Sharper: “Vikings fans will have a lot to cheer about”

By Krupka  |   Thursday, August 23, 2007  |  Comments( 19 )

Minnesota Vikings
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Darren Sharper believes the Minnesota Vikings are a playoff-caliber team. He told FoxSportsRadio hosts Chris Myers and Sean Farnham on "The Drive on Fox" Tuesday that "Vikings fans will have a lot to cheer about."

Sharper added that he thinks the team can achieve its goal of making the playoffs with its outstanding defense and a young, talented offense.

The 11-year veteran talked about improving the pass defense. He noted that although the Vikings were 31st in the NFL against the pass last year, their per-attempt average against was much better than you'd think. The Vikings' prolific run-stuffing unit forced the opposition to throw a lot, and when teams pass 40 times a game against you, it's inevitable they're going to rack up yards. With total yards being the only statistic used for pass-defense rankings, it made the numbers deceiving.

To add to Sharper's point, the Vikings faced the most pass attempts in the NFL last year (599), yet they allowed the 12th-fewest yards per pass at 6.7.

Still, it's an obvious area the team needs to improve. The Vikings' starting free safety said that new defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier has brought in some fresh coverage schemes and blitz packages to help improve the unit's lone weakness from last season. Sharper follows his coach's belief that getting more pressure on the quarterback is paramount to success in defending the pass.

"Our mentality as a defense is that we want to dominate," Sharper said.

A dominating defense will surely give the fans something to cheer about. Hopefully for them, the cheering will continue all the way into January.

Eric Krupka, a senior writer for RealFootball365.com, can be contacted at ekrupka@realfootball365.com

Intercept passes with Darren Sharper and the Vikings at RealFootball365.com
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CommentsComments: 19  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Bill West		03:38 AM
08/23/2007
The pass defense stats that Sharper mentions only look good because of how many bad offensive teams they played last year. The...
No.2
Husker fan in Beijing		07:10 AM
08/23/2007
A strong running game that includes Peterson and Taylor running behind Hutchinson and a solid Vikings offensive line should allow...
No.3
Archangel		09:18 AM
08/23/2007
Of course, basing this years' team upon last years' stats, is exactly what will cost alot of teams some misery this season. Many...
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