Vikings’ defense must get more pressure on quarterbacks

By Krupka  |   Wednesday, August 01, 2007  |  Comments( 4 )

Minnesota Vikings
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The Minnesota Vikings' defense was an impenetrable force against the run in 2006. The unit was the most prolific in the NFL at stuffing opposing rushers, allowing just 60.1 yards per game on the ground. On the contrary, when it came to stopping the pass Minnesota was terrible, finishing with the league's worst aerial defense.

As defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier takes over for the departed Mike Tomlin, who's now the Pittsburgh Steelers' head coach, his main job will be devising a way to improve the one deficiency keeping the Vikings from having an elite 'D'.

How could a defense be so good in one aspect yet so downright atrocious in another? For the Vikings, it may be simpler than one would think. Teams were unable to run the ball with much success against Minnesota and had to resort to the aerial attack. The more passing attempts a team has, the more of a chance there is to rack up yardage through the air.

Also, the Minnesota defense often played a scheme that is supposed to prevent big plays but still allows plenty of opportunities to gain yardage in the short passing game. Nobody proved that better than the New England Patriots in Week 8 of last season, as quarterback shredded the Vikings to the tune of 372 yards and four touchdown passes.

The lack of a consistent rush is what ultimately did in the pass defense. The Vikings' defensive line, which was so stout against the run, combined for just 17½ sacks. As a team, Minnesota finished with just 30 sacks, finishing tied with the Detroit Lions for 25th in the league.

Consider this: Packers defensive end Aaron Kampman finished with 15½ sacks by himself, which was just two fewer than the entire Viking D-line. Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman notched 17 sacks in just 12 games. And Minnesota's starting line combined for just six sacks, all of which were courtesy of the "Williams Wall," at the defensive tackle positions.

Oftentimes, the only pressure Minnesota could get on opposing quarterbacks was when it blitzed linebackers, which further opened up the middle of the field for short timing routes.

In order for Minnesota to sew up its pass defense, the linemen up front, especially the ends, must get to the quarterback much more often in 2007. That means starting DE Kenechi Udeze, a former first-round pick out of USC, cannot put up a bagel in the sack department again.

However, it can't all be pinned on Udeze. Expect the defensive focus in training camp to be getting more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. If it doesn't come to fruition, '07 could give the Vikings and their fans flashbacks to Brady and the Patriots marching up and down the field via the pass and not even bothering to run.

-You can reach Eric Krupka at ekrupka@realfootball365.com

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CommentsComments: 4  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Archangel		09:14 AM
08/01/2007
Not sure if my previous post "posted"! - If Training Camp is any indication, there's going to be alot of surprised players and...
No.2
Go Vikes Go!		04:34 PM
08/01/2007
I can't believe how many ignorant people make comments here. The Vikings play good all-around defense. They play a west coast...
No.3
Archangel		05:44 PM
08/01/2007
"Go Vikes GO!" I can't believe how many ignorant people think that every so-called "Tampa 2" Defense is the same. Don't you keep...
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