Vikings vs. N.Y. Giants: New York has sacks full of dangerous defensive ends

While the Vikings have the more celebrated defensive tackles, the Giants' star power at defensive end is unsurpassed. In fact, their top three ends have more sacks (23) than the entire defenses on 16 NFL teams.

And not one of those defensive ends cost the G-Men a No. 1 draft pick.

Starting left end Michael Strahan (eight sacks) was a second-round draft pick in 1993. Starting right end Osi Umenyiora (eight sacks) was a second-round pick in 2003. And No. 3 end Justin Tuck (seven sacks) was a third-round pick in 2005.

"A lot of times, what you do as an offensive line is slide your protection to one side or the other," Vikings center Matt Birk said. "But against these guys, you can't because both ends get after it."

The Vikings have spent a week with that reality staring them in the face. Today, their game plan for it unfolds at Giants Stadium.

"In tandem, it's very difficult to scheme to double both of them," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said of his defensive ends. "You can move a tight end on one side and have a [running] back to chip on the other side, but if you do that, you are obviously limiting the number of [receivers] that are in the [pass] pattern."

With inexperienced quarterback Tarvaris Jackson making only his ninth NFL start, the Vikings probably will employ mostly three-step drops and lean heavily on their No. 1-ranked running game. Starting running back Adrian Peterson (knee) might not play, but backup Chester Taylor ran for 164 yards and three touchdowns in last week's 29-22 victory over Oakland.

Vikings right tackle Ryan Cook said running the ball is the best way to keep the New York defensive ends from rushing hard up field.

"But you know what?" Cook said. "We can sit here and talk about all the different schemes and this and that, but at the end of the day, it still comes down to just blocking the guy across from you."

That's some task for Cook this week. The second-year pro was 10 years old when Strahan began what might be a Hall of Fame career.

"[Cook] looks like he is really strong and a talented run blocker," Strahan said Wednesday. "I haven't had a chance to really watch much pass film on him as of yet. But to watch him on the run, he does a good job of run blocking and good footwork and looks like he is strong."

Birk, meanwhile, called Strahan "as complete a defensive end as I've seen."Normally, those guys who get 10, 12, 15 sacks, you know they aren't going to be good against the run," Birk said. "But with Strahan, he can play the run just as well as anybody else."

Left tackle Bryant McKinnie will face Umenyiora, who has led the Giants in sacks every year since 2004. He had a team-record six sacks in a victory over Philadelphia earlier this season.

After the Giants added Tuck in 2005, their need for defensive ends appeared to be satisfied. But that didn't keep them from taking Boston College's Mathias Kiwanuka with the last pick in the first round last year. With Strahan injured, Kiwanuka started nine games and had four sacks. He was moved to linebacker this season and had 4½ sacks before breaking his leg last week in Detroit.

Coughlin said the Giants made it a conscious effort to stockpile defensive ends. An effort that has paid off this season.

"We thought that when Justin Tuck was available that we couldn't afford to pass him up," Coughlin said. "When Mathias was in a position there where we thought we could draft him, we certainly did that, and had great reason for it, as you saw. Having those four athletes that can run, that are smart on their feet, that are very athletic and can provide different functions, I think that has been a huge plus for us."

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com