Is the Vikings' run-defense reign crumbling?

First, a question. A scruples question.

My flight from New York was boarding. I was sitting in my aisle seat because, well, I'd rather sit in a sidecar attached to the wing than sit in a middle seat. I make darn sure ahead of time that I don't get the crummy seat that others try to switch out of while boarding.

A young couple boards. The girl is sitting in the middle seat next to me. The boy is sitting in the middle seat directly behind her. The boy decides to ask me to switch with him.

Once I stopped laughing long enough to draw a breath, I basically said, "Are you nuts?" The girl was miffed, but I got over it. Plus, they talked the window-seat guy out of his seat. Chump.

My question, I guess, would be, "What should one do when put in that situation?"

Now, on to more pressing world matters. The Vikings' run defense.

After ranking first, first, first and second the past four years in run defense, the Vikings aren't looking nearly as dominant against the run, especially on runs directly into the heart of the Williams Wall up the middle.

So I asked nose tackle Pat Williams yesterday, "What gives?"

"Basically, it ain't anything anybody else is doing," he said. "It's all about us. It's just guys' gaps. Guys just have to play their gaps. Sometimes, we're missing tackles. It's easy to fix. Easy to fix."

It's not a major issue. The Vikings rank 14th, but it's only four games and, besides, the defense has played well enough to be 4-0.

"Basically, we don't worry about it," Williams said. "We come back and watch film and get it fixed. Everything will take care of itself."

The Cowboys are a passing team. They're No. 3 in passing and No. 24 in rushing. However, they did run for 141 yards and a 6.1-yard average in last week's loss to the Titans. Felix Jones had his best regular-season rushing game, going for 109 yards on just 15 carries. Former Gopher Marion Barber III had only six carries, the first time since he became a starter in 2008 that Jones has had twice as many carries or more than him.

"We aren't worried about them," he said. "They aren't one of them backs you worry about. I'm not worried about them. They aren't one of them top-echelon backs you have to worry about. We'll treat them like anybody else."