Maybe the strangest NFL storyline from Week 16 was the Vikings' defenders abandoning coach Mike Zimmer's game plan in favor of their own.
Instead of cornerback Xavier Rhodes shadowing Packers receiver Jordy Nelson as instructed, the defensive backs decided to do it their way ... and got torched. Nelson had 145 yards receiving and two touchdowns at the half.
The team then went to Zimmer's plan in the second half, and Nelson was held to just two catches for nine yards. "That's what he was supposed to do the whole game," Zimmer said about the second-half performance.
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NFL Network analyst (and former player) Deion Sanders then called out the Vikings DBs. Sanders has close ties to Zimmer, who was Sanders' positional coach for five seasons (1995-99) at Dallas.
"That is so stupid and ignorant," Sanders said of the Vikings secondary's actions. "Not only is (Zimmer) a really good head coach, he was also my coach, and I know how much he puts into studying and having you prepared. So if he asks you to flop, that's because of a purpose. He sees a tendency.
"I'm sure the defense that he called and he wanted them to be in was something to prevent those big plays that we saw Jordy Nelson make. But these 'rocket scientists' felt like they know more than the darn coach, and we're going to get together and come up with our own scheme.
"How are you going to come up with your own scheme?"
