NFL coaches love to talk about individual players (and plays) in terms of whether they stayed “on schedule” and/or had to go “off script” to achieve a desired goal.
RandBall: Five takeaways from Kevin O’Connell mic’d up at Saturday’s Vikings game
On the broadcast of Saturday’s preseason finale, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell gave honest assessments of players and the action throughout the third quarter. Here are some things we learned from his appearance.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 26, 2024 at 2:23PM
An essential trait of modern players, particularly quarterbacks, is the ability to do both — to make the right reads to execute the basic plays that move the ball down the field while also improvising when things go haywire in order to sustain drives.
On Saturday, though, the script was flipped a little. Viewers watching the Vikings’ game at Philadelphia got a glimpse into head coach Kevin O’Connell’s ability to process and speak both “on schedule” and “off script” when he was mic’d up for the third quarter of a 26-3 victory that capped an undefeated preseason.
Patrick Reusse and I talked about the game on Monday’s Daily Delivery podcast, and I listened back to O’Connell’s appearance to glean five takeaways from the things he said.
- If you’re looking for clues as to what the Vikings might do Tuesday when they need to cut their roster, O’Connell said, “I think Jaren Hall has played very well,” when talking about the second-year QB who keyed Saturday’s win. Will that be enough for him to stick on the roster as a third quarterback?
- On defense, O’Connell had praise for Andre Carter II (”Andre has been showing up with his length,” he said after a strip sack) as well as rookie seventh-round pick Levi Drake Rodriguez. The latter’s name was brought up by broadcaster Paul Allen, and immediately Rodriguez batted down a pass while fighting through a double-team and hustled to try to make a play when the ball flow changed direction. O’Connell was impressed by his motor and his skills, noting that the impact of defensive linemen don’t always show up on the stat sheet.
- On special teams, there was an interesting play near the end of the third quarter when Vikings punted from near midfield. “I know the analytics world likes to go for it as much as possible, but field position is still a thing in this league,” O’Connell said. “I want to see [punter] Ryan Wright hang one up there inside the 10.” The punt was decent, with a fair catch at the 12. Wright is projected to make the roster, but his spot is not secure.
- It was interesting to see and hear O’Connell react in real time to a high hit to the head on Hall near the goal line. “I’ll be smart because I don’t know who’s watching,” O’Connell said. “That would have been a heck of a lot different if I wasn’t on with you guys right there.”
- A lot of the best moments were unscripted, particularly when O’Connell was breaking down plays as they were happening and guessing where quarterbacks were going to throw the ball based on the calls. In one such moment, a screen pass called by the Vikings, O’Connell said pre-snap: “Gotta block [number] 57. That will be the key.” As the play unfolded, he quipped: “We not only blocked him, we probably held him a little bit, but they didn’t call it.” And later with receiver Justin Jefferson barking on the sidelines near O’Connell, the coach said of his star player: “He’s trying to get involved here. He knows I’m on TV here, and he’s a little jealous.”
The Gophers face a Wolf Pack that went 2-10 each of the past two seasons but is much improved under new coach Jeff Choate.
