 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
Target Griffith is Vikings' lone defensive Pro Bowl pick
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -- Robert Griffith stands out in the Minnesota Vikings' defense. Griffith, a hard-hitting strong safety, is not only Minnesota's lone defensive Pro Bowl pick, but the one player on one of the league's worst defenses that opposing offenses try to avoid. Griffith has noticed that when he's playing near the line of scrimmage, opponents are likely to pass. If he drops back in coverage, a run should be coming. "Oh, without a question the last three years I think I've been a marked man," Griffith said. "It's one of those things that if they're marked on me, then somebody else has to make the play." That hasn't happened much this season, especially lately as Minnesota closed the regular season with three consecutive losses. The Vikings allowed 104 points in their dismal December and nearly gave up their NFC Central division title and first-round bye in the playoffs. St. Louis, Green Bay and Indianapolis each rushed for more than 125 yards and passed for more than 275. "I'm going to come down and support the run," said Griffith, who's in his seventh season. "That's just a given. We just have to work around it. We're going to move some pieces around, maybe to disguise, maybe not." Minnesota's young secondary learns a lot from Griffith. He's invaluable on the field -- the Vikings are 13-1 in games in which he has an interception -- but equally useful as a mentor. "Griff, he's a leader in a number of ways," cornerback Keith Thibodeaux said. "He's always talking to the guys, or else he's busting people up (on the field)." Free safety Orlando Thomas, who returned to the lineup Dec. 24 against the Colts after missing seven games with a broken shoulder, is the only other defensive back with extensive experience. "If you have a team that wants to run the football and thinks they can, they're definitely going to key on where No. 24 is," Thomas said of Griffith. "He's probably the best run support safety in the game." Many of the defensive backs seemed to suggest this week that they spent more time focusing on fundamentals and figuring out how to make themselves less predictable than they did specifically preparing for the New Orleans offense. The Vikings play the Saints on Saturday in the divisional playoffs. "December was hard," cornerback Wasswa Serwanga said. "We played against some great offenses. We learn from it." Griffith said the bye week provided the defense an opportunity to rethink its strategy. "The extra couple of days helped us out," Griffith said. "We were able to focus in on our assignments and our adjustments. We just put everything in reality in where were at as a team, a defensive unit. We just made it really basic and simple. We have to play better to win, so we're going to do that. We're going to get our chance, regardless of what the media says and how maligned we might be."
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
