Despite Risk Aplenty, The Vikings Pushed their Chips into the Middle of the Table

In a lot of ways, the Vikings pushed their chips into the middle of the table over these past couple months. The 9-8 season was very disappointing. Former GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah became the scapegoat, carrying most of the blame for the failure of a season even if there’s a pile of curious decisions to go around.

Take, for instance, the team’s skipper: Kevin O’Connell. He responded to getting walloped by the Rams with a public proclamation about needing the o-line to be sturdier. He got his wish with the additions of Donovan Jackson, Ryan Kelly (who, in fairness, was often hurt), and Will Fries.

But then the top coach didn’t run the ball very much at all, only adjusting once the season was already kaput . Part of what made that reluctance to running odd was the ongoing struggles at QB. Doesn’t running the ball make sense in those moments, especially with J.

J. McCarthy being tasked with fixing his mechanics during the season? Goodness, the team knew upon drafting McCarthy that the kid found success at Michigan largely due to a great ground attack.