Minnesota's fumble gave Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions a fresh set of downs early in the fourth quarter two weeks ago
Rashaad Penny Jersey , another opportunity to start climbing back into the game.Though they held an 11-point lead, the Vikings had been unable to pull
away. On the first play after the change of possession, Stafford faked a handoff
to Kerryon Johnson and rolled out to his right.With a hard stop, Stafford
pivoted and threw back to his left where Johnson was waiting for the screen pass
with four blockers within 5 yards of him. Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson
wasn't fooled, though.He kept his eyes on the running back the entire time,
closing in to make the tackle for a 6-yard loss as soon as the ball was caught.
Five plays later, with the Lions still in their own territory, defensive end
Danielle Hunter scooped up a fumble and returned it for a victory-sealing
touchdown.When the Vikings beat the Lions 24-9 that afternoon, the most
encouraging development entering their week off was the start-to-finish
dominance by a defense that didn't look like its usual self in the first quarter
of the season. That rollout screen play that Johnson blew up went for big gains
against the Vikings a few times earlier in the fall. Coach Mike Zimmer and his
staff put plenty of work into adjusting the scheme and the calls after in light
of the vulnerabilities that arose in September.The Vikings allowed a season-low
209 yards to the Lions. Their next three lowest totals all came over the three
previous games."There's a lot of teams now that are playing a style of defense
similar to us. Now, all these offenses are attacking these defenses pretty much
the same way. So we've had to adjust and change coverages," Zimmer said, adding:
"Luckily, our players have been able to execute it."The 4-3 system that Zimmer
largely used throughout his time as defensive coordinator for Dallas and
Cincinnati gained fame by the novel use of the double A-gap blitz that send the
inside linebackers as pass rushers on both sides of the center.As more and more
teams began to integrate that concept, the added exposure around the league gave
opponents more opportunities to strategize about how to block it. Zimmer
estimated that 10 or 12 other teams around the NFL now use a form of what his
original base defense was.As for the Double-A gap blitz, Zimmer has rarely
called one of those this season. One alternative that has worked well has been
to overload one side of the line and use a defensive back to rush like Harrison
Smith or Mackensie Alexander, who had the only one of 10 sacks of Stafford what
wasn't from a defensive lineman."Everybody copies if you've been good," Zimmer
said, adding: "You see a gradual thing. I've had many coaches say they watch our
blitz tape every week to see what we're doing. That's kind of how it
starts."General manager Rick Spielman will often join Zimmer for his 5:30 a.m.
film review of the previous game on Monday mornings
Michael Dickson Jersey , and this season he's been witness to perhaps more scheming than usual."It's pretty incredible to see how they evolve things and
why they evolve it," Spielman said.The Vikings (5-3-1) play at Chicago (6-3) on
Sunday night for control of the NFC North, and they'll need the defense to keep
this up."We're recognizing the plays and understanding the downs and distances,
getting to the ball, getting to the quarterback," cornerback Xavier Rhodes said.
"We're in great coverage. We're aggressive. Once we call a blitz, we're
aggressive all the way around. We're just being us. We're finding our identity.
We had it, but we were making errors in the beginning of the season and now
we're trying to minimize those." The Seattle Seahawks had three vacant roster
spots to fill following a pair of season-ending injuries and the suspension of
Mychal Kendricks, and now they’ve filled all three.In addition to the signings
of safeties Maurice Alexander and T.J. Green, the Seahawks confirmed that
University of Washington alum Darrell Daniels has been promoted from the
practice squad to the 53-man roster. With rookie TE Will Dissly out for the
season with a patellar tendon rupture, and Ed Dickson not scheduled to make his
Seattle Seahawks debut until Week 8, the team needed another tight end on the
active roster besides Nick Vannett. Daniels spent his rookie season with the
Indianapolis Colts, but was traded to the Seahawks for Marcus Johnson prior to
the start of this year’s regular season. He was waived just a few weeks later
but eventually signed to the practice squad, and now he’ll almost certainly be
getting a few snaps against the Los Angeles Rams this weekend.The promotion of
Daniels meant that the Seahawks have a spot freed up on the practice squad, but
they’ve taken care of that by adding cornerback Kalan Reed, formerly of the
Tennessee Titans. Reed (along with Maurice Alexander) was one of several players
who worked out for the Seahawks on Monday.
