National Football League

Vikings defense no longer reliable

Published Nov. 5, 2010 1:00 a.m. ET

Alex Marvez

In a season full of controversy and disappointment, the Minnesota Vikings defense wasn’t supposed to be a problem.

Add another one to the list.

The Vikings have dropped from No. 4 to No. 12 in the NFL yardage rankings during a 1-3 skid. Minnesota enters Sunday’s home game against Arizona on a three-game streak without a sack – something that had never previously happened in the franchise’s 50-year history. A once-staunch run defense has already allowed more touchdowns (six) than all of last season (five).

“The last couple of games, we haven’t played quite up to where our standards are,” Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said Thursday. “We have to get back to that. There’s no greater time to do it than this weekend.”

Or greater necessity, for that matter.

The defense must set the tempo if the Vikings (2-5) are to salvage their playoff hopes and better the tenuous job security of head coach Brad Childress. Minnesota’s offense is damaged because of injuries – wide receiver Percy Harvin and quarterback Brett Favre are struggling with ankle problems – and the self-inflicted wound of Childress waiving star wideout Randy Moss on Monday. Even with Adrian Peterson leading the NFL in rushing and Arizona fielding the NFL’s 27th-ranked defense, expecting the Vikings to light up the Metrodome scoreboard is unrealistic.

The Cardinals, though, have their own woes. The production of standout wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is being hindered by a quarterback rotation that could be nicknamed Bad (Derek Anderson) and Worse (rookie Max Hall). The offensive line has allowed the NFL’s third-highest sack total, 22.

If an offense like this played the Vikings on the road last year, it would have no shot. Minnesota tallied an NFL-high 48 sacks, with defensive end Jared Allen (14.5) leading the pressure. Kevin and Pat Williams – a.k.a. the Williams Wall – prevented opposing rushers from gashing the middle of the defense. The secondary wasn’t spectacular, but it was solid. Nine of 11 starters from that unit, including the entire front seven, are back in 2010 as well as Frazier.

So why is a unit that had exemplified Purple Pride being beaten black and blue?

Start with the cornerbacks, an area that sustained a significant blow last month when Cedric Griffin reinjured his knee and was lost for the season. Chris Cook, a 2010 second-round draft pick, had arthroscopic surgery on each of his knees within the past two months. He’s also suffering from confidence issues and NFL growing pains. Cook (quadriceps) and fellow cornerbacks Lito Sheppard (hand) and Frank Walker (hamstring) should all play against Arizona but aren’t 100 percent healthy.

The Vikings lost further depth in the preseason when 2009 nickel cornerback Bennie Sapp was traded to Miami for punt returner/reserve wide receiver Greg Camarillo. Minnesota was so depleted in Sunday’s 28-18 loss at New England that Frazier was forced to deploy his base defense in the fourth quarter even against nickel offensive sets.

Asher Allen is now starting at right cornerback, but his hold on the position is tenuous. Allen was burnt for a 65-yard touchdown catch by Brandon Tate when abandoning his assignment and shifting his attention to quarterback Tom Brady, who was forced out of the pocket.

Blown coverages weren’t the lone negative against New England. Frazier’s defense is predicated on his cornerbacks being sound perimeter tacklers. There were too many whiffs as Patriots running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis gouged the Vikings for 108 second-half rushing yards and the game-clinching touchdown. Frazier also is being forced to use his best tackler (Antoine Winfield) in the slot because the drop-off by using another cornerback would be too great.

Vikings strong-side linebacker Ben Leber expects that Arizona will test Minnesota’s run defense with rushers Chris “Beanie” Wells and Tim Hightower.

“We haven’t been ourselves the last couple of games,” Leber said. “They’re definitely going to try us and see if we’ve improved.”

The secondary would receive a boost if the Vikings could apply more quarterback pressure. Allen’s sack totals have gone the way of his mullet. In other words, they’ve been chopped off. He has just one sack this season after compiling 44.5 in the past three. None of his teammates have picked up the slack.

At age 38, Pat Williams is on a quick decline. Middle linebacker E.J. Henderson isn’t as quick as prior to last December’s horrific leg injury. Starting safeties Madieu Williams, who dropped a sure interception last week on a Patriots touchdown drive, and Husain Abdullah aren’t making enough big plays.

Favre hasn’t helped matters, either, with the turnover-prone play he avoided last season. Favre has 11 interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, and another fumble that Miami recovered in the end zone to spur a 14-10 win in Week 2.

Frazier, too, may be culpable for not tweaking his Tampa Two-flavored defense. Frazier admits “it’s possible” that Minnesota’s relatively straight 4-3 system has become too predictable. Frazier has long believed that what is a relatively simple scheme at its core can be effective provided it’s executed properly.

“If you can play fast at our level, you can be successful,” said Frazier, whose 2008 and 2009 Vikings defenses each finished No. 6 in the NFL yardage rankings. “But if you’re cluttered with, ‘What’s my responsibility here or there?’ and it slows you down, it’s hard to play.”

Frazier said change will likely come in the form of more blitzing if the Vikings don’t show improvement. Frazier, though, is hesitant to place even more pressure on his patchwork secondary.

“It’s a trade-off,” he said. “You say to yourself as a coordinator, ‘What is the best thing to do – put those guys under even more pressure or you’re going to have to beat us by sticking with the short game and not beating us over the top?’ There’s a balance you have to keep in mind.”

The Vikings have tried not to mind the public/media fallout from the Moss release and cries for Childress’ firing while righting their own ship. A laughing Leber described it as “a week like no other around here.”

Leber, though, also said the Vikings can leave much of the negativity behind by following the message of self-accountability that Childress has stressed to his players behind closed doors.

“A lot of this, whether it’s fundamentally being gap-sound or tackling and doing some of the little things right, is on us,” he said. “That’s why it’s great because it is correctable. But it’s disappointing because those are all little things we’ve always done well.”

That has become a familiar refrain for the 2010 Vikings.