Take 2: Vikings vs. Falcons
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Earlier this week, our scouts filed their advance scouting report on this week's matchup between the Vikings and Falcons. Now they're back with a second look. The challenge for the Falcons defense in this matchup will be playing with both aggressiveness and discipline at the same time because of QB Daunte Culpepper's ability to create with his feet. When the Falcons played the Eagles and QB Donovan McNabb two weeks ago, defensive coordinator Ed Donatell blitzed on 62 percent of the Eagles offensive snaps, which is one of the highest single-game percentages fans will ever see in the NFL. However, the Eagles are a one-dimensional passing offense with no commitment to running the ball out of base formations. The Vikings are different conceptually than Philadelphia in terms of formations, personnel and play calling. This makes it more difficult for the Falcons to blitz as frequently. • The foundation of the Falcons' offense is the running game. Atlanta runs a zone-blocking scheme that predominantly features two-back personnel formations with FB Justin Griffith acting as the lead blocker. One of the main purposes of using zone-based blocking schemes is it gets the defensive front seven moving laterally, stretching them horizontally and creating lanes for the back to cut through. RB Warrick Dunn is very good at finding the creases at the line of scrimmage and he has great quickness. That will put a lot of pressure on Minnesota's defenders to stay disciplined and fill the correct gap. That doesn't bode well for the Vikings. Minnesota's second and third level defenders -- their linebackers and safeties do not do a good job fitting into their gaps and playing with the needed discipline to minimize running lanes. If the Vikings' defense cannot put QB Michael Vick and the Atlanta offense into manageable third-down situations, they will not be able to get to their pressure packages. That will allow Vick to play at his pace rather than having him rush his decisions.
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