Vikings say not knowing QB doesn't change their prep

[OconRecon]

Vikings unconcerned about Browns QB mystery

September 7, 2009 7:04 PM

 

Posted by ESPN.com’s James Walker

 

Earlier Monday, we wondered if the Minnesota Vikings really cared that Cleveland Browns wouldn't name a starting quarterback this week between Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson.

 

It turns out the Vikings don’t.

 

Here is a snippet from Minnesota coach Brad Childress’ Monday press conference:

 

Q: How does it impact your game planning with the Browns’ starting quarterback battle not being settled?

 

“It doesn’t. You just schematically look at what you’ve seen. You are going to go back and look at Jets tape and see what you’ve seen. I know, as do our guys, there are going to be unscouted looks. I mean, they certainly haven’t showed their whole hand offensively or defensively (in the preseason). But you are just going back and looking at, formation-wise, where they are putting people, and what kind of players they are. It will be more about us deploying than about what they do.”

 

Browns coach Eric Mangini contends the quarterback mystery will create confusion for Minnesota’s defense. Childress says it won't.

 

Only one coach will be correct on Sunday.

 

http://espn.go.com/blog/afcnorth/post?id=2689

 

[lemosley01]

What they wanted to say was

'We still only have to prepare for Brady Quinn. Everyone in the league knows how to defend Derek Anderception.'

[Guest mz.]

Browns coach Eric Mangini contends the quarterback mystery will create confusion for Minnesota’s defense. Childress says it won't.

Only one coach will be correct on Sunday.

 

At this point, I think they're both idiots.

 

Mangini for thinking this ploy will actually cause much confusion, and Childress for just being Childress.

 

[OconRecon]

Well I didn't expect them to come out and say "Man, we really really really wish Eric Mangini would name his starting QB, he's making this very difficult for us"

 

100% agree.

 

Unless they gave it the old Lou Holtz, which wouldn't matter much either.

[Gips]

What they wanted to say was

'We still only have to prepare for Brady Quinn. Everyone in the league knows how to defend Derek Anderception.'

Lol indeed you could prep a defense for DA in about an hours worth of film...

[Guest 88fingerslewy]

At this point, I think they're both idiots.

 

Mangini for thinking this ploy will actually cause much confusion, and Childress for just being Childress.

Maybe Mangini is just saying "Fcuk You."

[Guest mz.]

Maybe Mangini is just saying "Fcuk You."

 

And as a fan, I am saying "Fcuk You!" back, Mangini.

 

[Guest 88fingerslewy]

And as a fan, I am saying "Fcuk You!" back, Mangini.

As a fan of boobs, I'm sayin' "I heart boobs."

[DTBH]

How do the Vikings know what number to have their scout team QB wear?

 

They might as well forfeit.

[ndneighbor]

As a fan of boobs, I'm sayin' "I heart boobs."

 

You might like this for a sig.

[Sez.EJ]

You really think the Vikings admit to ANYTHING? ...get real. .. I think maybe they are more worried about who plays the #2 reciever spot hahahhahahah or if Mack or Frahley will start at center ahhahah.... I don't think the Vikings are even worried about the Browns AT ALL.... and they roll us by double digits.. I hope I am wrong.. But the Vikings D looked very impressive.. and they have AP on offense.. That dude is a beast..

[Jason J]

At this point, I think they're both idiots.

 

Mangini for thinking this ploy will actually cause much confusion, and Childress for just being Childress.

 

 

Couple of things here... I've read a couple of posts on this subject (say 140-ish). And, frankly, I'm a little bored with the bitching. Everyone seems to be circling around the point that not naming a starting quarterback has no impact on the Vikings' preparation... or the guy who said that trying to create a small edge was somehow a slight, showing some lack of faith in his team - brilliant.

 

I try not to go to the coaching card (on every post, at least). But, I've been doing this stuff a long time. And, let me tell you, going into a defensive game plan without knowing who is going to start at QB matters. It matters a lot. Contingencies matter. Options matter. Personnel groupings matter. You have a finite number of snaps that you can run vs. the scout O. You have limited hours on the board or in the film room. Every time there is a "what if" out there, it takes time. It takes time in the classroom. It takes time on the practice field.

 

All of these little irritating things that Mangini does add up. The fact that he uses all 3 tight ends, 3 running backs, 4 or 5 wide receivers lined up all over the place. The fact that there is scant little film of the 5 actual offensive line starters (which he may change again by game day) working together. These are all individual pains in the ass for a defensive coach.

 

A defensive game plan is little more than a collection of tips and tells added to your base defense. You have some personnel groups to address, and everything else is a virtual fencing match of attacks and counter moves. The only ways to tip the scales of this otherwise balanced engagement is to constantly be on the attack (a methodology rife with danger) or be able to anticipate what your opponent is going to do next. Bill Belichick is a master of this approach. He has been known to use methods both extreme (and sometimes illegal) to pick up on the slightest tell. Read "The Education of a Coach" by David Halberstam. The obsession it takes to do the job is incredibly revealing.

 

But the point of all of this is that Childress' guys have to go into this with two scouting reports on quarterbacks. Two sets of tendencies, two sets of safety manipulations, two sets of cadences and pre-snap rituals (ask Tom Brady about what happens when a defense zeros in on your pre-snap ritual on any given Super Bowl Sunday... and see if he remembers what the Giants did to him... I'm sure parts of it are a little fuzzy).

 

Add to that, that the Vikings have to prep for 5 guys they're pretty sure are going to start on the O Line... but have rarely been seen together. The X,Y, and Z receivers seem to be in a state of constant flux, half the team seems to be suffering from rare mysterious ailments, and the #2 RB hasn't played since the first preseason game. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Leslie Frazier is aware that Eric Mangini is aware that Josh Cribbs was once a successful quarterback.

 

Each thing, on it's own, isn't a game changer. But add them all up and you end up with a defensive game plan that covers 40 pages but only has enough relevant content to fill one side of a cocktail napkin. Everything else is a guess. It's all what if's. You end up going over and over things that you'll never see. You're supposed to be filling out fact sheets, instead you're chasing ghosts. It's death by a thousand cuts. And it sucks.

 

I have to say, I'm far more in Mangini's camp on this one. Tell them nothing. Show them nothing. Take every advantage you can get, no matter how small. If the middle linebacker is going through a messy divorce, make your audible alert his soon-to-be-ex-wife's name. Team's got a speed back... hit him every play, ball or no ball... see how fast he is after he picks himself off the ground 70 times or so. Coming off knee surgery? Cut block him with a back, trap him... low... not to injure, just to make him hesitate. Rookie making a first start... call his number before every play, ID him. Hand signaling plays... steal 'em. Turn up the audio on the film, listen for audibles... even if I get one, I've got one.

 

Ah, anyway... I could go on and on. All I'm saying is, this quarterback thing is bothering everyone... including the Vikings, regardless of what they say.

 

-jj

[Timugen]

 

You might like this for a sig.

 

 

This is a MUCH better "I heart boobs" sig.....

 

 

 

[damajuki]

Jason, awesome as usual. Never apologize for your coaching experience and for sharing it.

 

Great insight and I tend to agree that any advantage is an advantage and can only help.

 

You only get one chance to pull this sort of thing, so why not do so, especially when the potential reward (season-opening win at home) is so great?

 

 

[Chip Banks]

Of course it matters. They are different QBs. Quinn heavily favors the middle of the field -- slants and the seam. He tries to get rid of the ball quickly. He struggles throwing a deep out and with the deeper comeback routes. We saw it on that first Green Bay drive where he floated that third down pass to the outside where Cribbs couldn't catch it. I'm not convinced that he trusts his own arm on that throw.

 

We really haven't seen a defense that's game planned for Quinn yet . . . and it's hard to judge him until we do. He'll get a Pennington game plan . . . no free releases. His arm is better than Pennington's, who has done okay for himself. Be sure that a good D coordinator will start by jamming the TEs and having the DB's play up on the WRs, taking inside position.

 

Anderson favors the sideline throws. He trusts his arm to a fault. But his strengths are Quinn's weaknesses and vice versa.

 

Mangini coached Pennington and Favre. He was a D coordinator. You have a different game plan for different types of QBs. He's not an idiot.

 

The Vikings are likely guessing with the rest of the world that Quinn is the starter and planning accordingly.

 

[BrownsFan17]

Couple of things here... I've read a couple of posts on this subject (say 140-ish). And, frankly, I'm a little bored with the bitching. Everyone seems to be circling around the point that not naming a starting quarterback has no impact on the Vikings' preparation... or the guy who said that trying to create a small edge was somehow a slight, showing some lack of faith in his team - brilliant.

 

I try not to go to the coaching card (on every post, at least). But, I've been doing this stuff a long time. And, let me tell you, going into a defensive game plan without knowing who is going to start at QB matters. It matters a lot. Contingencies matter. Options matter. Personnel groupings matter. You have a finite number of snaps that you can run vs. the scout O. You have limited hours on the board or in the film room. Every time there is a "what if" out there, it takes time. It takes time in the classroom. It takes time on the practice field.

 

All of these little irritating things that Mangini does add up. The fact that he uses all 3 tight ends, 3 running backs, 4 or 5 wide receivers lined up all over the place. The fact that there is scant little film of the 5 actual offensive line starters (which he may change again by game day) working together. These are all individual pains in the ass for a defensive coach.

 

A defensive game plan is little more than a collection of tips and tells added to your base defense. You have some personnel groups to address, and everything else is a virtual fencing match of attacks and counter moves. The only ways to tip the scales of this otherwise balanced engagement is to constantly be on the attack (a methodology rife with danger) or be able to anticipate what your opponent is going to do next. Bill Belichick is a master of this approach. He has been known to use methods both extreme (and sometimes illegal) to pick up on the slightest tell. Read "The Education of a Coach" by David Halberstam. The obsession it takes to do the job is incredibly revealing.

 

But the point of all of this is that Childress' guys have to go into this with two scouting reports on quarterbacks. Two sets of tendencies, two sets of safety manipulations, two sets of cadences and pre-snap rituals (ask Tom Brady about what happens when a defense zeros in on your pre-snap ritual on any given Super Bowl Sunday... and see if he remembers what the Giants did to him... I'm sure parts of it are a little fuzzy).

 

Add to that, that the Vikings have to prep for 5 guys they're pretty sure are going to start on the O Line... but have rarely been seen together. The X,Y, and Z receivers seem to be in a state of constant flux, half the team seems to be suffering from rare mysterious ailments, and the #2 RB hasn't played since the first preseason game. Oh, and I'm pretty sure Leslie Frazier is aware that Eric Mangini is aware that Josh Cribbs was once a successful quarterback.

 

Each thing, on it's own, isn't a game changer. But add them all up and you end up with a defensive game plan that covers 40 pages but only has enough relevant content to fill one side of a cocktail napkin. Everything else is a guess. It's all what if's. You end up going over and over things that you'll never see. You're supposed to be filling out fact sheets, instead you're chasing ghosts. It's death by a thousand cuts. And it sucks.

 

I have to say, I'm far more in Mangini's camp on this one. Tell them nothing. Show them nothing. Take every advantage you can get, no matter how small. If the middle linebacker is going through a messy divorce, make your audible alert his soon-to-be-ex-wife's name. Team's got a speed back... hit him every play, ball or no ball... see how fast he is after he picks himself off the ground 70 times or so. Coming off knee surgery? Cut block him with a back, trap him... low... not to injure, just to make him hesitate. Rookie making a first start... call his number before every play, ID him. Hand signaling plays... steal 'em. Turn up the audio on the film, listen for audibles... even if I get one, I've got one.

 

Ah, anyway... I could go on and on. All I'm saying is, this quarterback thing is bothering everyone... including the Vikings, regardless of what they say.

 

-jj

Thank you for sharing a coach's perspective. It puts some things in a completely different light.

[Legacy Fan]

It depends on what we have this week.

 

1. Are the practices closed to fans/media?

- this would make it easy to conceal who's getting starter quantity reps.

 

2. Are we really splitting reps between both?

- this is really unfair to either QB and puts our offense at a disadvantage.

 

I agree about gaining every little advantage we can for a win - and this where Mangini's high football IQ is a monster bonus - but there's a lot to be said about preparing your team to win, rather than trying to trick (or plan, or scheme or deceive or whatever) the other guy into losing.

[Timugen]

I agree about gaining every little advantage we can for a win - and this where Mangini's high football IQ is a monster bonus - but there's a lot to be said about preparing your team to win, rather than trying to trick (or plan, or scheme or deceive or whatever) the other guy into losing.

 

And that is the possibility that I suspect is really causing the anxiety among so many of us.

 

[OconRecon]

If the offense looks terrible, not on the same page, and inept, then the perception will be we didn't give the starting guy enough reps to mold the offense into a cohesive unit.

 

I get that it's hard to plan for 2 QB's vs 1. The question remains if the Browns offense suffered for it.

 

We'll see on Sunday. Here's to hoping our offense motors down the field and EM looks like a genius.

[DTBH]

If our offensive line doesn't hold up especially against the pass rush then it won't matter if Joe Montana is back there on Sunday.

[Chip Banks]

And if we are going to post negative press about Mangini, they'll be plenty of opportunities. Something he did in his stint at NY (and I don't think it was on the field) gained him plenty of enemies. He's got people gunning for him. Reminds me of the all the press about what an unmitigated moron BB was when he was jettisoned from the Browns/Ravens franchise to save Parcell's ass before becoming a hall of fame coach.

 

The media is full of idiots with chips on their shoulders. Tell me the person that wrote this article didn't know what he wanted to write before he interviewed Childress.