Dudley column: Vikings need to have balance on offense

…以下的洪水警报被扩展rivers in Minnesota... Snake River At Mora affecting Kanabec County. Mississippi River at Fridley abv 37th Ave NE affecting Anoka and Hennepin Counties. Mississippi River at St. Paul affecting Dakota, Ramsey and Washington Counties. ...The Flood Warning continues for the following rivers in Minnesota and Wisconsin... Minnesota River at Savage affecting Dakota, Scott, Carver and Hennepin Counties. Minnesota River At New Ulm affecting Blue Earth, Brown and Nicollet Counties. Minnesota River at Granite Falls HWY 212 affecting Yellow Medicine, Chippewa and Renville Counties. Minnesota River at Montevideo affecting Yellow Medicine, Lac qui Parle and Chippewa Counties. Minnesota River At Morton affecting Redwood and Renville Counties. Sauk River at St. Cloud affecting Stearns County. South Fork Crow River at Delano affecting Hennepin and Wright Counties. South Fork Crow River below Mayer affecting Carver County. Crow River at Rockford affecting Hennepin and Wright Counties. Mississippi River at Red Wing L/D 3 affecting Dakota, Pierce and Goodhue Counties. Mississippi River at Red Wing affecting Pierce and Goodhue Counties. Mississippi River near Hastings L/D 2 (COE) affecting Dakota, Pierce, Goodhue and Washington Counties. Mississippi River At Hwy 169 at Champlin affecting Anoka and Hennepin Counties. Mississippi River AT Hwy 610 @ Brooklyn Pk affecting Anoka and Hennepin Counties. Mississippi River at St. Cloud affecting Sherburne, Stearns and Wright Counties. St Croix River at Stillwater affecting Pierce, Washington and St. Croix Counties. Chippewa River at Durand affecting Buffalo, Dunn and Pepin Counties. Redwood River near Redwood Falls affecting Redwood County. Rum River near St. Francis affecting Anoka County. .Very high flows continue on all area rivers this week, due to the remains of the spring snowmelt, rain and snow this past weekend, and more rain in the forecast for later this week. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Turn around, don't drown when encountering flooded roads. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. && ...FLOOD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE... * WHAT...Minor flooding is occurring and moderate flooding is forecast. * WHERE...Minnesota River At New Ulm. * WHEN...Until further notice. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - At 1045 AM CDT Monday, the stage was 802.8 feet. - Recent Activity...The maximum river stage in the 24 hours ending at 1045 AM CDT Monday was 802.8 feet. - Forecast...The river will rise to 803.4 feet Wednesday, then pause before further rising to near 805 feet on the weekend. - Flood stage is 800.0 feet. - Flood History...This crest compares to a previous crest of 804.2 feet on 09/29/2010. &&

Dudley column: Vikings need to have balance on offense

A year ago at this time, the Minnesota Vikings passing game was thriving under new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo.

柯克兄弟appeared to be justifying the $84 million contract the Vikings had given him six months prior, and Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs were cementing themselves as one of the league’s top receiving duos.

A team that came into the season with a Super Bowl-worthy defense had developed a passing game that was headlining the offense.

Then, what so often happens in the NFL happened. Unforeseen circumstances arose that changed the dynamic of the team. In the case of the 2018 Vikings, the big development ended up being a rift between DeFilippo and head coach Mike Zimmer.

It turns out all that passing was done against Zimmer’s wishes. He wanted to run the ball more, which eventually led to DeFilippo’s firing following a Week 14 loss at Seattle.

Combine the philosophical difference between Zimmer and DeFilippo with the fact that the defense didn’t end up being as advertised, and you start to see where things went wrong. Add in a hamstring injury that plagued Dalvin Cook, along with poor offensive line play, and you get a disappointing 8-7-1 finish for a team that seemed to have it all.

Fast forward to the opening weeks of 2019, and much is the same, yet in a very different way.

With Kevin Stefanski and Gary Kubiak running the offense, Zimmer finally seems to be having his way with the Vikings running the ball over 62 percent of the time.

Cook currently leads the NFL in rushing with 375 yards, and the Vikings’ offense is averaging 21 pass attempts per game. That puts the them on pace for 336 pass attempts for the season, which would be the fewest this millennium.

The formula seems to be working, just as the pass-heavy attack looked good early last year. Cook is now receiving the same praise Thielen and Diggs got.

So now it’s set it stone, right? Run the ball over 60 percent of the time and lean on the defense. Who needs Cousins, Thielen, Diggs?

This is, of course, not true, and it’s the same line of thinking and play calling that got the Vikings into trouble a year ago.

The Vikings’ offense won’t be able to sustain success without the passing game, just as it couldn’t sustain success without a running game last year.

Game script matters, and throwing only 65 passes over the first three weeks can certainly be justified given the way those games went.

However, game scripts are constantly changing and are hard to predict given the unpredictable nature of the NFL.

This is no time for Stefanski, Kubiak and Zimmer to fall in love with a certain formula. They must work tirelessly to find ways to make Cousins feel comfortable in this offense. In a sense, there must be multiple formulas. There must be balance.

Whether you like Cousins and his big contract or not, he’s going to be the quarterback. No matter how good this running game is, there are going to be times the Vikings need to win because of him, not in spite of him.

Is he a guy who can be leaned on in those high leverage moments? The Vikings’ coaching staff must design an offense that gives him a fair chance to prove it.

Kevin Dudley is a Free Press staff writer. Call him at 507-344-6381 or email him atkdudley@mankatofreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @Dudley7Kevin.