The Minnesota Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. played in his first game since the end of the 2019 season on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
As the Vikings move forward towards the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips spoke to the media and was asked about the usage of the tight end room. His answer shed a lot of light on the offense, especially Smith Jr.’s 19 total snaps this past Sunday.
The full quote from Phillips says a lot about how the Vikings will handle their offense moving forward.
“Some of that is based on personnel groupings. Some of it is what those personnel groupings might elicit. Maybe two tight ends with Irv in the game with Johnny Mundt, maybe that’s going to elicit a nickel grouping, or what we call ‘penny,’ like five down with still five DBs, and maybe that’s what we are looking for at times. You never know with the defense, how they’re going to react, and what they’re going to play. But some of the bigger groupings, if you’re in 22 personnel — two tight ends, two backs — you’re pretty sure you’re going to get a base defense. So you kind of expect a certain front structure. So some of that is just based on play, and some of that is based on situation.”
Phillips also said that “there is something” with the idea of easing Smith Jr. back in. Over the course of the season, expect Smith Jr. to get more snaps but most importantly, take advantage of situations.
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