The sack master that is Minnesota’s Jared Allen has nothing on D’Anthony Batiste, Daryn Colledge, Lyle Sendlein, Adam Snyder and Bobby Massie.

Bobby Massie (70) looks on as Minnesota Vikings defensive end Brian Robison records one of his three sacks of Arizona’s John Skelton in Sunday’s 21-14 victory. The Vikings sacked Skelton seven times. (bleacherreport.com)

No, the Vikings immensely skilled defensive end is not the quarterback killer that the Arizona Cardinals offensive line is proving to be.

Allen had a mere two sacks in the Vikings 21-14 victory over the Cardinals on Sunday as the porous collection of Batiste, Colledge, Sendlein, Snyder and Massie allowed seven sacks of the man they are paid to protect. That now makes 29 sacks of the Arizona quarterbacks in the past four games, the last three losses after a surprising 4-0 start.

The abuse John Skelton took Sunday is just a sample of what Kevin Kolb endured before he was rendered unavailable last week after nearly four quarters of pummeling by the Buffalo Bills on the back end of 16 quarters of pummeling by New England, Philadelphia, Miami and St. Louis.

Kolb, who had been sacked a league-leading 27 times before abuse got the best of his body, watched Sunday as the Cardinals line added to their NFL-leading totals of protection ineptitude.

Meanwhile, another standout performance by the Cardinals defense ends up in the loss column.

The Arizona defense held the Vikings to 209 yards, 12 first downs, 1 of 10 on third downs and forced seven punts. Only Adrian Peterson, who rushed 23 times for 153 yards and scored the game’s first touchdown on a 13-yard run, kept the Vikings from laughable lows. » Continue reading “Cardinals Sacked by Vikings for Third Straight Loss”

With the 29th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith.

Here’s a little bit of information on Harrison from NFL.com, “Harrison is an ultra-athletic, big and smart safety who has roamed the secondary as a four-year starter and senior captain for Notre Dame. He is the type of safety who is always involved, using his quickness, recognition and overall body control to react effectively to plays. While he has just adequate speed, he makes up for this deficiency with strong play recognition and anticipation, and he is often in a position to make a play on the ball. Overall, Smith is a smart, athletic defender who should push to start early in a zone-heavy NFL scheme. Expect him to contend for a late first-round selection with the help of impressive postseason workouts and interviews.”

Sounds good right? Well … the look isn’t that bad either! Harrison is today’s Tight End Tuesday!

Not bad, huh!

Well, I won’t bore you anymore about Harrison … here’s some more pictures!  » Continue reading “Tight End Tuesday: Harrison Smith”

Credit: Dave Campbell | Associated Press

The day after the first round, Minnesota Vikings fans are still ecstatic about the two moves GM Rick Spielman pulled off.  First, he was able to trade one spot back to the 4th pick and select LT Matt Kalil, while picking up an additional three pick from the Browns.  Secondly, with those additional picks, he traded out of the 2nd round back into the 1st round to pick-up Safety Harrison Smith.  Not to shabby for a guy whose in his first year of sole control of all Vikings draft choices.

Matt Kalil reaction:

General Manager Rick Spielman was estatic after his first round “wheeling and dealing” to land Kalil:

“Very excited about getting Kalil here and very excited about the trade we were able to do … Multiple teams started to call so you felt jockeying and positioning was going to take place … So Matt Kalil brings to us stability at that left tackle position.  He is an extremely talented athlete…He has the arm length we are looking for.  He has all the foot quickness to be on an island out there and to be matched up against the premier pass rushers in the league.”

“To have a quarterback not have to worry about that left side, or have the insurance that the left tackle is going to handle the speed rushers and the speed rushers that we are going to face in this division helps that quarterback focus more on what is going to happen in the passing game down the field. Maybe getting that extra time to find an open receiver and hopefully Matt will help fulfill all that.”

Second-year head coach Leslie Frazier is happy to see his offensive line improve:

“I think we got ourselves a starting left tackle, who will com in and solidify a key position on our football team for many years to come.  To have a guy like Matt Kalil, really gives us a chance at a cornerstone for our organization for a number of years.  With a young quarterback like ours, you’re trying to really surround him with the best supporting cast.  This gives us a great chance at getting that starter now with our left tackle being solidified for a number of years.”

LT versus defensive player: “…we saw him as a guy who could be a Pro Bowler for a long time that was obvious from our stand point along with the fact of our quarterback position….we wanted to make sure that we do things that are necessary to ensure that he has success.”

Reaction to trade with Cleveland: “I was like, ‘Wow, this is pretty good.’”

Number four overall pick in the 2012 draft, Matt Kalil, was “really relieved” when he realized it was a Minnesota number calling him: » Continue reading “Chatter On Vikings Two First Round Picks”

Credit: Dave Martin | Associated Press

Rick Spielman was true to word in a press conference following the selection of OT Matt Kalil.  He told reporters don’t be surprised if we trade back into the 1st round.  10:42 p.m., I look up and magically the Vikings are back on the clock.

The Vikings trade their 2nd-round pick (#35) and 4th-round pick (#98) to the Baltimore Ravens to get their 29th overall pick.

The Minnesota Vikings selected Safety Harrison Smith out of Notre Dame.  Smith will join former Irish teammates Kyle Rudolph and John Carlson in Minnesota.

CBSSports.com has Smith the 2nd best safety in this years draft.

According to Rob Rang of CBS Sports, Smith is a reliable open-field tackler with excellent size (6-2, 213) and the instincts to make plays against both the run and pass.

Strengths: Looks the part with prototypical size and strength for a strong safety … long arms with a filled-out frame. Extremely strong with natural power to make punishing hits. Physical striker who enjoys contact. Fills the run lanes hard and is a downhill athlete with an aggressive nature at the point of attack. Plays fast and closes in a flash with conviction and determination … fast in pursuit. Makes plays at all levels of the field and has strong hands to make shoe-string tackles. Read/reacts quickly and does a nice job interpreting the eyes of the quarterback. Big-time competitor and leader, never giving up on plays … goes hard at full speed. Very active pre-snap and shows natural awareness. Played

both linebacker and safety in college with 47 career starts, showing steady improvement over his time in South Bend. Very productive at Notre Dame, leaving as the only player in school history to register more than 200 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 15 pass break-ups over his career … finished with 307 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and 28 pass break-ups.

Weaknesses: An upright athlete who lacks ideal body flexibility and natural explosion to hold up in coverage or space. Has tight hips and struggles to turn and quickly change directions … plays stiff. Needs to be a more technically-sound tackler, often going for the knockout hit or forced fumble instead of wrapping up … hits too high and loses leverage, allowing ballcarriers to pick up extra yards. Plays overaggressive and moves too fast for his eyes … missed tackles in space and over runs plays. Has streaky instincts and doesn’t see things as quick as he needs to. Still has a lot of developing to do. Needs to play under control and disciplined … too many unnecessary facemask penalties on his record. Has poor footwork and feel in man coverage and is too hands-on when left on an island … will attract pass interference penalties. Still made too many mistakes as a senior and didn’t register an interception in 2011 after seven pick-offs in 2010.

NFL Comparison: Craig Steltz, Chicago Bears