The Facts: With Kevin O’Connell on hand as the head coach, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips won’t be calling the plays for the Vikings in 2022 but he did share some insight into what the team’s approach is going to look like on that side of the ball when he held his first press conference since coming to Minnesota on Thursday. One area that Phillips touched on was running the football. The Vikings ranked in the middle of the pack when it came to rushing attempts during the 2021 season, but they often ranked near the top of the league during Mike Zimmer’s run as their head coach. “I think any coordinator who’s good will tell you the running game is important, but I would say that winning the game is most important,” Phillips said.

Diehards Line:Phillips continued: “You’re going to play some teams who, scheme-wise, they make it very difficult to run based on their personnel and their scheme. A guy that comes to mind is Todd Bowles. Always had one of the best defenses against the run and you see a lot of people’s press conferences after they play Todd Bowles’ defense, and they say, ‘Why did you abandon the run, why did you abandon the run?’ It’s like a broken record. Well there’s a reason for that. They’re daring you to throw it a lot of times, and sometimes that’s what you’ve got to do to win the game. So the running game is certainly important, and you always feel better about staying on track, not being in second and longs, third and longs where more of your playbook is available. So yes, the run game is critical, but in the end it’s about winning the football game. ...” As Profootballtalk.com suggests, with Dalvin Cook on hand, the Vikings aren’t likely to be abandoning the run at a drop of a hat but the way they handle getting him the ball may look a bit different than it did under the previous regime.