Vikings' Disguise-Heavy Fangio/Donatell Defense Helping Kirk Cousins Prepare

Cousins now gets to go against the new wave of NFL defensive structure every day in practice.

Much has been made of the Vikings having a new offensive scheme under Sean McVay disciple Kevin O'Connell, making it easy to overlook the fact that Minnesota will be deploying an entirely new defense this season too.

Defense was rarely the issue under previous head coach Mike Zimmer, a defensive guru who led an incredible run on that side of the ball from 2015 to 2019. He was and still is a remarkably influential defensive mind whose double-A gap looks, varied coverage shells, and complex pressure packages created consistent results, especially on third down and in the red zone. But whether due to personnel, scheme, or a combination of the two, the Vikings' defense slipped in a big way over the past two years. Combine that with Zimmer's game management struggles and an increasingly toxic culture around the facility, and it was clear change needed to happen this offseason.

In 2022, the Vikings have made the switch from Zimmer's 4-3 base defense to the increasingly popular scheme created by former Broncos head coach and longtime defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, which uses a 3-4 base front. And outside of Fangio, who is taking a year off after being let go by Denver, no one is as qualified to teach and run this defense as Vikings DC Ed Donatell, Fangio's right-hand man for the last 11 seasons with the 49ers, Bears, and Broncos.

The system — which teams like the Broncos, Bears, Chargers (under Brandon Staley, one of Fangio's most successful proteges), Rams, Packers, Seahawks, and several others also employ — focuses on disguise. By beginning every play with the same two-high safety shell and then rotating into a variety of coverages, this scheme makes things difficult on quarterbacks by making them process a lot of information after the snap. It prioritizes limiting explosive passing plays and muddying things up for the QB both before the snap and during the first couple seconds of each play, allowing more time for the pass rush to get home.

"That family of defense has really caused a lot of people problems and it’s because it puts a lot of stress on the quarterback on the other side post-snap, puts a lot of stress on the communication of the offense to make sure they are able to play within the framework once that ball is snapped," O'Connell said. "That’s where you really have to define the detail as an offense. That’s what I love about practicing against it everyday. It forces us to really learn what we’re capable of and what we’re doing, instead of just taking advantage of every look we see pre-snap."

This isn't Kirk Cousins' first experience dealing with the Fangio defense. He received his introduction to it in 2015 — his first year as Washington's full-time starter and Fangio and Donatell's first year in Chicago. He saw it more and more in recent years, including twice against the Bears when he arrived in Minnesota in 2018 and against the Broncos in 2019. Last year, Cousins got his first chance to practice against it for a couple days when the Broncos came to Minnesota for joint training camp practices. 

Those practices left a strong impression on him.

"I was saying that coming off the practice field (last year)," Cousins said. "It’s interesting what they’re doing with the safeties and how they’re playing that pre-snap and post-snap and the rotations and the pressures and the way they're dropping this guy and not that guy. You just found yourself saying this is so good to practice against something different, because we’re going to see a variety of schemes throughout the season. In training camp to be able to see a certain scheme day after day and get familiar with that and then see a different scheme really helps your preparation."

Now Cousins gets to see this defense every day in practice, which he says has been challenging. This experience in spring practices, even as the Vikings' defenders are still learning the scheme, has pushed his ability to read what the defense is doing after the snap because it's so hard to identify anything of note beforehand.

"It’s really muddy, so when you drop back, you don’t know quite what you’re getting," he said. "Obviously, as a quarterback or any position on offense, you want to know what you’re getting. They’re doing a good job with disguise, making things look the same, and that’s the best word I can say is making things muddy as I drop back. I think it’s a great scheme and they do a great job, but it just makes practice difficult."

It's important to note again that the disguise doesn't end right after the ball is snapped. The Fangio defense tries to continue disguising things for as long as possible once the play begins, while still making sure every player gets to their assigned zone or man responsibility. 

"It doesn’t help you at all to see the defense in the first couple steps because they’re doing such a good job of making it muddy," Cousins said. "I’ll get to my second step and I don’t have a better answer than I did before the snap. Usually, you have your pre-snap look that they will disguise, but the second you say “hut” they’re going where they have to go, and that’s not the case. You’re better off turning your back (in play-action) because I’m not getting any tells anyways."

Patrick Peterson describes that as trying to "steal a second" from the quarterback.

"Disguising and lining up in certain things to steal that second is going to make our job that much easier," said the veteran cornerback. "Because when you have a confused quarterback, you don’t have a clear indication on where to go with the ball, that gives Danielle (Hunter) and Z (Za'Darius Smith) an opportunity to get that much more pressure on him. I love the scheme, I love the way it’s structured; I love the way that it’s built, and I’m just excited to see how it’s going to unfold here in the fall."

Coaching alone isn't enough to execute this defense at a high level; you have to have the personnel to be able to pull it off. Versatility is a big part of that. If a team can trust their linebackers to cover, blitz, and stop the run, that makes a huge difference, and the Vikings have one of the best in the game in Eric Kendricks. They also have a dynamic edge rusher duo in Hunter and Smith, which is huge.

Safeties need to be smart and versatile in this system, which is why the Vikings drafted Lewis Cine in the first round to join Harrison Smith on the back end. Cornerbacks are as important as always, and that remains a question mark for Minnesota, although they have a solid mix of young and old with Peterson, Cameron Dantzler, rookie Andrew Booth Jr., and slot corner Chandon Sullivan.

The Fangio defense puts its emphasis on stopping big plays through the air, instead forcing quarterbacks to beat them with quick underneath throws. It's hard to sustain long drives when the confusion of the scheme can lead to negative plays. However, the defense can be susceptible to the run. That makes run-stuffing defensive tackles, who have to play a "gap-and-a-half" up front, especially important. That explains why the Vikings went out and signed Harrison Phillips in free agency to pair with Dalvin Tomlinson in the middle.

Moving on from a defensive wizard like Zimmer makes it fair to assume the Vikings might regress on that side of the ball in 2022. But by adopting this Fangio scheme and acquiring players they believe can execute it effectively, it's possible the Vikings will actually improve on defense this year.

Plus, adopting this defense might directly help the offense improve, too. Cousins and the rest of the offense getting to face this defense — one they'll see numerous times during the regular season — every day in practice can only help prepare them for what's to come.

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