When the Minnesota Vikings took the field for their first full-team walkthrough of Training Camp 2018, all eyes went to the offense.
Fans cheered as new quarterback Kirk Cousins threw lobs to uncovered receivers and Dalvin Cook broke through mock blocks demonstrated by the offensive line.
A poor facsimile of real football? Yes. But a glimpse for the fans of what potentially may be the best Vikings offense since Brett Favre was quarterback? Certainly.
Yet, the defense lurked a field away with less fanfare, packed with highly-drafted, well-paid stars that anchored the league’s no. 1 unit a season ago.
Seasoned by years of grooming under head coach Mike Zimmer, the defense’s expectations are sky high. Seven regulars have been on the Vikings since Zimmer’s first year in 2014: Everson Griffen, Brian Robison, Linval Joseph, Xavier Rhodes, Anthony Barr, Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo. Four others joined one year later: Terence Newman, Eric Kendricks, Trae Waynes and Danielle Hunter.
Newly-acquired defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson summed it up for his position group. “Coach Dre (Andre Patterson), all the way down, Griff, L.J., D, B-Rob, everybody’s great,” he said.
Nicknames abound when you keep a group together for as long as the Vikings have. Smith is better known as “Harry the Hitman,” and “Rhodes Closed” has become a Twitter meme for the cornerback’s dominance.
Griffen helps bookend Minnesota’s front four, aka the “Maul of America.”
“Day 1 is to get better, be here with the boys,” Griffen said, sporting a full beard that he claims is around for the long haul, “bring it back in together, love on each other. That’s what we do. We’re a brotherhood.”
The Vikings were 11th in points allowed in 2014 but have finished top six each of the last three years, peaking with last season’s performance in which they set the new mark for best third-down defense in recorded history.
Richardson, though, knows the top spot won’t be handed to the Vikings. Minnesota has tied for the eighth-hardest strength of schedule based on last season’s winning percentages, and they’ll have to face, presumably, a healthy Aaron Rodgers twice this season after only seeing him for half a quarter in 2017.
“That’s all on paper,” Richardson said of the accolades. “We’ve got to go earn it.”
That said, this defense was one of the features that made Minnesota an attractive destination for Cousins, perhaps an even greater weapon than Stefon Diggs or Adam Thielen for the $84 million quarterback. The Vikings are 33-7 over the last four seasons when scoring 20 points or more.
Last year they were 11-1.
“We’re a very confident group,” said Barr. “We feed off of one another’s energy. We communicate very well. We play fast.”
As strong as last season’s defense was, it entered the offseason on a sour note, surrendering a season-high 38 points in an NFC Championship Game loss at Philadelphia.
There was talk in the spring of a deeper rotation, particularly on the defensive line, to prevent burnout. That’s where the next generation comes in. Veterans may be tested in their leadership as they help nurture their possible replacements for the greater good. Young pass-rushers like Tashawn Bower, Jaleel Johnson and Jalyn Holmes wait in the wings.
“It’s important and it gives some young guys some looks,” said Griffen. “They go out there and they learn the game. I think the only way you get better at this football is going out there and getting live reps, and I’m fine with taking some reps off.”
Minnesota has struggled with meeting expectations over the past decade — a trend they’ll have to buck to be successful in 2018.
After Brett Favre’s stellar 2009 season that brought the Vikings within a game of the Super Bowl, the team collapsed in 2010, ending with a 6-10 mark. The 2012 Vikings reached the playoffs as a Wild Card team, only to regress in 2013 with a 5-10-1 record. Under Zimmer, the 2016 Vikings were supposed to be a Super Bowl contender after making the playoffs in 2015, but a 3-8 finish dropped them out of the playoff picture at 8-8.
The 2018 squad won’t have the element of surprise, especially after their big splash with Cousins in the free agent market. An offense on the rise gives the Vikings reason to believe they can win at a high level, but the defense’s ability to maintain its dominance may be the bigger factor.
“I think it’s important never to get too comfortable,” said Barr. “You want to continue to challenge yourself and find new things to improve at, and if you get comfortable you kind of get complacent. It’s important to avoid that. It’s a league that’s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately type of league, so every week’s a new challenge, a new test.”
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