MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2011
Vikings Head Coach Leslie Frazier
I had a chance to go back and look at that tape and there were so many positive things that happened in that game and particularly in the first half, just opening up the season the way we did with the kickoff going for a touchdown and guys just battling throughout and trying to make plays on both sides of the ball and our special teams as well. Running the football as well as we did was really encouraging. That was something we wanted to be able to do, really come in and establish the run, being able to defend the run as well as we did. If you average 6.1 (yards) rushing the football like we did and you can hold a team to 2.9 like we did, you feel like you’re going to have a chance, you’re going to be in games. There were just a lot of good things and we’ve got to build on that. Unfortunately, we couldn’t consistently get things done over the course of four quarters and that’s what we have to work towards, being a consistently good football team throughout a ball game and if we can develop that, we’ll have a chance to end up on the upside instead of the short side of the score and that’s going to be our goal as we prepare for our next opponent.
Q: Were you able to determine what happened in the second half?
A: We didn’t change a whole lot of things we were doing. We wanted to be able to execute a little bit better and we didn’t always execute as well as we should have. It wasn’t like they changed what they were doing coverage wise on defense or what they doing front wise. It was pretty much the things we expected. We didn’t execute as well and we have to be better on third down. If you want to stay on the field, you have to convert third downs and we didn’t do a good job in the second half, the first half we did. The coverages weren’t a lot different than we saw earlier, we just didn’t execute as well as we should have.
Q: Are you limited in what you can do with a new offense?
A: We have enough in to adjust to whatever we’re seeing so that wasn’t a handicap for us. What transpired over the offseason or didn’t transpire, we didn’t do a very good job of executing in certain situations and one of them being third down.
Q: Do you think not having the OTA’s and minicamps did show up a little bit?
A: I think probably the biggest thing for us was San Diego did a real good job of clamping down on certain things we wanted to be able to do. What we have to be able to do when that happens is our playmakers end up having to make some plays even though you may be covered. It may be coming back to the football another yard. It may mean the quarterback getting the ball out a little sooner. It may mean an offensive linemen being able to sustain his block a little bit longer but they did a good job with some of the things they were doing in the second half and we have to do a little bit better of a job executing in certain situations.
Q: The lack of passes downfield, was that because Dononvan McNabb didn’t have enough time or just a little bit of everything?
A: We didn’t attempt as many. We were running the football so well and we believed we were going to get more opportunities by converting some third downs which would allow you to keep some drives going and when we missed those opportunities. You’re in a situation where you have to throw the football down the field and you don’t want to be in that situation. You want to be able to remaine balanced and when it got to the point maybe with five minutes to go and we had to throw it down the field because of where we were, it became a little more predictable for them, a little bit harder for us.
Q: How did Donovan McNabb
play as you looked at the tape?
A: There are some things that he’ll definitely want to improve on but if you look at the entire team, there are some things that we need to improve on as a team, which in terms will help him and help our football team but he did some good things in that ball game. He came out with good enthusiasm and did a good job of leading us early on to a score. There are some things we want to improve on as a team all the way around.
Q: Was the first interception an audible he made checking out of a run?
A: It was. It was a look that we were looking for and he saw something and it’s designed for him to make that decision.
Q: Is Charlie Johnson then supposed to get a cut block on the end?
A: He is going to try to, going to try and get the defensive end’s hands down if he can. Shaun Phillips is a great player, he made a great play.
Q: What are you going to be doing with the pass protection going forward?
A: I don’t know if we have to make a lot of adjustments. We attempted, actually Donovan (McNabb) threw 15 passes and the times where he did have someone in his face it wasn’t that we needed to adjust the protection, we need to do some things a little bit better and we do have some times where we will have a tight end or a back coming to a special rusher but that wasn’t the case so much yesterday. We have to be able to execute certain plays a little bit better and I think we will. This game should be a good measuring stick for us as we go forward. We should look at this tape and learn a great deal about ourselves and it should help us.
Q: You weren’t able to involve the tight ends very much. Was that something they were trying to take away?
A: We got them out a few different times and we had a couple of attempts where we missed. One that comes to mind is with Visanthe (Shiancoe) but we want to be able to utilize our tight ends in the passing game. We want them to be a big part of our offense and some of that will be dictated by what we’re seeing on defense and we’ll take a look at our next opponent and just see what’s the best route to take. We have confidence in those guys, but when our running game is going as well as it was yesterday, it kind of takes them out of the game a little bit from a passing standpoint.
Q: How much do those penalties at the end drive you crazy?
A: That was tough. We practice four minute situations often. We talked about that, we’ve gone through it. We actually talked about it even before that series occurred with a little over three minutes to go in the game. You know what the offense is going to try to do and for us not to execute in that situation was discouraging and something that we have to be better at if we want to be a good team. We have to be able to handle that situation, a four minute situation.
Q: How would you rate the defensive line?
A: They did a good job early on, just getting pressure, rushing the quarterback and making him move around. That’s a good offense and they really had him off kilter for quite a while. To throw 48 passes and average a little over six yards an attempt, you’ll take that in most occasions when you have a guy who averages almost nine yards an attempt and coming off the two turnovers, there were a lot of good things that happened. The thing that we have to get better at, we had some open field tackles that we didn’t make that we would ordinarily make but the consistently across the board is what we’ll be striving for as we go forward because there were many moments where you looked and said ‘Okay, that’s exactly what we’d like to see happen,’ but to consistently do it is what we have to strive to achieve.
Q: You don’t put on pads and tackle to the ground in practice, how do you improve on those missed tackles?
A: We’ll still have drills that we’ll work on. We’ll do some form tackling when we do have pads on and you just have to keep pounding it from a verbal standpoint but you’ll also do drills as well. We improved on it in the preseason and we’ll have to work now until the game against Tampa because this game, this is a game where you have to tackle in pro football.
Q: Was that surprising that you struggled in that area because it was something that you worked hard on from last season?
A: We tackled well early and missed tackles started showing up a little bit late and it’s something that we have to be good at. It’s hard to play defense in the NFL if you don’t tackle well, particularly with the way we are structured on defense. It’s something that we have to improve in order to have the type of team we want to have and the type of defensive team we want to have.
Q: What is the measuring stick for you right now as a team?
A: I’m really encouraged by some things that we saw in this game. The big thing for our team, and this is what I’m going to talk to them about this afternoon, is developing consistency over the course of four quarters. When you’re playing a team that a lot of people predicted that’s going to play in the Super Bowl and you’re leading in the fourth quarter, you have a ten point lead at the half, we have to get to the point where we’re going to be a consistently superior team through four quarters and not two or three quarters. We’re in the fourth quarter leading 17-14 against a team that has a very good chance of winning the AFC West, and we think that we have a good team, so we have to get to the point where we can be consistently good and I think we can do that, but there are some things that we’ll have to take care of this week in practice.
Q: With the defense being on the field so long in the second half, does that contribute to missed tackles?
A: When you’re playing defense, your job is to get the ball back to the offense and if a team puts together a drive, you have to limit that drive to a field goal and that’s part of being on defense. You know there are going to be some games where you may have to stay out there a little bit longer and there are going to be some other games where it turns a little bit and you’re not out there as much. But, when you are called upon to have to play a little bit longer from a defensive standpoint, you have to figure it out and get it done and I think we will.
Q: Does your job look a little bit tougher today, when you see what the rest of the NFC North did this weekend?
A: I don’t think so. Its one game, we have a lot more games to play. The biggest thing about this game yesterday is that it means we can’t go 16-0. I don’t think it declares to anybody, anything, other than the fact that we can’t go 16-0.
Q: How did your corners do yesterday?
A: I was really impressed with the fact that Cedric Griffin played as well as he did and as long as he did. He played every snap on defense, he did a great job. I thought Chris Cook really held his own, he was aggressive, and I was really pleased with the way he played. Antoine Winfield did some good things, I’m sure there were a couple plays he’d like to have back. Jamarca Sanford; there were a couple tackles he would like to have been able to make. Tyrell Johnson did some good things while he was out there as well. As a whole, it was a pretty good job particularly by our corners. We have to do a better job of wrapping up in certain situations when it comes to tackling.
Q: You had a lot of rotation on the defensive line, is that something you will look to do every game?
A: Yeah. We have always tried to do that. We are going to continue to do that, a lot of it depends on the type of depth that you think you have. It’s always been a part of who we are to rotate our defensive line and we were able to do it at times yesterday.
Q: When you look at the film from the first and second half defensively, do you feel like the blitz was a little less effective as the game went on?
A: We did some good things pressure-wise in that first half, and we continued in the second half. They got in a rhythm on offense, and I don’t know if it was any less effective, they were just able to hit some plays. It was some of the same things we did before, we had some wrinkles in the second half, and we were still effective, it just didn’t necessarily produce results. You take a look at the one pressure where Jared Allen ended up getting the pick, that’s what you want in situations like that. So it’s kind of mixed in that regard.
Q: If you don’t get those two 15 yard penalties it’s a completely different game.
A: Yeah, we did some things that we have to learn from and if we do see it we have a chance, but you can’t give people garbage yards. You can’t do it; it’s just too hard to win in our league.
Q: As an offense you talk about establishing Adrian Peterson; where is the balance with that between getting him the ball and the run-pass game?
A: That is something you have to guard against. They were stacking the line of scrimmage, and when that happens, you have to take advantage of that down the field. That is something that we are going to a look at. Adrian is such a threat, and such a focal part of our offense, we have to be aware of how people are going to try to defend us. This game will hopefully be one of those games that we look back on and will have helped us.
Q: Did Donovan McNabb check out of any deep passes?
A: I don’t think he checked out of any deep balls. There were some times when we had some called where he may have thrown the ball underneath for different reasons. But I can’t recall him checking out of any deep passes.
Q: What is your take on the Wildcat offense? Do you think it is something you can work consistently based upon your personnel?
A: Well ours is a little different. The way we’re using Joe Webb, it’s different. Most teams that put a guy back there can’t throw the ball as well as Joe. We have a legitimate quarterback running the offense when we do it. There is room to expound on what we did yesterday; we are not ready to give up on it. They did a good job yesterday of defending it, but we think it has merit.
Q: So you wouldn’t look at it as the Wildcat?
A: No, we don’t look at it as the Wildcat because of who Joe is. It would be different if we were using a position player; a receiver, a running back or tight end.
Q: Why the move with Joe Berger and Jon Cooper?
A: I just felt like for where we are and what we want to be that this was the right thing to do. Jon has done a great job for us. I really liked what he has done for our football team and our locker room as well, but for what we are trying to get to we thought that this would be a good move.
Q: Was it the experience factor?
A: No it doesn’t factor in as much as some of the other things we were looking at as we were trying to develop our offensive line.
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