Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo didn't reject coach Mike Zimmer's accusation that the offense might have "a little too much volume," but he did defend his need to have more plays at his disposal in certain weeks.
"There are some games where you maybe have a little more because you're not sure exactly how [the defense is] going to play you," DeFilippo said Friday, four days after Zimmer wondered aloud during a news conference that maybe it was time to cut back the offense.
"The key to game-planning to me is to have enough in your arsenal because you never know how the game is going to be played. You never know what's going to go on in a game."
That being said, DeFilippo also said he and Zimmer are in "constant communication on how to make this offense better." So they have been working on ways to trim the volume without affecting DeFilippo's ability to call a game.
"We made a conscious effort to really emphasize cutting out all the gray areas as much as we can," DeFilippo said. "We do that every week, but especially, obviously, as we go along here."
Turnovers the problem
DeFilippo sounds a lot more concerned about the volume of turnovers than the number of plays he has. The Vikings have turned the ball over 16 times, seventh most in the league.
"The thing that has hurt us the most in not being able to sustain drives is the turnovers," he said. "I talked to our guys about respecting the football. We have to respect the football. When you have the football in your hands, you have everybody in the organization in your hands. I tried to explain that to our guys this week a little more forcefully. When we don't shoot ourselves in the foot, we're pretty good."
Barr will play
After missing three games because of a hamstring injury, linebacker Anthony Barr made it through a full week of practice and will play against the Packers on Sunday night.
