Luke Braun's Film Room: Bench Joshua Dobbs? Let's Explore the Options

Luke Braun explores the arguments for benching Joshua Dobbs and what the Vikings may have in Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall.

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Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell answered questions after Joshua Dobbs threw four interceptions en route to a 12-10 loss to Chicago at home on primetime. It was a disaster. Naturally, the first instinct is to ask what went wrong with the quarterback who had taken the nation by storm just two weeks ago.

“He’s still getting comfortable in our pass game - play pass game, knowing where your quick eligibles are to put the ball in play, dropback pass, taking the right footwork, feet and eyes, all those things,” O’Connell said. He also spoke of “the rhythm and timing not feeling as crisp as we want to.”

But other than that, everything was fine, right?

There’s a lot going on there. Let’s see if we can show what he is talking about.

Josh Dobbs’ Struggles Start With The Fundamentals

Dobbs’s first major stumble came in the dropback pass game and on one of Kevin O’Connell’s staple concepts depicted below: Crash.

The Vikings run Crash several times per game and see a lot of Cover 2. This kind of mistake in this common situation is particularly alarming. Further, “Crash” is a universal NFL concept and thus Dobbs is undoubtedly familiar with it already. Additional time with the playbook seems like an ineffective possible solution.

What did Kevin O’Connell mean when he said “taking the right footwork?” The decision on exactly how to execute a 5-step dropback is subtle, but vital. For example, on this “Play Pass” (A.K.A. play action in the pocket), Dobbs drops to a depth of 10 yards and then steps up to 8 yards. 

This is common for Dobbs, and it’s different from Cousins’ approach. Cousins would often tighten that footwork, shorten his drop depth, and give both Darrisaw and O’Neill a shorter distance to cover.

Of course, this also compresses the space the interior has to work with. There are pros and cons, but if Kevin O’Connell wants these play passes to hit a certain length, consistency in that area could be a deciding factor. 

O’Connell’s play-action game also includes “Movement”, a package of bootlegs. Different quarterbacks approach these in different ways, but by the book they are read long to short. Whether or not you attempt a tight window throw is a factor of comfort and confidence.

In several areas, Dobbs’s mobility saves him from a mistake he made. Pocket quarterbacks have to manipulate linebackers to create space for over routes like in the example above. In a pinch, they have no choice but to dump the ball off to a running back who might get tackled behind the line of scrimmage. But if you can run, you can turn those situations into positive gains.