Vikings roll the dice with young defensive backs

Captain Munnerlyn hears it all the time in the meeting room. He's the old guy. A geezer.

Even though Munnerlyn turned 26 in April and will play just his 87th NFL game Sunday, as far as his buddies in the secondary are concerned, he is closer to AARP than the SEC.

Sure, the cornerback's hairline appears to be backpedaling ever so slightly. But the way his fellow defensive backs take digs at him, you would think he had already gone gray.

"Nah, I'm still young," Munnerlyn said with a laugh. "I might have a bald head soon, but I ain't going to have no gray hair."

Munnerlyn, mostly by default, is the oldest starter in a Vikings secondary that has grown up quickly during Mike Zimmer's first season as head coach. With an average age of 24.6 in their starting nickel group, the Vikings have one of the NFL's youngest secondaries.

And after experiencing plenty of growing pains during a challenging start that included Pro Bowl quarterbacks Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers, the Vikings have smothered opposing passers of late.

They now rank fourth in the NFL in pass defense, allowing 213.6 yards per game. Their defensive backs have eight interceptions, already two more than a season ago.

"They've already got physical ability, but now that mental part is sinking in," defensive backs coach Jerry Gray said. "It's slowing down for them."

The Vikings selected safety Harrison Smith in the first round of the 2012 draft and added third cornerback Josh Robinson and safety Robert Blanton later that weekend. A year later, cornerback Xavier Rhodes was another first-round selection. This spring, the Vikings signed old man Munnerlyn, who played his first five seasons for the Carolina Panthers.

The Vikings gambled on that young talent — and also on Zimmer's expertise with defensive backs — when they cut ties with a trio of veterans during the preseason.

"You know, I really don't look at the age of guys," Zimmer said. "I look [at the fact] that they're our players, and we have to figure out how to try and get them better and those things."

Still, no one would have blamed them for keeping experienced safeties Chris Crocker and Kurt Coleman and cornerback Derek Cox around. But members of the new coaching staff, who liked how the youngsters competed during spring workouts and training camp practices, trusted the youngsters to grow up together.

"I was very shocked, especially with Crock," Munnerlyn said. "I thought they were going to keep him around because he was an older guy who knew the defense, and he's the true definition of a pro.

''But at the same time, they wanted to go young."

Gray, meanwhile, says he has never coached an NFL secondary this young. Seven of the 10 defensive backs are still in their rookie contracts. Reserves Marcus Sherels and Andrew Sendejo are the oldest at 27, but they rarely see the field.

One advantage of that youth is that the players are virtual clean slates, and Zimmer and Gray didn't have to erase a decade of contradictory coaching to get players such as Rhodes and Robinson to play with their preferred technique.

The adjustment might have been the hardest for Munnerlyn, who needed several games to feel comfortable.

Looking at progress individually, collective improvement is not always evident on a week-to-week basis. Rhodes graded out highly in the Atlanta game. Blanton got high marks in Buffalo. Gray really liked what he saw from Robinson in Tampa. But add it all together and compare it with, say, late September, and it's easy to see how far this group has come.

Brees and Ryan put up big passing numbers early in the season, and Brady and Rodgers likely would have done it, too, had those games not gotten out of hand. But aided by a resurgent pass rush, the Vikings have allowed just 6.7 yards per attempt in their past four games.

"It's harder at the beginning," Gray said. "But when you see them start flourishing and getting more confidence in what they're doing, that's when you know you're going in the right direction."

Gray admits that this group's potential excites him. All five guys are under contract through next season.

And if you think Zimmer's coverage schemes are complex compared with those of the previous coaching staff, wait until he decides they are ready for his full playbook.

The Vikings will all be older and wiser then, even if Munnerlyn is the only one hearing about it.

"We just have fun, man," Rhodes said. "We learn from one another. We teach other things. It's a good vibe, a family vibe."