The Excitement Returns

Commentary by

04/25/08

With the exception of Adrian Peterson, it’s been a while since I have been excited about my Minnesota Vikings. I’ve had a couple of days now to digest the Jared Allen trade. I have never really experienced an off-season or Free Agency period like this with the Vikings. I am used to the Denny Green era where we signed aging veterans as a stop gap measure, or the Red McCombs era where we didn’t spend money. So I was just a bit skeptical this week with all the talk about Jared Allen. But Zygi Wilf opened his wallet, in fact he had to call in some money from investors, and made the deal that brought Allen to Minnesota.
 
The cost was very high. We gave up our 1st and both 3rd round picks along with $74 million dollars. That’s quite a bit for one player, especially one that has had 2 DUI’s. But this is not an aging veteran, or a stop gap measure. Allen is only 26 years old and has proven to be a force at DE on a team with a terrible defense. We are about to add last years sack leader to a defense that was #1 at stopping the run last year, a defense that was the #1 scoring defense in the league. Allen will give this team the one thing it has needed for some time, a legitimate threat at the defensive end position that can put pressure on the quarterback. Even if Allen can’t get to the quarterback as much as we would like, he will take pressure off the Williams Wall and allow them to cause disruption in the backfield. All of this should take pressure off our defensive backs as opposing quarterbacks will have less time to pick us apart.
 
Now, is Jared Allen the one player that can take this team to the Super Bowl? No! Will he solve the problems the Vikings have? Heck no! This team still has concerns on defense and even more concerns on offense. And make no mistake, this is a very risky trade. We gave up 3 top draft picks and a ton of money with nothing built into the contract to protect us if Allen falls off the wagon. Personally, I think he has put his problems behind him and is on his way to turning his life around. But then again, I said the same thing about Koren Robinson. That didn’t work out too well for the Vikings.
 
Despite all these misgivings, I find myself getting excited again about the coming season. I’m a defensive guy at heart anyway. I think about our defense and I get pumped up like it was opening weekend. Rather than focusing on what might go wrong with this deal, I find my thoughts turning to Sunday afternoon in the Metrodome. It’s third down and long for the opposing team. 65,000 fans are up on their feet. We are shouting at the top or our lungs, eyes wide and veins in our necks popping out as we cheer on the defensive line and they collapse the pocket and sack the quarterback.
 
I hope we get to see this scenario many times this coming season. Don’t miss out on it folks, it’s going to be glorious!