Thread: Vikings excited about their defense, if everyone stays healthy

The epiphany came to Jared Allen in February at Aloha Stadium, site of the Pro Bowl.

The Vikings' defensive end and his five teammates played key roles in the NFC's 30-21 victory over the AFC.

Allen had a sack and forced and recovered a fumble. The Williams Wall (Pat and Kevin) combined for seven tackles. Cornerback Antoine Winfield intercepted a pass. Running back Adrian Peterson rushed eight times for 48 yards, including a touchdown. And guard Steve Hutchinson was his usual, dominant self.

"I saw how well all the Vikings did at the game, I'm thinking we get E.J. (Henderson) coming back, then you get that excitement back," Allen said. "We were very good last year, but there were a couple of games we could have done better."

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_12079504?source=rss

"Marrdro" wrote:

The epiphany came to Jared Allen in February at Aloha Stadium, site of the Pro Bowl.

The Vikings' defensive end and his five teammates played key roles in the NFC's 30-21 victory over the AFC.

Allen had a sack and forced and recovered a fumble. The Williams Wall (Pat and Kevin) combined for seven tackles. Cornerback Antoine Winfield intercepted a pass. Running back Adrian Peterson rushed eight times for 48 yards, including a touchdown. And guard Steve Hutchinson was his usual, dominant self.

"I saw how well all the Vikings did at the game, I'm thinking we get E.J. (Henderson) coming back, then you get that excitement back," Allen said. "We were very good last year, but there were a couple of games we could have done better."

http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_12079504?source=rss

Thatnks for the read Marrdro.
Hopefully the defense comes up huge this year and helps out the questionable QB situation.
To be very honest I wish they would bring in Garcia.
I know you and others think he is no better than a 9-7 guy but really how would we know?
He hasn't played an entire season yet.
I know he brought the Eagles to the playoffs two years ago when no one thought they had a chance.
His record was better than 9-7.
Last year he lost his job when he got hurt but when he played against our defense he made them look silly at times.
He is accurate and smart with the rock.

"ejmat" wrote:

Thatnks for the read Marrdro.
Hopefully the defense comes up huge this year and helps out the questionable QB situation.

I worry more about our D-cord than I do the players my friend.
Just don't have the man love for that cat like most on here.
IMHO our Defense should have been better than it was last year, especially for the first two games, based on the QB's (one making first start/other coming off knee surgery and damn rusty) and the patched together OL's that were protecting them.

To be very honest I wish they would bring in Garcia.
I know you and others think he is no better than a 9-7 guy but really how would we know?
He hasn't played an entire season yet.
I know he brought the Eagles to the playoffs two years ago when no one thought they had a chance.
His record was better than 9-7.
Last year he lost his job when he got hurt but when he played against our defense he made them look silly at times.
He is accurate and smart with the rock.

Ohhhhh, don't get me wrong on Garcia.
I would love for them to bring him in.
I just don't see him as the saviour most see him as.

"Marrdro" wrote:

"ejmat" wrote:

Thatnks for the read Marrdro.
Hopefully the defense comes up huge this year and helps out the questionable QB situation.

I worry more about our D-cord than I do the players my friend.
Just don't have the man love for that cat like most on here.
IMHO our Defense should have been better than it was last year, especially for the first two games, based on the QB's (one making first start/other coming off knee surgery and damn rusty) and the patched together OL's that were protecting them.

To be very honest I wish they would bring in Garcia.
I know you and others think he is no better than a 9-7 guy but really how would we know?
He hasn't played an entire season yet.
I know he brought the Eagles to the playoffs two years ago when no one thought they had a chance.
His record was better than 9-7.
Last year he lost his job when he got hurt but when he played against our defense he made them look silly at times.
He is accurate and smart with the rock.

Ohhhhh, don't get me wrong on Garcia.
I would love for them to bring him in.
I just don't see him as the saviour most see him as.

I just don't get it. Our D played extremely well in those games. Holding two solid offenses to 17.5 points is very good. That is the work of a top 5 D.

"V" wrote:

"Marrdro" wrote:

"ejmat" wrote:

Thatnks for the read Marrdro.
Hopefully the defense comes up huge this year and helps out the questionable QB situation.

I worry more about our D-cord than I do the players My Sexy Little Pixie.
Just don't have the man love for that cat like most on here.
IMHO our Defense should have been better than it was last year, especially for the first two games, based on the QB's (one making first start/other coming off knee surgery and gol 'darnit rusty) and the patched together OL's that were protecting them.

To be very honest I wish they would bring in Garcia.
I know you and others think he is no better than a 9-7 guy but really how would we know?
He hasn't played an entire season yet.
I know he brought the Eagles to the playoffs two years ago when no one thought they had a chance.
His record was better than 9-7.
Last year he lost his job when he got hurt but when he played against our defense he made them look silly at times.
He is accurate and smart with the rock.

Ohhhhh, don't get me wrong on Garcia.
I would love for them to bring him in.
I just don't see him as the saviour most see him as.

I just don't get it. Our D played extremely well in those games. Holding two solid offenses to 17.5 points is very good. That is the work of a top 5 D.

How many sacks did they get on Rodgers and Manning?

Seriously, two crappy OL's and two QB's that should have been sitting ducks.


Did they play well against the run?
Hell yes, however, Were was the pressure?
Were were the INT"s.
Dude don't know shit about how to use that DL to get pressure.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20080914016
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20070930016

"Marrdro" wrote:

"V" wrote:

"Marrdro" wrote:

"ejmat" wrote:

Thatnks for the read Marrdro.
Hopefully the defense comes up huge this year and helps out the questionable QB situation.

I worry more about our D-cord than I do the players My Sexy Little Pixie.
Just don't have the man love for that cat like most on here.
IMHO our Defense should have been better than it was last year, especially for the first two games, based on the QB's (one making first start/other coming off knee surgery and gol 'darnit rusty) and the patched together OL's that were protecting them.

To be very honest I wish they would bring in Garcia.
I know you and others think he is no better than a 9-7 guy but really how would we know?
He hasn't played an entire season yet.
I know he brought the Eagles to the playoffs two years ago when no one thought they had a chance.
His record was better than 9-7.
Last year he lost his job when he got hurt but when he played against our defense he made them look silly at times.
He is accurate and smart with the rock.

Ohhhhh, don't get me wrong on Garcia.
I would love for them to bring him in.
I just don't see him as the saviour most see him as.

I just don't get it. Our D played extremely well in those games. Holding two solid offenses to 17.5 points is very good. That is the work of a top 5 D.

How many sacks did they get on Rodgers and Manning?

Seriously, two crappy OL's and two QB's that should have been sitting ducks.


Did they play well against the run?
Hell yes, however, Were was the pressure?
Were were the INT"s.
Dude don't know shit about how to use that DL to get pressure.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20080914016
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20070930016

This is very unlike you Marr:

Giving the players credit for the good, but blaming the coaches for the bad.
Using Sack statistics to quantify DL play.

Bottomline is that they kept points off of the board, and gave our offense numerous chances to win the game.

The healthy return of EJ, for me will be the determining factor for success this upcoming season. Also the return of Udeze. I'm not counting Gordon out, but we will draft a CB sometime in the draft, probably with our second or third pick. The resigning of Farwell to be the backup for all three LB spot's is also huge, but look for us to address that position in the draft also. Allen is right to have excitment for the upcoming year, and if EJ, Udeze, and Gordon contribute, get and stay healthy, the sky is the limit.

Does Garcia play safety? ;D

"V" wrote:

"Marrdro" wrote:

"V" wrote:

"Marrdro" wrote:

"ejmat" wrote:

Thatnks for the read Marrdro.
Hopefully the defense comes up huge this year and helps out the questionable QB situation.

I worry more about our D-cord than I do the players My Sexy Little Pixie.
Just don't have the man love for that cat like most on here.
IMHO our Defense should have been better than it was last year, especially for the first two games, based on the QB's (one making first start/other coming off knee surgery and gol 'darnit rusty) and the patched together OL's that were protecting them.

To be very honest I wish they would bring in Garcia.
I know you and others think he is no better than a 9-7 guy but really how would we know?
He hasn't played an entire season yet.
I know he brought the Eagles to the playoffs two years ago when no one thought they had a chance.
His record was better than 9-7.
Last year he lost his job when he got hurt but when he played against our defense he made them look silly at times.
He is accurate and smart with the rock.

Ohhhhh, don't get me wrong on Garcia.
I would love for them to bring him in.
I just don't see him as the saviour most see him as.

I just don't get it. Our D played extremely well in those games. Holding two solid offenses to 17.5 points is very good. That is the work of a top 5 D.

How many sacks did they get on Rodgers and Manning?

Seriously, two crappy OL's and two QB's that should have been sitting ducks.


Did they play well against the run?
Hell yes, however, Were was the pressure?
Were were the INT"s.
Dude don't know pooh about how to use that DL to get pressure.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20080914016
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20070930016

This is very unlike you Marr:

Giving the players credit for the good, but blaming the coaches for the bad.
Using Sack statistics to quantify DL play.

Bottomline is that they kept points off of the board, and gave our offense numerous chances to win the game.

I am in no way taking away from the effort.
Just the overall effect.

They dominated the Colts in the first half and then came out and gave up a cheap TD early in the 3rd QTR, why?
Did the gameplan change?
Did the Colts do something different?
Were our starters hurt or winded?

Long story short, they didn't play a good 60 minutes of football.
IMHO that falls to the coaching staff as much as it does to the players but in this case, I believe or team wasn't ready to play 60 minutes of ball because of the lame assed prep they did in the pre-season.

"Marrdro" wrote:

"V" wrote:

"Marrdro" wrote:

"V" wrote:

"Marrdro" wrote:

[quote author=ejmat link=topic=51333.msg931828#msg931828 date=1239020622]
Thatnks for the read Marrdro.
Hopefully the defense comes up huge this year and helps out the questionable QB situation.

I worry more about our D-cord than I do the players My Sexy Little Pixie.
Just don't have the man love for that cat like most on here.
IMHO our Defense should have been better than it was last year, especially for the first two games, based on the QB's (one making first start/other coming off knee surgery and gol 'darnit rusty) and the patched together OL's that were protecting them.

To be very honest I wish they would bring in Garcia.
I know you and others think he is no better than a 9-7 guy but really how would we know?
He hasn't played an entire season yet.
I know he brought the Eagles to the playoffs two years ago when no one thought they had a chance.
His record was better than 9-7.
Last year he lost his job when he got hurt but when he played against our defense he made them look silly at times.
He is accurate and smart with the rock.

Ohhhhh, don't get me wrong on Garcia.
I would love for them to bring him in.
I just don't see him as the saviour most see him as.

I just don't get it. Our D played extremely well in those games. Holding two solid offenses to 17.5 points is very good. That is the work of a top 5 D.

How many sacks did they get on Rodgers and Manning?

Seriously, two crappy OL's and two QB's that should have been sitting ducks.


Did they play well against the run?
Hell yes, however, Were was the pressure?
Were were the INT"s.
Dude don't know pooh about how to use that DL to get pressure.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20080914016
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20070930016

This is very unlike you Marr:

Giving the players credit for the good, but blaming the coaches for the bad.
Using Sack statistics to quantify DL play.

Bottomline is that they kept points off of the board, and gave our offense numerous chances to win the game.

I am in no way taking away from the effort.
Just the overall effect.

They dominated the Colts in the first half and then came out and gave up a cheap TD early in the 3rd QTR, why?
Did the gameplan change?
Did the Colts do something different?
Were our starters hurt or winded?

Long story short, they didn't play a good 60 minutes of football.
IMHO that falls to the coaching staff as much as it does to the players but in this case, I believe or team wasn't ready to play 60 minutes of ball because of the lame assed prep they did in the pre-season.
[/quote]

I think the overall effect was pretty damned good. Our D played dominant in the first, and our offense could not take advantage, could barely even generate one big play, let alone first downs. It's not as if the second half was a completely different game. The only big differences were two big plays by the Colts offense, and a missed FG by Longwell.

I didn't see a fatigued team, so I think it has nothing to do with prepearation. It is simply extremely rare to shut Indy's offense down for 60 minutes. The lead should have been much bigger and the end of the half.

In general I'm not going to blame the D for keeping any offense, especially good ones, under 20 points.

"V" wrote:

"Marrdro" wrote:

"V" wrote:

"Marrdro" wrote:

"V" wrote:

[quote author=Marrdro link=topic=51333.msg931834#msg931834 date=1239021607]
[quote author=ejmat link=topic=51333.msg931828#msg931828 date=1239020622]
Thatnks for the read Marrdro.
Hopefully the defense comes up huge this year and helps out the questionable QB situation.

I worry more about our D-cord than I do the players My Sexy Little Pixie.
Just don't have the man love for that cat like most on here.
IMHO our Defense should have been better than it was last year, especially for the first two games, based on the QB's (one making first start/other coming off knee surgery and gol 'darnit rusty) and the patched together OL's that were protecting them.

To be very honest I wish they would bring in Garcia.
I know you and others think he is no better than a 9-7 guy but really how would we know?
He hasn't played an entire season yet.
I know he brought the Eagles to the playoffs two years ago when no one thought they had a chance.
His record was better than 9-7.
Last year he lost his job when he got hurt but when he played against our defense he made them look silly at times.
He is accurate and smart with the rock.

Ohhhhh, don't get me wrong on Garcia.
I would love for them to bring him in.
I just don't see him as the saviour most see him as.

I just don't get it. Our D played extremely well in those games. Holding two solid offenses to 17.5 points is very good. That is the work of a top 5 D.

How many sacks did they get on Rodgers and Manning?

Seriously, two crappy OL's and two QB's that should have been sitting ducks.


Did they play well against the run?
Hell yes, however, Were was the pressure?
Were were the INT"s.
Dude don't know pooh about how to use that DL to get pressure.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20080914016
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/boxscore?gid=20070930016

This is very unlike you Marr:

Giving the players credit for the good, but blaming the coaches for the bad.
Using Sack statistics to quantify DL play.

Bottomline is that they kept points off of the board, and gave our offense numerous chances to win the game.

I am in no way taking away from the effort.
Just the overall effect.

They dominated the Colts in the first half and then came out and gave up a cheap TD early in the 3rd QTR, why?
Did the gameplan change?
Did the Colts do something different?
Were our starters hurt or winded?

Long story short, they didn't play a good 60 minutes of football.
IMHO that falls to the coaching staff as much as it does to the players but in this case, I believe or team wasn't ready to play 60 minutes of ball because of the lame assed prep they did in the pre-season.
[/quote]

I think the overall effect was pretty damned good. Our D played dominant in the first, and our offense could not take advantage, could barely even generate one big play, let alone first downs. It's not as if the second half was a completely different game. The only big differences were two big plays by the Colts offense, and a missed FG by Longwell.

I didn't see a fatigued team, so I think it has nothing to do with prepearation. It is simply extremely rare to shut Indy's offense down for 60 minutes. The lead should have been much bigger and the end of the half.

In general I'm not going to blame the D for keeping any offense, especially good ones, under 20 points.
Nor am I, however, in this case (actually both games) I was very disappointed with the front 4's ability to get to the QB and pressure him.

End result, very minimal yards rushing and huge numbers in the passing game.

My hope is that will change this year and we will be able to get off the field more often.
[/quote]