Thread: 3-4 defense a 'different look'

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twinci...s/15309617.htm
Posted on Sat, Aug. 19, 2006
3-4 defense a 'different look'
BY DON SEEHOLZER
Pioneer Press

It's only an exhibition game, and the opposing starting quarterback might not even play, but the Vikings said there's at least one thing that makes tonight's road contest against the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers somewhat special.

"The difference with Pittsburgh is they're a 3-4 defense," quarterback Brad Johnson said. "It does change some of your schemes. It's a little bit different look — something that we'll experience with teams down the road."

Coach Brad Childress said that makes this a valuable learning opportunity for his team. He shared a story from his years as a Philadelphia Eagles assistant.

"A couple years ago, we played Bill Belichick (and New England) in the preseason," Childress said. "And his take was, 'I can't wait to see my guards play with somebody covering them.' That's because they practice against the 3-4 all the time. And our take was we can't wait to see our guards play in space and our center covered. If you don't see it all the time, it's different for you."

Childress said the 3-4 defense creates a diverse set of problems for an offense and requires a different thought process.

Because it's an exhibition game, both teams figure to keep things vanilla on both sides of the ball, but Childress is still looking forward to seeing how his players fare against a Super Bowl champion.

"Pittsburgh by its nature is a physical, hard-nosed football team," he said. "They run a hard-nosed camp. That's what they pride themselves on: running the ball and stopping the run. You'd better be ready for that. I doubt whether it will be an aerial circus."

QB or not QB? There was no change Friday in the status of Steelers starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is questionable for tonight's game because of a sprained ligament in his right thumb.

If Roethlisberger doesn't play, veteran backup Charlie Batch will start, with rookie Omar Jacobs and free agent Shane Boyd going the rest of the way.

Who's No. 1? With Koren Robinson excused from the team pending developments in his DWI case, Troy Williamson moves up to the Vikings' No. 1 receiver slot. But offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell hedged some when asked if last year's No. 1 draft choice had shown enough to open the season in that role.

"He's getting there," Bevell said. "I'm not going to put that tag on him yet, but there is still a lot of work to do."

Williamson has received rave reviews from coaches and teammates during training camp, and Bevell said he has taken a step forward every day of practice.

Williamson's task is to continue to build on that progress.

"He has a long way to go," Bevell said. "We look for big things from him. As long as he keeps improving — we have three more preseason games — he'll do a good job for us."

Don Seeholzer can be reached at [email protected]

just another step in the gelling process of our newly built o-line

i really hope williamson shows us somethin special tonight

"Vikes_King" wrote:

just another step in the gelling process of our newly built o-line

i really hope williamson shows us somethin special tonight

If he doesn't, the Vikes will be looking for a trade as soon as Sunday..

Maybe not a trade, but a harder look at Jason Carter. He did well tonight against the Steelers. Don't know if it was good enough to against a starting D, but he could provide depth at least.