No sacks? No worry, Vikings are saying

Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier had just boarded an elevator at the Metrodome following Thursday night's 23-14 preseason victory over the Dallas Cowboys. The doors were about to close when he politely agreed to step off and discuss the fact that not one darn starter notched a sack during the entire preseason.

"Yeah," he said, "but how long have they played? They only played what? Four plays tonight?"

Actually, three plays, not counting the four starters -- Pat and Kevin Williams, E.J. Henderson and Antoine Winfield -- who didn't play at all.

OK, but what about the other three preseason games? Especially the one last week in Seattle, when the starters played into the third quarter?

After all, if undrafted rookie Joe Bradley and ex-practice squad player Alex Guerrero can post half a sack apiece before being released, can't one of the star players making the big bucks drop the quarterback at least one time?

"Actually, I think we had good pressure on [Seahawks QB Matt] Hasselbeck last week," Frazier said. "We made him throw quick a couple of times. I'm not concerned."

Frazier honestly doesn't look concerned. And here's probably why:

"We've only shown about 40, 50 percent of what we'll do in the regular season," Frazier said. "Maybe not even that much."

One of the few knocks on former defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin last year was he stubbornly refused to blitz that often.

He stayed true to a staple philosophy of the Tampa-2 defense that says pressure on the quarterback needs to come from the front four. As a result, the Vikings finished the season ranked 30th in sacks per pass play and, not coincidently, tied for last against the pass.

This year promises to be different. Frazier is willing to blitz more, to gamble, to be more creative in hunting down the quarterback. Or so that's what we've been told.

"We have some things up our sleeve, so to speak," strong safety Darren Sharper said. "We haven't shown you any of it yet. Stay tuned."

But if we haven't seen it, that means the Vikings haven't tried it. So how can they be so sure it's going to, um, actually work?

"That's what we do in practice when nobody is watching us," Winfield said. "We work on that stuff. A lot."

One pass rusher who wasn't afraid to show something this preseason was defensive end Brian Robison, a fourth-round draft pick from Texas. Playing all but the first series against the Cowboys, he had another sack, another strip and another fumble recovery.

"That guy just doesn't stop, does he?" Sharper said. "He's got those young legs. Every time I look up, he's doing something."

Robison led the team in preseason sacks with three. No one else had more than one. He also had two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and, oh yeah, a touchdown.

"When we drafted him out of Texas, I remember [Vikings Vice President of Player Personnel] Rick Spielman kept talking over and over about the kid's motor and how it never quit," Frazier said. "Brian hasn't changed. He's still going 100 miles per hour on every play."

Robison switched often between right and left end against the Cowboys. He also was on three special teams. And it wasn't until the 2:39 mark of the final quarter that he finally tapped his helmet, signifying that he needed a moment on the sideline to catch his breath. He took 39 seconds.

"Hey, he deserved a break after all we put him through tonight," said Frazier, laughing. "Eventually, we'll settle him in one spot, but tonight we wanted to move him around and see where he feels most comfortable. He's definitely in our rotation because he has pass-rushing ability."

It appears Ray Edwards will start at right end and Kenechi Udeze at left end. Robison probably has moved ahead of 2005 first-round pick Erasmus James, the former starting right end who has looked tentative in two preseason games since returning from a torn knee ligament.

"We'll have to take a look at Erasmus, health-wise, and see how much he's able to help us at this point," Frazier said. "We'll know a lot more after we look at the film of this game."

And with that, Frazier pushed the elevator button and the doors opened. He got on and turned with the smile of someone who's ready for the regular-season opener against Atlanta on Sept. 9.

"We'll be OK," he said. "Ask me about the pass rush after the Atlanta game."

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com