Strong safety Tyrell Johnson has had issues with his tackling at times this season and that certainly was the case in the Vikings' loss on Sunday at Carolina. To be fair, several players missed tackles but it seems to be more of a trend with Johnson.
Johnson, in his first year as a full-time starter and second year in the NFL, was returning after missing the Vikings' victory over Cincinnati because of a concussion. Rookie Jamarca Sanford replaced him in that game and played well. So, is there a chance the Vikings make a move to Sanford? Frazier did not slam the door on that potentially happening but gave no indication Johnson would not be the starter on Monday night in Chicago.
"One of the things we want to do is just keep improving at every position," Frazier said. "That's always what we want to be able to do. And our secondary, one of the things we've talked to Tyrell, Madieu [Williams], Antoine [Winfield], all our guys. Guys up front. Guys at the linebacker position. In our business, every down you work to be the very best that you can be. And if for some reason a guy is falling short you have other guys who have to be ready to play. That's no different with any of our players so Jamarca, [safety Husain] Abdullah, all those guys have to be ready to go if somebody is faltering at their position."
Asked if Johnson was faltering in his eyes, Frazier said: "He's been struggling a little bit with some things and he knows he has to improve on certain things. We've talked to him about it and I'm expecting him to do that. I'm expecting him to improve his tackling and take better angles on the football and looking forward to him bouncing back and having a great game this Monday."
Frazier did not feel the fact Johnson was coming off a concussion played a role in the second-round draft pick's struggles.
"I don't know if the concussion has anything to do with that," he said. "I just think being decisive about what you do as a football player is critical and don't worry about mistakes. Just play hard, make decisions, you go with it and you just play ball. I don't think the concussion is holding him back or keeping him from being as aggressive as he needs to be. You just want to be decisive about what you do and have confidence that you're going to be right."
Another guy who had a tough night on defense Sunday was rookie middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley, who has replaced the injured E.J. Henderson. Frazier admits the Vikings are having to ask a lot of Brinkley.
"It's a challenge. Especially when you come into it when you're a team that's on a playoff run," Frazier said. "It heightens the pressure to perform. It's not like he's on a 2-12 team, it's a different deal. So expectations are high when you step in for a guy [who is] the caliber of an E.J. But for him, it is what it is.
