Chip Scoggins: Vikings trio will shine if Griffin pulls his weight

The Vikings had their top three cornerbacks together for exactly one game last season. If only briefly, they could see the possibilities of playing Antoine Winfield, Cedric Griffin and Chris Cook on the field together.

Then it vanished, knee injuries to Griffin and Cook making a mess of things in the secondary after the Detroit game in Week 3.

"I looked out there one time and I saw how we matched up with their receivers and I said to myself, 'This is what we want,' " coach Leslie Frazier said.

And what they desperately need. As the 2011 season draws closer, many point to the Vikings offensive line as the No. 1 question mark. If so, the secondary is 1A, and Griffin's status is critical to that outcome.

Griffin is returning from his second major knee surgery since January 2010. The Vikings are pleased with how aggressively Griffin attacked his rehab — just like the first one — but this is new territory. No one really knows what are reasonable expectations for a cornerback who's had two ACL surgeries.

Understandably, Griffin is tired of talking about his comeback. No player likes to discuss his injuries ad nauseam. He insists he felt normal when he showed up for camp and just needed to knock some rust off.

Frazier, however, said he wants to get a longer look at Griffin before forming any concrete determinations about where he is in his recovery process. Griffin played 27 snaps Saturday in the first half of the Vikings preseason home opener against Dallas. The Cowboys threw his direction eight times, primarily when he was matched up against Dez Bryant.

It's no secret teams are going to test Griffin to see how he responds. That's going to happen a lot, but Frazier liked what he saw Saturday night.

"It looked like from the sideline that he was playing with confidence and breaking and moving like you would like for him to," he said.

The Vikings need Griffin to be the Griffin pre-injuries. Or close to it. His career arc was on the right trajectory and he had developed into a solid corner opposite Winfield. The Vikings gave Griffin a five-year contract extension worth $25 million in March 2009.

That seems like forever ago. Now he's just trying to prove himself all over again.

If Griffin can return to form, the Vikings secondary, at least at cornerback, won't be nearly as problematic. But if he can't get back to that level or stay healthy, the domino effect could be messy.

It's no secret the NFL has become a passing league and teams essentially need three starting-caliber cornerbacks these days. The Vikings played in their nickel package 50 percent of the time last season, which means they used three cornerbacks half the time.

Winfield still performs at a high level, but at age 34 he is better suited to play the slot in the nickel than to chase young receivers down the field all game. He is physical in run support and can pressure the quarterback from the slot — he blitzed Eagles quarterback Michael Vick 16 times in their game late last season.

In order to maximize Winfield's versatility, the Vikings need Griffin and Cook to be solid on the outside. Cook came flying out of the blocks as a rookie in training camp last season. But two minor knee injuries derailed his season and seemed to sap him of his confidence. The team remains high on Cook, and for good reason. He has the size and strength to play press coverage, but he needs to use those attributes to his advantage.

The Vikings can take some pressure off Cook if Griffin is back to normal and can handle a full workload. If not, Asher Allen and/or Marcus Sherels could get thrust into more prominent roles, which makes things dicey.

Allen didn't play Saturday because of a toe injury and hasn't taken advantage of his opportunities. Sherels has made big strides in his second season, but he's still in the developmental stages.

Depth is an issue for every team, of course. Everyone suffers some dropoff with backups. But after watching things disintegrate at cornerback last season, the return of Griffin — a healthy and productive Griffin — cannot be overstated in its importance.

"That's what we're banking on," Winfield said. "Hopefully he can come back 100 percent and get back to playing ball the way he used to."

Chip Scoggins • ascoggins@startribune.com