For the first time since joining the Vikings via trade in 2008, defensive end Jared Allen will be lining up on the opposite side of the field, as an opponent and as a member of the Chicago Bears.

For six seasons, Jared donned the purple uniforms of the Minnesota Vikings, and for a better part of those six years, he spent most of his time in the opponents backfield terrorizing the opposition. During Jared's tenure with the squad, each and every season saw him post double digit sacks and in total, he finished his Vikings career with 85.5 quarterback sack.

2014 has not exactly gone the way that Jared or the Chicago Bears thought it would though. Fighting through pneumonia early in the season and then the continued adjustment to joining a new team with a new defensive scheme, to date, Jared has only 1.5 sacks.

But this week, Jared is expected to get up and come to play, maybe more so than ever before. This week, he faces his former team and many of the teammates that he played beside during his time in Minnesota.

"I'm excited," Jared said this week. "It's going to be a fun game. It's always fun when you get to compete against your friends. I'm excited to compete against my old brethren."

While many Vikings fans are licking their chops getting ready for their team to face one of the league's worst passing defenses, Jared is licking his chops preparing to face the struggling Matt Kalil on Sunday. It's no secret. Matt Kalil, currently rated the 73rd best tackle in the entire league by ProFootballFocus.com, has experienced his fair share of criticism. While some defended him early, it's becoming increasingly tough for anyone to side with Kalil on the matter. Fast-forward to this weekend and Allen is chomping at the bit to get out there and do his best to get into the Vikings backfield.

But, this whole knowing your opponent situation is most definitely a two way street. While Jared is looking for tells from the Vikings offense to maybe give him an advantage, the entire Vikings offense has the book on Jared as well.

Jared has always been known as a guy who will sacrifice the bigger picture if he sees an opportunity to get to the quarterback present itself. His argument there, sack the quarterback quickly and he won't have the opportunity to exploit your error in approach. This is arguable Jared's number one strength.

But how could the Vikings turn the tables and use Allen's number one strength against him this weekend in Chicago?

Here are a few ideas of how we might see the Vikings exploit their former teammate on Sunday…

  1. Run the ball right at him. As mentioned above, Jared's first priority is getting off the edge quickly and into the backfield a second later to sack the quarterback. With Jared teeing off every week to get more sacks, he leaves an opportunity for teams to run the football right into the gaps he is supposed to be covering.
  2. Give Allen the upper hand and dump the ball off for screen passes. With Jared's focus on getting into the backfield, a simple "ole" from the offensive line allowing the running back and a trio of offensive linemen to slip underneath the pressure will likely be accounted for in the game.
  3. Position the blocks as if it is a passing play. Because of Jared's focus on the backfield for each and every practice card, if he sees a tell from Kalil tipping the team's hand to a run or a pass play, he'll come off the ground fast and furiously. There is a downside to this aggressive approach though. If Matt Kalil were to say, set his footwork up as if he were falling back into pass protection, Jared would aggressively head into the backfield. And if on this same play, the Vikings actually ran the ball towards Jared's side of the field, it wouldn't take much more than a bit of deception and a forearm shiver for Kalil to incapacitate Jared's pressure.
  4. Still, the main way that the Vikings can exploit Jared Allen is for Teddy Bridgewater to continue doing some of the things well that he's been doing the last few weeks. Not holding on to the football too long, stepping up in the pocket to avoid pressure along the edges and hitting his underneath options and dump downs will all help the Vikings offense exploit the over aggressive nature of Jared Allen.

Vikings fans have seen first hand both the good and the bad to Jared Allen's aggressive style of rushing the quarterback. For years they appreciated it, but this weekend they'll all be looking to take advantage of it. If I can see this, and the fans can make sense of it, you better believe that the Vikings coaching staff is well on their way to executing these sorts of adjustments to the game plan as well.