Vikings cornerbacks abandon Mike Zimmer’s game plan
By Adam Stocker
Xavier Rhodes was supposed to shadow Jordy Nelson in the first half, but that’s not what happened.
During Mike Zimmer’s tenure as the Minnesota Vikings head coach, he has always had the team’s top cornerback Xavier Rhodes shadow Green Bay Packers top wide receiver, Jordy Nelson.
However, the Vikings corners decided to change the game plan on Zimmer, according to the Star Tribune.
In the first half, Rhodes covered his side of the field, while Terence Newman covered the other side of the field. It was not until halftime that Rhodes began shadowing Nelson for the rest of the game.
In a post-game interview Rhodes told reports how it was the corners’ decision to change the game plan and not shadow the Packers top receiver. Rhodes stated that the corners believed the change would help the Vikings contain Nelson and the Packers offense.
The Vikings defensive backs were way off in their thinking. Nelson had a day to remember. In the first half, Nelson caught seven passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns. The Kansas State graduate finished the game with nine catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns in the Packers 38-25 victory. The Packers win officially eliminated the Vikings from the playoffs.
Zimmer was clearly not happy about his players’ decision not to follow the game plan. Zimmer told reporters that he noticed the change when Newman came to him in the first half to talk. According to Zimmer, Newman told him he could cover Nelson. But Zimmer was firm in wanting to stick to the game plan of having Rhodes cover Nelson. Zimmer did not name any players by name when asked who told the cornerbacks to not follow the game plan.
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In the second half when following the game plan, Xavier Rhodes shadowed Nelson and held him to just two catches and nine yards. Maybe next season, the vikings corners will think twice about changing the game plan when it comes to covering Jordy Nelson. Except Rhodes to be shadowing Nelson for as long as Zimmer is the Vikings’ head coach.