On the Green Bay Packers late fourth quarter touchdown, the Minnesota Vikings lined up in a nickel with rookie corner Jeff Gladney defending one boundary and rookie corner Harrison Hand defending the other. Rookie safety Josh Metellus was matched up in the slot against Davante Adams. Rookie defensive end D.J. Wonnum was rushing Aaron Rodgers.
Veteran safety Harrison Smith barked out instructions to Metellus before the snap. Rodgers dropped to throw and reflexively looked to the most obvious mismatch on the field: Metellus vs. Adams. The sixth-round pick held Adams to get himself in better position, drawing a flag, but it didn’t matter. Adams caught the pass anyway for the Packers touchdown. Smith, who watched it all unfold, ripped out his mouthguard and trudged back to the huddle to prepare for the two-point conversion.
[videopress tYNf7ecE]Just another teachable moment for the next film session.
The Vikings played an unprecedented seven rookies on defense last Sunday: The four previously mentioned plus James Lynch, Troy Dye and Cameron Dantzler. Perhaps the only thing more surprising than that was the result, a 28-22 win over the heavily-favored Packers.
The young movement has tested Zimmer’s patience… and maybe given him a few gray hairs, as he referenced on Sunday. Dye ran on the field when he shouldn’t have, resulting in a crushing 12-men-on-the-field penalty. Lynch and Wonnum are still infants learning defensive line technique under Andre Patterson. Same goes for the defensive backs under Zimmer who had to hold up against Rodgers. Most of the youth can be found in the secondary, where Zimmer takes the most pride. Typically the head coach has one project per year (i.e., Trae Waynes in 2015, Mackensie Alexander in 2016, Mike Hughes in 2018). In 2020, he finds himself enveloped by players that were playing on college fields less than a year ago.
“These corners that come out of college, they might play one real good quarterback a year, No. 1,” Zimmer said. “And then No. 2, they might play one or two great receivers a year, and they’re playing them every week now.
“Like for instance, if a receiver runs an out on you, and you break with the receiver, 99 percent of them, the first thing they do is look for the ball. Well, if you look for the ball, you’re going to see it get caught every single time. They’re not going to miss those throws like that. And in college, when you’re covering a receiver, I could be from me to you away, and you’d be covered. And it’s not like that in this league. They have to understand how tight you have to be in order to knock the ball down or intercept the ball or whatever.”
Metellus learned that lesson the hard way on Adams’ third touchdown catch of the game. Gladney was the victim on his first touchdown catch to cap the game’s opening drive. The first-round pick lined up on Adams’ outside shoulder with help to his inside. The cardinal rule: Don’t get beat outside. But that’s what happened as Gladney gave in to Adams’ stutter step.
It’s been trial by fire for Gladney this year, who has been asked to play inside and outside, while constantly surrounded by different personnel at cornerback. Zimmer says the next step with Gladney is getting him to anticipate plays more effectively.
“I know Gladney had some bad plays this week, but he had some good plays, as well,” Zimmer said. “Those are the kinds of things you’re looking for – these good plays where they, really what I’m looking for out of these guys is not so much ‘paint-by-the-numbers.’ It’s a little bit more, ‘Oh, I can kind of anticipate what they might be doing here based off the split or the motion or the receiver that’s in there.’ Right now we’re still in kindergarten, but we’re trying to get to a Master’s program here quickly.”
[videopress OtfHPGs1]As Zimmer colorfully described, the paint-by-number approach doesn’t work in a real NFL game, which was part of the trouble with virtual offseason meetings that emphasized theory without any practical application. Zimmer needs his kindergarten corners to start doing some advanced calculus, and fast. But as you might expect when you show a five-year-old an algebra equation, they’re not going to grasp it the first time.
From the sideline, Zimmer looks on, often helpless, as his young corners have been thrown to the wolves against the likes of Adams and Julio Jones. Smith, on the other hand, is usually within shouting distance of the team’s young talent. Close enough to offer a last-second correction, or perhaps a quick pointer after it’s already too late.
“I’ve always tried to talk to corners, let them know when I’m there, when I’m not, because that’s a lonely place out there, whether you’re a vet or not,” Smith said Wednesday. “I try to communicate it in an effective way as much as I can. I’m not a coach, so I’m not going to overstep those bounds and start creating stuff. I try to be in the same thought process as the coaches and what they’re seeing, what they’re thinking and if they need me to relay something, try to kind of be that guy in between.”
Smith understands the development curve. He was thrust into a starting role as a rookie and played all 16 games for the 2012 Vikings. Nine seasons later, he has utmost respect for any rookie forced to play corner, in his estimation a more difficult spot.
“My opinion, corner is the hardest position on the field,” Smith said. “The rules are stacked against you, there’s a ton of space. It’s a hard position to play.”
Zimmer and Smith both expect perfection, while at the same time expecting correction. The end goal won’t surface without numerous hiccups along the way.
“That’s the NFL,” said Smith. “It can become a whirlwind.”
