The most obvious change with the Vikings offense from last year to this year under new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo and new quarterback Kirk Cousins has been a shift away from a running-based attack to a passing-based attack.
A year ago, with Pat Shurmur calling plays and Case Keenum primarily under center, the Vikings had the second-most rushing attempts (501) of any team in the NFL while ranking just 21st in pass attempts (527).
Through seven games so far this season, it's been pretty much the complete opposite. The Vikings rank No. 3 in pass attempts with 300 already this season while ranking No. 24 in rushing attempts with 152. What was once close to an even split has become almost a 2 to 1 ratio of passes to runs.
Saying this is a source of tension between head coach Mike Zimmer and DeFilippo would be going too far, but Zimmer indicated in his postgame comments after Sunday's win over the Jets — when the Vikings passed 40 times and ran 24 times but benefited from some late-game runs by Latavius Murray — that he would prefer more of a balance.
"Sometimes we get impatient and we have to control the clock and control the running game. (In the) first half we didn't really stick with it at times again," Zimmer said.
From this, though, a relevant question emerges: Is Zimmer correct or is the mentality of establishing the run the product of an old-school sentiment that doesn't apply in the modern NFL?
Well, first things first. The Vikings went 13-3 and reached the NFC title game last season with balance. Zimmer is a defensive-minded coach, and those coaches tend to value long drives, ball control and safer offensive schemes that don't put defenses in bad field position.
And it should also be pointed out that game situations have dictated some of the Vikings' imbalance. They were playing from behind against the Packers, Rams and Bills for much of those games and theoretically needed to score more quickly through the air.
