Fear the mullet! But our safeties? Not so much...

Jared Allen is a funny dude.  Click on this for the "the mullet interview".  Warning - it contains some language that may not be suitable for younger viewers and may offend the overly sensitive.

In addition to rocking a B.A. mullet, J.A. also happens to be a contender for Defensive Player of the Year.  His 10 1/2 sacks pace a Vikings defense that has sacked opposing QBs 31 times.  The defensive line is probably the best in the league.  The linebacking corps is considered among the best.  Antoine Winfield is a Pro-Bowl cornerback and Cedric Griffin is generally pretty solid.  Yet somehow, the Vikings have been thorougly mediocre on defense.  18th-ranked in terms of total yards allowed, 21st in pass yards allowed, and 14th in points allowed (all stats courtesy of nfl.com).  I realize that Winfield has been out for almost 3 entire games, but anyone who has followed this team closely knows that the pass D has been problematic most of the year. 

So the D-line is elite and the LBs and CBs are solid.  But oh, those safeties.  It's no secret that Tyrell Johnson and Madieu Williams have been the weak link.  I have watched almost every Vikings play this year, and I honestly can't think of 5 positive plays they have made.  For awhile, I thought Madieu's first name was "Missed-tackle-by" (Williams) and Tyrell's was "Late-getting-there-was" (Johnson).  The Vikings have allowed opposing QBs to post a 93.3 rating, 6th worst in the NFL.  And that's while facing the likes of Brady Quinn, Matthew Stafford, Shaun Hill, and Marc Bulger.  What's going to happen when the Vikes face Matt Hasselbeck, Kurt Warner, Carson Palmer, and Jay Cut...OK, I can't keep a straight face for the last one.  But you get my point.  In order for this team to beat a Drew Brees in the playoffs, Johnson and Williams HAVE TO get better.

It's a virtual certainty that, for better or worse, the safeties playing against the Lions tomorrow will be the starters for the rest of the year barring injury.  So what can be done?  Many cultures use rain dances to invoke rain and protect their harvest.  Well, we need to invoke better safety play to protect our season, so....