MVN - Most Valuable Network

Vikings Notes: Praise for Sharper, Williams, and Company

News and notes as you enjoy the 21 greatest mugshots of all time…

*Happy trails, Jared Allen’s Sports Arena & Grill. Talk about bad timing: Allen opened the restaurant (which was located in the Kansas City area) roughly two weeks before he was traded to the Vikings; his move to Minnesota quickly led to the restaurant’s demise. On another note, congrats to Matt Birk, who can now be officially proclaimed the most successful restaurant owner on the Vikings roster.

*The Sporting News evaluated and ranked the safeties of the NFL (Correction: Meant to say NFC, not NFL. Nice catch, Laurent), and you might be surprised by the team that they determined to have the best safeties in the league:

1. Minnesota Vikings: Darren Sharper and Madieu Williams are strong playmakers. Williams adds sticky coverage skills. Michael Boulware provides experienced depth, and rookie Tyrell Johnson could get time in the nickel package.

The acquisitions of Allen and Berrian have distracted attention from the signing of Williams, but come September, we’ll be singing the praises of Rick Spielman for signing this guy. Williams probably deserves a place on the list of this year’s underrated free agent signings in the NFL; no, he won’t be a Pro Bowler, but he provides the Vikings with something they’ve been sorely lacking in recent seasons: A safety who excels in coverage.

That’s been an Achilles heel of this team — our safeties have been able to make highlight-reel hits and they’ve created a ton of turnovers, but their lacking cover skills were part of the reason that the Vikings have been giving up huge passing yardage lately. In that respect, Williams should be a valuable addition.

However, I’ve said all along that Sharper is often overrated by members of the national media, and this ditty from the Sporting News is a perfect example of that. Although he still has some gas left in the tank, Sharper has been largely undeserving of the praise he often receives from football analysts; more than anything, his Pro Bowl bid and status as a “strong playmaker” are purely based off name recognition.

*A couple days ago, I criticized Ryan Cook for the amount of penalties he picked up last season; however, as pointed out by Luft Krigare of Vikings Valhalla, Cook was only called for four penalties in the 2007 season (click here for his stats). I could have sworn that Cook picked up many more penalties than that, so I’m glad to hear that he kept his infractions to a minimum (my list of things to criticize about Cook just got a little shorter).

*Someone asked for information about Erin Henderson, the brother of E.J., who the Vikings signed as an undrafted free agent. The biggest reason Erin went undrafted: Injuries. He tore the ACL in his left knee prior to the 2005 college football season, and was hampered last season by a torn meniscus and sprained ACL. On top of all that, he’s struggled through back pain.

If Erin can stay healthy, he might just find himself a role with an NFL club. He posted 122 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and four fumble recoveries in his senior season with Maryland, and received First Team ACC honors. Scouts say he’s especially strong when defending against the running attack, as his ability to read plays and pursue the ball carrier has earned him praise.

Erin certainly isn’t a bad pickup for the Vikings. Obviously, undrafted free agents are a total crapshoot — the vast majority of them don’t contribute, but a select few develop into quality players. Henderson seems to have a decent chance of landing into the latter category; he produced impressive stats for the Terps, and might turn some heads at training camp.

*Meet me at River Falls, Wisconsin — it’s goin’ down! The Chiefs announced on Friday that they’ll hold a scrimmage with the Vikings on July 31st at their Wisconsin training camp compound.

Lamest storyline you’ll hear this summer: “Jared Allen faces his old team in training camp scrimmage!” I guarantee that someone in the Minnesota/Kansas City media will try to hype that storyline this July.

*Michael Lombardi busts a myth that relates heavily to the Vikings: Shut-down corners are, in fact, NOT the key to a good pass defense. If someone tells you that corners are the most critical component of a pass defense, do me a favor and show them footage of Super Bowl XLII — the Giants’ victory was made possible by the dominant performance from their defensive line, who made life absolutely miserable for Tom Brady.

Indeed, that’s why I strongly disagree with those who believe the Vikings gave up too much for Jared Allen. You don’t win championships if you don’t have an elite defensive line. Playoff games are won and lost in the trenches — and with the Vikings looking to make a postseason run this year, the Allen deal was a tremendous move.

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