vikings/nfl
Dan Wiederer began covering the Vikings in 2011, enthusiastically delivering insight on the team across the Star Tribune's print and digital products. Prior to joining the Access Vikings team, he spent seven seasons covering ACC basketball at The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He also covered the Chicago Bears in 2003 and 2004. Follow him on Twitter @StribDW.
Mark Craig has covered football and the NFL the past 20 years, including the Browns from 1991-95 and the Vikings and the NFL since 2003. Since 2008, Craig has served as one of the 44 Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors. He can be followed on Twitter at @markcraignfl.
Alan Williams on Everson Griffen: 'Wow! We have something here'
Posted by: Dan Wiederer under Vikings Updated: October 4, 2012 - 2:47 PM
Everson Griffen is enjoying a breakthrough in his third NFL season. He currently leads the Vikings with three sacks through four games. And those have all come in big moments in the fourth quarter of games.
On Thursday, Vikings defensive coordinator Alan Williams reflected back to last winter when he began familiarizing himself with Griffen’s skill set for the first time.
“I was looking at tape sitting in my office and there was a blur going across the screen,” Williams said. “I was thinking, ‘Is that a linebacker? Is that a safety running across the field?’ And I went back and forth a couple of times. Then I got my program out and I looked at it and it was Everson Griffen.
“I looked at his height and weight and I was thinking, ‘Wow, we have something here.’”
Williams said he immediately went across the hall to talk to linebackers coach Fred Pagac and defensive line coach Brendan Daly and learned more about Griffen’s background and potential. Most of all, Williams was excited about the speed Griffen had at 6-foot-3, 273 pounds.
“I just wanted to make sure we put him in positions where we thought he could be successful,” Williams said. “That’s what I think this defensive staff has done. We’ve placed him in spots where he can flourish.”
Griffen flourished down the stretch in Detroit, delivering two sacks late to preserve the Vikings’ 20-13 win.
Hunt and gather
The emergence of guys like Griffen and nose tackle Letroy Guion along with solid contributions from guys like Fred Evans has been encouraging on a number of fronts. It not only allows the Vikings to find favorable match-ups in the trenches. But the ability to rotate guys in and out without much dropoff should keep the defense humming.
“It keeps guys fresh,” Williams said. “We want to make sure at the end of the ball game, that when it comes down to 2-minute – and most ballgames do come down to the 2 minutes – that we have enough guys that are fresh and ready to go and that can hunt. And we want guys to be able to run to the football and hunt in those 2-minute situations. And the more guys that you have playing in those first quarters, second quarter, third quarter, the fresher guys will be when it comes down to closing ball games out.”
Did you see that?
Remember that major hit rookie safety Harrison Smith put on Calvin Johnson late in the first half of Sunday’s win, a blow that turned a touchdown catch into an incompletion? Williams hopes a lot of people around the league take note. “We want to put physical play on tape,” Williams said. “We want to show people that we’re going to run to the ball. And that when they play the Minnesota Vikings, it’s going to be a long day in terms of it being a physical ballgame. That’s the way we want to play – a physical style of football. And it was good to see that Harrison did get the ball out.”
explore the Vikings/NFL
ADVERTISEMENT
| Philadelphia - LP: K. Kendrick | 2 | FINAL |
| Washington - WP: J. Zimmermann | 5 |
| Baltimore - WP: C. Tillman | 10 | FINAL |
| Toronto - LP: S. Nolin | 6 |
| Minnesota - LP: S. Deduno | 0 | FINAL |
| Detroit - WP: A. Sanchez | 6 |
| Atlanta | 5 | Suspended |
| NY Mets | 5 |
| Chicago Cubs - LP: S. Feldman | 4 | FINAL |
| Cincinnati - WP: B. Arroyo | 7 |
| Cleveland - LP: J. Masterson | 1 | FINAL |
| Boston - WP: J. Lackey | 8 |
| NY Yankees - WP: D. Phelps | 9 | FINAL |
| Tampa Bay - LP: R. Hernandez | 4 |
| Pittsburgh - LP: A. Burnett | 1 | FINAL |
| Milwaukee - WP: M. Estrada | 2 |
| Miami - LP: R. Webb | 3 | FINAL |
| Chicago WSox - WP: N. Jones | 4 |
| LA Angels - WP: J. Vargas | 5 | FINAL |
| Kansas City - LP: L. Hochevar | 2 |
| Oakland - WP: P. Neshek | 6 | FINAL |
| Houston - LP: J. Veras | 5 |
| San Diego - LP: E. Stults | 2 | FINAL |
| Arizona - WP: B. McCarthy | 5 |
| St. Louis - WP: L. Lynn | 7 | FINAL |
| Los Angeles - LP: C. Capuano | 0 |
| Texas - WP: J. Grimm | 9 | FINAL |
| Seattle - LP: J. Saunders | 5 |
| Colorado - WP: T. Chatwood | 5 | FINAL |
| San Francisco - LP: T. Lincecum | 0 |
| Indiana | 97 | FINAL |
| Miami | 93 |
| Ottawa | 2 | FINAL |
| Pittsburgh | 6 |
| Indiana | 79 | FINAL |
| San Antonio | 64 |
| Date/Opponent | Time | W | L | Score |
| 2013 preseason | ||||
| Aug 9 - vs. Houston | 7 pm | |||
| Aug 16 - at Buffalo | 6 pm | |||
| Aug 25 - at San Francisco | 7 pm | |||
| Aug 29 - vs. Tennessee | 7 pm | |||
| 2013 regular season | ||||
| Sep 8 - at Detroit | Noon | |||
| Sep 15 - at Chicago | Noon | |||
| Sep 22 - vs. Cleveland | Noon | |||
| Sep 29 - vs. Pittsburgh (in London) | Noon | |||
| Oct 6 - Bye | ||||
| Oct 13 - vs. Carolina | Noon | |||
| Oct 21 - at. NY Giants | 7:40 pm | |||
| Oct 27 - vs. Green Bay | 7:30 pm | |||
| Nov 3 - at Dallas | Noon | |||
| Nov 7 - vs. Washington | 7:25 pm | |||
| Nov 17 - at Seattle | 3:25 pm | |||
| Nov. 24 - at Green Bay | Noon | |||
| Dec 1 - vs. Chicago | Noon | |||
| Dec 8 - at Baltimore | Noon | |||
| Dec 15 - vs. Philadelphia | Noon | |||
| Dec 22 - at Cincinnati | Noon | |||
| Dec 29 - vs. Detroit | Noon |
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
inside the StarTribune
-
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488
(612) 673-4000
- Company
- Subscriber Services
- Website
- Buy Ads
- Store
- Connect with Us
© 2013 StarTribune. All rights reserved.
StarTribune.com is powered by Limelight Networks
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters