Vikings DE Yannick Ngakoue vows for better Week 2 after quiet debut
Yannick Ngakoue #91 of the Jacksonville Jaguars gets control of a fumble by the Tennessee Titans during the second quarter of the game at Nissan Stadium on November 24, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. ((Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - After being relatively quiet in his Minnesota Vikings debut, defensive end Yannick Ngakoue vowed on Wednesday things will be different in Week 2 at the Indianapolis Colts.
Ngakoue got 44 snaps on defense, but didn’t record a tackle and only had one quarterback hit on Aaron Rodgers as the Vikings started 0-1 with a 43-34 loss to their NFC North Division rivals. Vikings defensive ends created just three pressures on Rodgers in the game.
“I feel like I could’ve made a bigger impact of helping the D-line out, forcing more pressures on the quarterback, regardless who’s back there in the pocket. I’ve still got a bad taste in my mouth that I want to make it right this weekend,” Ngakoue told reporters. “Right now, this defensive line and this defense needs a spark, and I need to go make that spark this weekend.”
In his defense, Ngakoue got a late start to the season. He held out of training camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars before being traded to the Vikings. He had just four practices with the Vikings before taking the field last Sunday.
“You’ve got guys who have been in camp for four weeks, and I just had four or five days to try to get ready. I’m the type of person that I don’t make excuses, at the same time it doesn’t matter if I’ve only had one practice, I should be able to do more than I did,” Ngakoue said.
It doesn’t help matters that Ngakoue is without fellow defensive end Danielle Hunter for the first three weeks after the Vikings placed him on injured reserve. Rodgers had time to throw, and the Packers had the ball for more than 41 minutes last Sunday.
The result was 364 yards and four touchdowns on the Vikings’ defense. Mike Zimmer didn’t seem too concerned about Ngakoue moving forward.
“It was tough on him coming in that late, trying to get all the techniques and everything that we’re trying to get done. I’m sure as the season progresses he’ll continue to understand things more,” Zimmer said.
Vikings Co-Defensive Coordinator Andre Patterson on Thursday credited Rodgers getting throws out quickly to prevent getting pressured.
“There were some opportunities that we could’ve been better at rushing the passer. If you look at it, he got the ball out in 2.3 seconds, his average time throwing the ball. You can do this experiment if you want to. You can put four defensive linemen at the line of scrimmage with no offensive linemen, put the quarterback in shotgun and if he gets it out in 2.3 seconds, you’re not going to be able to sack him. It’s not going to happen,” Patterson said. “If you can get the ball out in 2.3 seconds, you’re going to make it difficult for anybody to pressure you. We've got to do a better job of making him hold onto it a little bit longer.
The Vikings sent the Jaguars two draft picks, and are paying Ngakoue $12 million this season.
Ngakoue should feel better about his chances to have a bigger impact at Indianapolis. He’s faced the Colts eight times the last four seasons with the Jaguars, recording 6.5 sacks, 15 quarterback hits and forcing three fumbles.
More time on the practice field with his teammates this week can only help.
“I don’t make excuses for myself, at the same time, I felt like I needed that one week to just get a lot of stuff underneath my feet and continue to get better each and every day,” Ngakoue said.