Are the players or the scheme to blame for the pass defense issues?

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As part of our expanded coverage of the Vikings playoffs this week, we’ll be answering readers’ daily questions. You can email your questions to [email protected] or send them to @BenGoessling on Twitter.

Q: Are the Vikings players to blame for the midfield being wide open and getting nicked, or is that the ploy? Jamie, Minneapolis

Thanks for the question, Jamie. Let’s start with the diagram: Broadly speaking, you can divide defensive coverage into two categories based on the alignment of the safeties: Middle of the open field (MOFO) with two safeties on either side of the hash marks or midfield – closed field (MOFC) with a security in the middle. Many teams that have adopted the popular Vic Fangio scheme, such as the Vikings, play plenty of MOFO coverage with two safeties deep; the idea is to stop teams from getting the ball downfield, and defenses can also counter play action by starting with two deep safeties and rotating to change the look while the quarterback’s back is turned. The Vikings, especially in the first three months of the season, played more MOFO coverage than almost any team in the league.

But some of the issues were with execution as much as scheme, and especially after coach Kevin O’Connell called for more aggressive coverage after the loss to the Lions on Dec. 11, you saw the Vikings play tighter against the receivers in recent weeks, employing a few more MOFC patterns and lining up Patrick Peterson on the short side of the field to take easy throws for opposing QBs. On December 24, the Giants actually ran numerous through routes designed to test Peterson in men’s coverage; we’ll see if the Vikings employ a similar strategy on Sunday, or rely more on zone looks against quarterback Daniel Jones. Either way, they’ll need to be tighter in coverage to win, after Jones threw for 334 yards against them in December.

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