What I’m observing about the Minnesota Vikings: A shift in their “play style,” among other things has…..

What I’m observing about the Minnesota Vikings: A shift in their “play style,” among other things has…..

“Every day out here feels like a Wednesday,” a longtime Kansas City Royals executive told me during baseball spring training in Arizona a few years back. The NFL training camps fall under that definition as well.

The sceneries, the chats, and the practices all melt together. You eventually forget what was said by whom, when you saw it, and what you have and haven’t written about.

After spending so many days around the TCO Performance Center and having so many conversations with Vikings staff members, agents, and rival personnel, it seems like a good idea to empty the notebook as the NFL season gets set to begin. The Minnesota Vikings play their season opener against the New York Giants on Sunday. This is a preview of what to expect from the next regular season.

The first time coach Kevin O’Connell talked to reporters in training camp, he said the coaches had spent a lot of their offseason talking about “play style,” and that the Vikings players were thinking a lot about “play style.” He even said he was aware he was frequently using the phrase. “Expect to hear it a lot,” he said.

But what does it mean? Several weeks ago, I asked offensive coordinator Wes Phillips. He summed up “play style” as the offseason priorities that are worth hammering home more than anything else — ball security being at the top of the list. It’s not that we didn’t emphasize it before,” Phillips said, “but it’s kind of a zero-tolerance policy.”

Not to rehash bad memories, but last season, the Vikings turned the ball over 11 times in the first four games, more than any other NFL team. It’s a basic metric, flooded with randomness, but its importance is undeniable. Last year, the teams that broke even or won the turnover margin won 66 percent of their games. Phillips and the Vikings staff know some turnovers will occur, but an abundance of them will crush the team’s chances.

Also part of this “play style” is the team’s desire to run the football more effectively. The Vikings staff has talked about making improvements in the rushing game for a couple of seasons now, and while personnel is a major factor, Phillips cited two additional aspects: being more physical, and giving the running backs and offensive linemen opportunities to be more physical. What is the staff’s role in that? Not only calling runs, but also leaning into different schemes.

physical, and providing the running backs and offensive lineman opportunities to be more physical. What part does the staff play in that? In addition to calling runs, leaning into various schemes is also important.

“Last year, we had some success with gap-pull scheme plays,” Phillips stated. “In retrospect, perhaps we ought to have provided additional opportunities for those kinds of plays.”

To put it another way, the staff’s acknowledgment that it doesn’t have to create the wheel for every call, pass play, and game plan is what is meant to be understood by “play style.” Emphasizing the small details is as important.