Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Patterson on blitzing philosophy
The Vikings through two games have just two sacks, and only one of them by a defensive lineman. Yannick Ngakoue got to Colts QB Philip Rivers last week for the takedown; cornerback Holton Hill is credited with the other sack.
Co-Defensive Coordinator Andre Patterson responded to a question about whether or not Minnesota will be "more aggressive" with the blitz as the season progresses and the young secondary becomes more experienced.
"It [depends] on who you play. You just can't say, 'We're going to go into this game and be blitz-o-matic' because this offense doesn't give you the opportunities to do that," Patterson said. "It's a week-to-week thing; it's an evaluation by us as coaches, whether our pressure packages fit what they do schematically offensively.
"That's the best way that I can answer that question – we just can't say we're going to go in there and blitz like crazy and it doesn't match up against the team you're playing that week," Patterson added.
Zimmer on Eric (or Eric) making calls for the defense
Prior to being added to Injured Reserve with a torn pectoral muscle, linebacker Anthony Barr wore the "green dot" helmet for games, meaning he received calls from Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer and relayed them on-field to the defense.
With Barr now sidelined for the remainder of the season, Co-Defensive Coordinator Adam Zimmer was asked if Eric Kendricks will be the one stepping into that role. Zimmer said Minnesota's coaching staff is still in the process of making that decision.
"We may let him do it; we may let Eric Wilson do it so that Eric [Kendricks] can do what he always does," Zimmer explained. "We're working through that in practice, and we'll decide that probably tomorrow (Friday) in who's going to do that for the game. But I'm really comfortable with Eric [Kendricks] calling the huddle. He's an extremely smart player – really, both those kids are.
"Whoever's calling the huddle is going to do a great job of getting the defense lined up and communicated," he added. "It's usually a collaborative effort, anyway, between those guys, between Harrison [Smith], between Anthony Harris. It really doesn't matter who's getting the call physically – it matters that we're lined up in the right spots and ready to go."