Before the NFL game slowed down for Eric Kendricks, the Vikings needed the fleet-of-foot middle linebacker to slow his own roll.
Kendricks played like he drank too much coffee, coach Mike Zimmer says, overly eager to do his job. Not until Kendricks' nerves settled did the Vikings' leading tackler his first two seasons fully come into his own, commanding the Vikings' front seven by relaying the play and tipping his teammates to the opponent's formation and alignments.
The undersized (6 feet, 232 pounds) but mobile third-year pro became the valuable sideline-to-sideline defender who told his coach no, he didn't want to make the prescribed move to outside linebacker this offseason because playing in the middle is where he can stop offenses on both sides of the field.
"It's just based off preference," Kendricks said. "Some linemen like playing guard."
And some linebackers like making plays. So from the middle is where teammates hear Kendricks' marching orders, loud barks not to be delivered too quickly like his off-field chatter in a Tommy gun cadence.
"If I'm not playing, I talk fast," Kendricks explained, adding on the field "it's a lot less words and I'm kind of focused."
Kendricks, a second-round pick, doesn't yet have any All-Pro honors or Pro Bowl jerseys hanging in his closet like many of his defensive locker mates. But he'll be one of Minnesota's key defenders Monday night against the Saints and running backs Mark Ingram, Adrian Peterson and Alvin Kamara.
Because he possesses a rare combination of instincts and athleticism, he's a perfect fit for Zimmer's pressure schemes predicated on fast defenders creating confusion.