Every time the Chicago Bears and the Minnesota Vikings have faced off since 2016, defensive tackle Akiem Hicks has been a wrecking ball, and the Vikings’ interior offensive line has suffered. Tom Compton and Pat Elflein have struggled against him. Most recently it was Dakota Dozier. Hicks has been an unsolvable problem for these blundering units. On Sunday, Hicks will suit up against an ailing interior again against Dozier, Garrett Bradbury and Ezra Cleveland. These players know the challenge coming to U.S. Bank Stadium. What can they do about it?
To answer this, I turned to someone with some first-hand perspective. Cameron Lee played for Chicago in 2017 and 2018 and has experienced his fair share of Hicks blastings. He told one story where Hicks blew him so far into the backfield in practice that he stepped on Mike Glennon‘s toes, incurring an earful from his coaches. You can find the full conversation on the Locked On Vikings podcast. He spoke to me about how unique Hicks is as an athlete:
“Akiem is actually the closest thing a human being can be to a literal physical bear. That is no exaggeration. At one time in my life, I was 6’5”, 325 pounds. Akiem made me small. He was every bit of 6’7”, 375 and had abs.”
NFL defensive lines are full of superhumans like Hicks. It’s not sufficient as an offensive lineman to throw your hands up and declare Hicks an impossible athlete to defend. Thankfully, with a player like him in a zone scheme, there is some recourse. Zone blocking requires linemen to get to a predetermined spot on the field. If they can get there before the defender does, they’ll have a leverage advantage that can help nullify a strength disadvantage.
Against a player like Hicks, who is strong enough to override that advantage, linemen have to be careful of common pitfalls. Lee explained:
“A lot of guys, especially in a zone scheme where you’re running and reaching and being so fast, they tend to get raised a bit. That’s when a guy like Akiem can kind of wreck your day. … If he gets his hands underneath you, you have no chance of getting to your aiming point because he can put you in the backfield.”
That sort of discipline has been hard to come by in Minnesota and should be a focus in practice this week. Here’s an example of Cleveland letting his pads get too high against Hicks. When it comes time for Hicks to shed the block, there’s not much Cleveland can do.
[videopress HFNnOcmG]
But zone schemes are designed to help linemen deal with big, bear-like defensive tackles in the run. The advice can’t go much further than “do your job and do it correctly.” In pass protection, it can be a different issue. Pass protection is a little more creative than run blocking. Linemen have leeway to choose which technique to use to counter their opponent’s pass rush. Lee had these suggestions for pass protection against a player like Hicks:
“The best thing you can do to beat a defensive lineman as good and strong and fast as Hicks is to catch them off-guard. Whether that be mixing in a quick set, whether that’s setting with a little less depth.”
One quick set they could use is a “jump set,” as explained here by Geoff Schwartz. Instead of taking the time to set up each foot deliberately, linemen will jump and set both feet almost simultaneously. This would make it more difficult for Hicks to access all of his strength before the lineman sets up to absorb it. That would encourage Hicks to change his technique to one that is quicker, but perhaps less powerful. When he does that, the guard could switch to a more power-based technique. Varying their set depth could achieve the same effect. Lee offered more specifics about what he would try to do if he had to contend with Hicks for an entire game.
“With Akiem, I’d mix up punches, with a two-hand combo, a one-hand combo, just keep him off-guard. Make him try and move side to side. Even though he’s good at it, the more a guy is moving left to right, and less straight through me, the better my chances are.”
There are several hand techniques that linemen can use to try and punch an oncoming pass rusher. They could use an inside strike that strengthens the inside of their stance, encouraging Hicks to rush upfield and past the quarterback. They could focus on the outside of their stance to get Hicks moving left-right, and with that momentum, finish him off with a two-handed strike to the chest plate. The important thing is to mix up those strategies and keep Hicks guessing.
These changes aren’t easy. If they were, Hicks wouldn’t have the reputation he has. But if the Vikings are looking to learn how to improve their performances against Hicks, the advice of his former sparring partner is a good place to start.
