| John McMullen. 11th August, 2005 - 4:31 pm
 On paper, it does look impressive.
Consider what the Minnesota Vikings have added to their embattled defense since pedestrian receiver Freddie Mitchell embarrassed them and ended their season.
Free agency, trades and the draft netted defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell six new starters including run stuffing nose tackle Pat Williams, pass rushing end Erasmus James, middle linebacker Sam Cowart, outside linebacker Napoleon Harris, cornerback Fred Smoot and free safety Darren Sharper.
But.... even with the added talent, don’t expect a big turnaround in Minnesota’s defensive fortunes for 2005.
The problem?.....Cottrell.
Vikings coach Mike Tice may call it piling on but his defensive mentor was a colossal failure in his debut at the helm of Minnesota‘s seemingly, annual defensive collapse.
While a lack of continuity has hurt the Vikings badly in the Tice era and they have needed a coordinator to stick around and develop with his players, Cottrell under performed to such a degree in 2004, it’s tough imagining him cultivating a top-tier defense.
Consider this.....In 2004, the Vikings brought in the best cornerback they have had in years (Antoine Winfield) and drafted for defense (Kenechi Udeze, Dontarrious Thomas and Darrion Scott), yet Cottrell’s unit actually took a significant step backwards.
Great coordinators, like New England’s Romeo Crennel (now the head coach of the Browns) and Philadelphia’s Jim Johnson come up with schemes to suit their personnel.
Take Crennel. He was at the helm of a Super Bowl winning defense despite injury after injury in his secondary. For a month, Crennel made due with a wide receiver (Troy Brown) and something called Earthwind Moreland at corner.
Minnesota fans might recognize Moreland’s name because he spent some time on the team’s practice squad early in the 2004 season. Simply put, Crennel persevered with someone that was behind Winfield, Brian Williams, Terrance Shaw, Ralph Brown, Derek Ross, Rushen Jones and Rhett Nelson on the Vikings’ depth chart.
Think about that next time you hear Tice and his hapless defensive leader wax nostalgic about what would have happened if Ken Irvin was healthy or how Winfield’s badly sprained ankle ruined everything.
Now let’s look at Jim Johnson. Since Johnson set foot in Philly, no team has given up fewer points. In 2004, Johnson came into the season after losing two Pro Bowl corners to free agency, Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor. So what did he do? Johnson plugged in what he was given and the Eagles captured a Super Bowl berth with ¾ of their starting secondary vacationing in Hawaii.
The influx of talent will certainly help but Minnesota is in desperate need of a change of philosophy with an aggressive Johnson type spearheading a change in the culture of Minnesota’s system.
Until that happens; get used to watching receivers run free in Minnesota no matter who the Vikings line up with.
-You can reach John McMullen at jmcmullen1@comcast.net |
