FanPost

Minnesota Vikings Snap Count Analysis: Week 4 2020

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Victory is ours! It wasn't pretty, but we won. Well done to get our first W of the season. Also, for the first time this year, we had more offensive plays than defensive plays. It was 66 on offense and 65 on defense. Those last two kneel downs did it for us. It is the little things in life.

QBs

Kirk Cousins - 66 snaps (100%) - 16/22 260 yards and 1 TD. 127.1 passer rating. It was Kirk's best game this year. He wasn't great, but he was better. He didn't make the big mistake on Sunday. No INTs and no safeties for the first time this year. Kirk took a couple of sacks that he shouldn't have and missed a few throws. He took a sack on 2nd down in the 4th quarter when he hesitated to throw to an open Jefferson. He then made a nice pass to Jefferson to get a 1st down and led to the Thielen TD on another nice throw. He missed Jefferson on 3rd and 6 with an opportunity to extend our final drive and finish off the game. He left an opening for the Texans. This is a play he needs to make. Overall not bad, but not the top end QB we need. He was good enough to beat a bad team on Sunday though. Kirk has had some nice October runs for us. Maybe this is the start of a nice month and sets us up for wildcard contention. I am being optimistic. 61 points in two weeks will do that. That includes two missed FGs. 81.6 PFF rating this week. Prior to the game they had him tied with Deshawn Watson at 13th best. I struggle to see how he has been ranked this high, but the last two weeks have been better.

RBs - 149 yards rushing on Sunday and the rush setup the pass. well done overall.

Dalvin Cook - 49 snaps (74.2%) - 27 runs for 130 yards and 2 TDs. 2 catches for 16 yards. Dalvin was our best player on offense. There were several runs where he was hit behind the line of scrimmage and still managed to get gains. He breaks tackles better than just about anyone in the NFL. Dalvin scored our first two TDs of the game and would've had a 3rd if he didn't have to come off to let Mattison score a TD in the 4th. 87.1 PFF Rating for Cook, that's good for 2nd best on the team tis week.

Alexander Mattison - 15 snaps (22.7%) 7 runs for 17 yards and 1 TD. Alexander is a fine backup RB. He doesn't run as well as Dalvin and there are few that do. He is fine and gives Dalvin a break. The offense is not the same with him on the field though.

C.J. Ham - 32 snaps (48.5%) CJ had a run for 2 yards and some really nice blocks for Dalvin. I like him on the field and I like the trend of him seeing playing time. He saw 12 snaps in the first two weeks. The snap counts have been 27 and 32 in the last two respectively. Kubiak made a change and it shows.

WRs - 217 yards receiving from the "group" this week. Thielen and Jefferson both had over 100 yards and the only WRs with catches. Bisi had a drop and I don't remember another target for a WR. Beebe messed up a route in the 4th and was next to Jefferson on a missed throw by Cousins. I think it is time for K.J. Osborne to see the field on offense.

Adam Thielen - 58 snaps (87.9%) - 8 catches for 114 yards and 1 TD and 1 run for 8 yards. Thielen had a classic Thielen day. A long 39 yard catch late and a very nice TD catch. He is consistent and sure handed. He looked like vintage Thielen on Sunday. Thielen got fired up after his long catch when he stiff armed the DB and the DB grabbed his facemask. He was good and we needed him. 82.2 PFF rating this week. I thought he could be higher.

Justin Jefferson - 51 snaps (xx77.3%) - 4 catches for 103 yards. Nothing but long catches for Jefferson. His longest was 29 yards and he averaged just under 26 YPC. They were all long. He is our deep threat and has taken over the Stephon Diggs role nicely. He had a very nice catch on 3rd and 10 after Cousins was sacked. He snatched the ball off the defenders head and Mossed him for the 1st down. Jefferson and Cook are a combo I want to see for a long time. The fact that Jefferson was ever on the bench behind Bisi is unacceptable. The highest rated offensive player for the 2nd week in a row 91.2 PFF rating.

Chad Beebe - 16 snaps (24.2%) - 0 targets. Chad didn't look sharp. He was taken off punt returns this week and did not provide anything on offense. We are thin at WR otherwise he would already be on the bench. I want Osborne to get a chance to play. 53.9 rating from PFF. He deserves worse.

Olabisi Johnson - 11 snaps (16.7%) - 0 catches for 0 yards and 1 drop. Bisi is bad and if we had anyone to play over him it would be great. I want Osborne to get a chance to play.

TEs

Kyle Rudolph - 48 snaps (72.7%) - 2 targets for 2 catches for 27 yards. He hasn't been getting many looks, but when he does he usually comes through.

Irv Smith Jr. - 41 snaps (62.1%) - 1 target, 0 catches. Irv has disappeared faster than rain in a dessert. No penalties this week, so that is an improvement over the prior two weeks. WTF happened to this guy? 49.6 PFF grade is about right.

Tyler Conklin - 8 snaps (12.1%) - I saw him out there on a 3rd down conversion on our first TD drive. He actually went and ran a route. Blocking TE hasn't seen a target yet this year.

OL - OL played better today. They weren't great, but better than they had been. They are still the worst unit on the field. They allowed 3 sacks in total and 9 QB hits. Kirk was in constant pressure when we attempted to pass. Run blocking is average at best. Dalvin was hit several times immediately in the backfield.

Riley Reiff - 66 snaps (100%) Reiff gave up his first sack this year. The first sack of the day was against him if I saw that correctly. He opened up some nice holes in the run game though and seemed to hold up better on most passing downs.

Dakota Dozier - 66 snaps (100%) Dozier isn't good. The OG spot is the worst spot on the roster. However, Dozier can run block decently. Pass blocking is a challenge and he was pushed back regularly.

Garrett Bradbury - 66 snaps (100%)Bradbury played well this week. The Texans have a solid DL and I didn't notice Bradbury getting beat that often. We tried to run the ball up the middle with less success than we did on the outside, but I think that has more to do with the players on either side of Bradbury.

Dru Samia - 66 snaps (100%) Samia is the worst starter in the league. I challenge you to find a worse player that starts. He is bad and he is not improving. P.J. Hall owned him to get a sack. He was constantly pushed backwards in the passing game and when we tried to run near him it was bad. Anytime we run to the right it is outside of O'Neill. His man hit Dalvin several times 3-5 yards deep in the backfield. Good thing Dalvin is great at breaking tackles. The worst PFF grade on offense at 41.6. Is Elf coming back soon?

Brian O'Neill - 66 snaps (100%) Potato was our best OL on Sunday. J.J. Watt had 2 1/2 tackles and 0 QB hits. I know J.J. doesn't exclusively play against O'Neill, but a majority of his snaps were. Our OTs are average to maybe slightly above average. We need guards.

Rashod Hill - 1 snap (1.5%) 2nd week in a row Hill got in there for one play.

DL - 3 sacks, 4 tackles for loss and 3 QB hits on a very mobile QB. They did a great job containing Watson and got some pressure.

Yannick Ngakoue - 54 snaps (83.1%) - 1 sack, 1 TFL and 1 QB Hit from Yannick. He was probably our best DL out there and maybe the best defender we had this week. He has played very well after a slow start this year. I like him and hope we get to see him in tandem with Danielle Hunter one day. Though not likely this year.

Ifeadi Odenigbo - 44 snaps (67.7%) 1 tackle and 1 QB hit. Ifeadi got some nice pressure on Watson. The 1 tackle makes me question if he was helping as much as he needs in the running game. Odenigbo is a good rotational player that is forced into a starting role because of Hunter's injury. Ifeadi hasn't missed a tackle this year, but he only has 8 through 4 games. 68.7 PFF grade this week. That is what you need from a rotation guy.

Jalyn Holmes - 43 snaps (66.2%) 2 assisted tackles for Holmes. Jalyn got a chance to play over Jaleel and Shamar this week. He isn't good. Jaleel isn't good. They're space takers. We needed Michael Pierce. 2nd worst grade on the team this week from PFF of 37. That is worse than Samia.

Shamar Stephen - 37 snaps (56.9%) Stephen was solid as usual. He is good in rotation and a guy I don't mid seeing out there. Ideally he would play a little less, but we have no one else. 69.3 PFF grade this week, sounds about right.

Jaleel Johnson - 33 snaps (50.8%) 1 tackle from the NT this week. Same comments from last week apply. He isn't that good. He doesn't get push up the middle or really help that much in run defense. He does take up space and helped hold them on the goal-line stand at the end of the 4th. He has done well with only 1 missed tackle this year. He just doesn't make plays. He played less this week than any week this year. Maybe he will be able to do more with less in the future.

Armon Watts - 20 snaps (30.8%) Watts ideally would never play. However, we are thin and he will play. 20% missed tackle percentage from Watts. Not good enough for a DT/DE.

D.J. Wonnum - 18 snaps (27.7%) D.J. got his first sack this week. He had a sack and a TFL. Wonnum is improving to be a rotational player. He still isn't good, but better than some of the other slop we have out there. He received a harsh grade (IMO) of 52.9 from PFF.

Hercules Mata'afa - 6 snaps (9.2%) Hercules is creeping back into the lineup. Hercules! Hercules! Hercules! I am cheering for the dude. He is undersized, but seems to work hard.

LB - Our LBs were once again ok. They are the best unit on the defense, but that isn't saying much.

Eric Kendricks - 65 snaps (100%) Much better week from Kendricks after two very bad weeks. He was our leading tackler and had a nice pass defense on a 3rd down. He did get beat once for a decent gain by Randall Cobb. He wasn't his best this week, but he was probably the 2nd best defender for us out there.

Eric Wilson - 65 snaps (100%) Wilson got beat a few times in passing. He was strong in run support and played probably his best game of the year. He wasn't a disaster like he has been. PFF rating of 61.0 was higher than Kendricks.

Hardy Nickerson - 9 snaps (13.8%) We played a lot more nickel this week and that was with all the DB injuries we have. We did this for three reasons. 1. Watson is athletic and makes things happen. 2. Houston's run game is weak. 3. Our LB depth has been demolished. Barr, Gedeon and Dye would all be playing over Nickerson and Davis. It is what it is at this point. At least this role is probably the least important on long list of positions we're screwed at.

Todd Davis - 8 snaps (12.3%) I sang the praises of Davis last week after being on the field for 1 play and making a nice play. He wasn't that great in an expanded role this week. Poor pass coverage from him and very little impact on the game. 8 snaps is tough. I would rather see him out there than Nickerson. Not sure why the split time almost exactly. Pick one and move on.

DBs - It was a better effort from our DBs this week. The CBs weren't 100% garbage, maybe only 85%. I will get into Harrison Smith's play in a bit, but he can't make that play. I know a lot of us miss old school football, but that was as clear of a penalty by a Vikes player as I've seen in a while. Other than of course every hit ever by Andrew Sendejo.

Anthony Harris - 65 snaps (100%) Harris played ok. He had a tough challenge after Smith was ejected. He and Iloka/Metellus were not on the same page. Harris has been good, but not the high level he was playing last year. I hope to see him return to that elite status if he hopes to get paid in the offseason. Our highest PFF rated defender with a 70.5 score.

Jeff Gladney - 65 snaps (100%) Gladney looks lost way too often. He gets beat deep on the regular. He is on the 5 year plan in Zimmer's system. Just in time for his rookie deal to expire and he go onto to look good with another team. I apparently was too harsh during my critique as he had the Vikes' 2nd best defensive PFF rating this week of 70.

Cameron Dantzler - 63 snaps (96.9%) Dantzler is probably our best CB. That isn't saying much, but he clearly outplayed the 1st round pick Gladney. This was his 2nd game and he wasn't a complete dumpster fire. Just a small fire. He replaced Hill in the starting lineup as predicted last week. One stat that sticks out is the missed tackle percentage. Dantzler has a missed tackle percentage of 22.2%. He misses on more than 1 out of 5 tackles. Not good. Overall we are fairly high at 9.4% as a team. Eddie Yarbrough was worse at 1 in 3 tackles missed and why he is on the bench.

Holton Hill - 51 snaps (78.5%) Hill had his best game this week? He had a penalty and gave up a catch. He also was in coverage on the final play for the Texans in what would've been the tying TD if the receiver held on. That was good coverage and would've been one hell of a catch. The other routes given up were blamed on Iloka. 0.4 yards per route according to the advanced stats. Brandin Cooks had 0 catches on 3 targets. Hill was moved down the depth chart and he looked more like he did last year. It might just be a matter of him not being able to keep up with the top WRs. He can take WR 3. I guess that'll do.

George Iloka - 43 snaps (66.2%) Iloka is 8 years past his prime in his 8th season in the NFL. He once was an ok player. He looked lost on Sunday. There were a few times were he jumped the wrong route and we got beat deep. He wasn't there to help our terrible CBs. I was interested to see Iloka out there and my interest waned very quickly. To be fair, Iloka was practicing to come in a play a nickel safety/corner position. He was not preparing to play the Harrison Smith role. Iloka's rating from PFF was 34.6. It is part him and part poor preparation. Zim asked him after Smith was ejected if he could play safety. Our backup plan was to go around asking who could play safety.

Harrison Smith -25 snaps (38.5%) This isn't going to be popular. Harrison Smith is a popular player in MN and the player safety rules are a necessary evil that a lot of people don't like. Harrison Smith has been great for a long time for us. Harrison Smith was ejected in the 2nd quarter for a personal foul helmet to helmet hit. IMO, it looked like Harrison was trying to knock the ball out with a hard hit to the arms of the receiver. He lead with his helmet and the receiver ducked to protect himself. The crown of his helmet hit the side of the receivers head and Harrison was ejected. I think the NFL was right in ejecting him and that is a call that comes from the New York headquarters not the refs on the field. It was a play he cannot make. He is a vet and should know better. The ejection was tough, but the penalty was clear. He gave them the opportunity to send him off and he can't complain. He put us in a bad spot and we have no depth behind him. It was a bad moment from one of our best defenders. We almost lost because of the poor play by his replacement. I expect better from the first time captain.

I am not a scout and do not claim to be an expert. These are my views formed by a dude that likes to watch Vikings Football since the late 90s. I also have a little help with some stats and ratings here and there.


Also, I appreciate everyone who reads. Next week I will be enjoying a little trip along the Gulf Coast. I'll be watching Sunday Night from a Biloxi casino. I'll be wearing my purple mask from noon - midnight in the sportsbook. I won’t be posting this until Tuesday.

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.

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