings coaches said players have begun to digest the finer points of the West Coast offense and embrace its previously hidden flexibilities.
“I think all the guys are getting more familiar with the little adjustments they can make,” offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. “They’re more comfortable with the wiggles they’re allowed within this system. The West Coast system is such a structured deal. It’s, ‘Be here’ and ‘Do this.’ But it still allows for the player to have a little bit of freedom in there, and I think all of the guys are starting to become more familiar and comfortable with one another in there.”
In their past eight games, the Vikings have scored 21 offensive touchdowns and surpassed 400 total yards four times. In their previous 20 games under Bevell and coach Brad Childress, they managed 400 yards only once and scored a total of 29 offensive touchdowns.
Childress’ scheme was roundly criticized during most of that span. Players cited his refusal to modify the scheme to match their skills, while outside observers noted how rigid it appeared in the face of changing game conditions.
Monday, Childress said it was critical to maintain certain pillars while installing the offense to a group of players who previously played in a more vertical and less structured offensive scheme. Now, however, Childress and his assistants are actively coaching players to make — gasp! — ad-lib adjustments.
“It’s not just my personality,” Childress said. “It is a football coach’s personality.”
When teaching a scheme for the first time, Childress said, “you put a line down in the playbook” and “it doesn’t make any difference if there is a cement wall on that line.” In other words, players were taught to follow certain tenets even if the defense offered an obvious obstacle.
Now, Childress said, players “have the flexibility to be able to circle the wall.” He added: “There is a tremendous flexibility, but you have to learn it. I’d almost rather now coach it from the other standpoint, knowing the guy knew what he needed to do, and he got a little out of the box. I’d rather have to pull him back.”
These adjustments have emerged on various stages. Childress, for one, described nearly imperceptible changes that have helped receivers get open.
For example, early in his tenure, receivers were instructed to run the exact yardage required on each pass pattern. Now, receivers are realizing they can maintain their timing with the quarterback if they get held up on the line of scrimmage by cutting an 18-yard route to 14 yards.
Meanwhile, tailback Chester Taylor spoke Monday of overhearing offensive linemen making subtle changes to their blocking assignments during the course of games. For a more visible example, Bevell pointed toward quarterback Tarvaris Jackson’s 6-yard touchdown pass to receiver Bobby Wade in the second quarter Sunday.
Instead of rotely throwing toward Wade after taking his drop, Jackson pump-faked twice to give receivers extra time to get open. The result was a rare passing touchdown in the red zone.
How rare? Jackson threw two red-zone touchdown passes Sunday, also hitting Sidney Rice on a 2-yard fade pattern. In the Vikings’ previous 27 games under Childress, quarterbacks threw a total of eight touchdown passes in the red zone.
If the cement wall hasn’t fallen, the escape routes are certainly more visible these days.
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