To be fair our organization chose to have pass rushers not all around or run stuffing OLBs when we signed the Smiths. Preston does better, but Z is not a guy that strikes fear into offense's run plans at all. We simply are not built presently to do well against the run IMO.
They aren't well-equipped, personnel wise, to handle this particular offense, but that can't excuse this level of ineptitude every time they face it.
I do not think that Pettine is a stupid coach. I've routinely defended him against the more emotional reactions around here, but there is a real criticism that he just can't seem to manage against the scheme that the Packers themselves run.
And that's a problem, because the Vikings run it, the Rams run it, and the 49ers run it. So you've got a team in the division and teams around the conference that seem to have a trump card on the Packers.
Yesterday, the Vikings put up 34 for 173 on the ground.
Week one, they put up 18 for 100 (excluding Cousins' yardage)-- so the efficiency was there, but they couldn't take advantage because the offense was creating a lead.
I think that's the best shot they've got at a solution here: adding a piece at the deadline and using their offense to create leads so that teams can't just grind it out.