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Before joining our Access Vikings team, Dan Wiederer covered Atlantic Coast Conference basketball for the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer and was named North Carolina's top sports columnist in 2010. His previous reporting experience includes covering the Chicago Bears. 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.
Allen, Abdullah to start in Vikings' secondary
Posted by: under Vikings, Cedric Griffin, John Sullivan, Tyrell Johnson, Vikings road games, Vikings training camp Updated: September 9, 2010 - 6:16 PM
NEW ORLEANS -- Cornerback Asher Allen and strong safety Husain Abdullah will start for the Vikings in tonight's regular-season opener in place of Lito Sheppard and Tyrell Johnson, respectively.
Not surprisingly, Cedric Griffin is among the Vikings' eight inactives for this game. Griffin is coming off ACL surgery on his left knee and while he is practicing on a limited basis he is not yet ready to play in a game. Center John Sullivan, who missed almost all of training camp becaus of a calf injury, will start for the Vikings.
The Vikings other inactives are quarterback Joe Webb; cornerback Chris Cook (knee); running back Toby Gerhart (knee); guard Chris DeGeare; defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy; tight end Mickey Shuler; and defensive end Everson Griffen.
That means all six of the Vikings draft picks on the active roster are inactive tonight..
As for the secondary, the Vikings have three healthy cornerbacks on the 45-man roster. It was assumed that rookie cornerback Marcus Sherels might be activated from the practice squad for this game but that's not the case. It's likely that when the Vikings go into their nickel package tonight that Allen will shift inside and Sheppard will play the right corner.
A potential dime package could have Abdullah moving to cover a slot receiver and Tyrell Johnson playing strong safety.
The Saints' inactive list includes running back Chris Ivory (knee), safety Chris Reis; linebacker Stanley Arnoux (ankle); linebacker Danny Clark; tackle Zach Strief (knee); tight end Jimmy Graham (ankle); wide receiver Adrian Arrington; and defensive end Junior Galette.
New Orleans' starting linebacker group, which had been in question, will be Jo-Lonn Dunbar on the strong side; Jonathan Vilma in the middle; and Scott Shanle on the weak side.
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