Minnesota Vikings defensive backs went rogue in Saturday's loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Coach Mike Zimmer planned for corner Xavier Rhodes to shadow Jordy Nelson the entire game. Instead, Vikings corners decided to each play their side of the field.
"To be honest, I really don't want to answer that," Rhodes said, via The Star Tribune, then explained what happened.
"A matter of fact, forget it. We felt as a team, as players, we came together and we felt like we'd never done that when we played against the Packers," Rhodes said. "Us as DBs felt like we could handle him. That's how we felt as DBs that we could stay on our side and cover him. In the beginning, we'd always played against them and played our sides, so that's what we as DBs went with."
Ditching the game plan helped Nelson go off in the first half. Aaron Rodgers' favorite target complied 145 yards and two TDs on seven first-half receptions -- some of that yardage came against Rhodes. The Packers led 28-13 before the Vikings got to the locker room and Zimmer took control.
With Rhodes shadowing Nelson in the second half, the Packers' receiver caught two passes for nine yards.
"That's what he was supposed to do the whole game," Zimmer said. "Someone decided they wouldn't do that."
Zimmer said corner Terence Newman mentioned something to him on the sideline about the change in plans.
"In the first half when Terence Newman came over and said something to me like 'I can cover this guy, let me have him,'" Zimmer said. "I said, 'do what you're supposed to do.'"
Newman declined to comment on the issue saying simply, "nothing. I have no idea."
On Sunday morning, Rhodes denied the reports and said there was more to the story:
In a season that started out with so much promise before spiraling out of control, the defensive back revolt is a bad look for a Vikings team that lost its way down the stretch.
