Arif Hasan: Bringing an X's and O's approach to Vikings coverage

Kirk Cousins
By Arif Hasan
Aug 20, 2018

I’m proud to have joined the excellent crew here at The Athletic. In the time since it began, The Athletic has established a reputation for in-depth analysis and quality reporting — and I’m delighted to contribute to it by covering the Minnesota Vikings.

Before becoming a member of this team, I covered the Vikings for seven years elsewhere, with pieces appearing in the Star Tribune, the L.A. Times, MSNBC, Forbes, the International Business Times and Bleacher Report. Most recently, I was writing for Zone Coverage.

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Prior to that, I worked in politics and education. I campaigned for candidates, raised money for nonprofit organizations and lobbied public officials. I also taught and coached high school debate for six years. I approach sportswriting with that history behind me, with an intent to passionately dissect and evaluate the arguments surrounding the NFL and the Vikings.

In addition to the top-notch features and reporting you’ll get from Jon Krawczynski and Chad Graff, as well as the player-perspective analysis pieces from Sage Rosenfels, here at The Athletic you’ll now also find pieces from me breaking down the Vikings and their opponents — from team-level evaluation to assessments of individual players. That means taking a look at the X’s and O’s of the Vikings’ offense and defense, scouting reports of the players on the team and the analytics that best describe and predict football.

During the season, I’ll provide detailed breakdowns of important stories of last week’s game and preview upcoming games — while also providing midweek updates on the larger storylines impacting the Vikings. We might check in on a particular player, what roles he’s tasked with and why he’s succeeding or failing. It could also appear as a breakdown of the infamous run-pass option and how it fits within offensive coordinator John DeFilippo’s offense and the capabilities of the players on the roster.

Put it all together, and our team can break news on a player, give you unique perspectives on who that player is and tell you how that player impacts the team statistically and on film.

The Athletic is the perfect place to find comprehensive coverage of the Minnesota Vikings, and I’m thrilled to be a part of that. We hope you’ll join us for the season ahead. And look for my first analysis piece later Monday.

If you haven’t subscribed yet, join now with this 30% off link: theathletic.com/vikingsexpansion

(Top image: Kirk Cousins and Stefon Diggs celebrate Arif Hasan’s arrival at The Athletic. Credit: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

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Arif Hasan

Arif Hasan has been writing about the Vikings and the NFL for more than a decade, specializing in deep-dive analysis using both film and analytics to break down the most pressing questions surrounding the team. His work has appeared locally and nationally, featuring in publications like the Star Tribune, the LA Times, the International Business Times, Forbes, MSNBC and Bleacher Report. Prior to joining The Athletic, Arif wrote for Zone Coverage. Follow Arif on Twitter @ArifHasanNFL