http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Zulg ... oved082212
The quote below was mentioned briefly in another thread yesterday:
... and some of the comments below address a subject that, if I remember correctly, was hotly debated here at times last season:Leslie Frazier would prefer to avoid recalling what it was like going against the pass-happy offenses in the NFC North last season, but the always cordial Minnesota Vikings coach proved willing to discuss the subject when it was broached on Wednesday.
In fact, Frazier decided to give a specific example of just how challenged the shorthanded Vikings secondary was at one point last season.
"We played a team, I won't mention the team," Frazier said. "One of the secondary coaches called me after the game and said, 'Man, going into the game, we knew if we put this package on the field you could match up, if we did this you couldn't match up. I don't know what you are going to do, but you guys have to address your secondary.'"
There were numerous reasons why the Vikings posted a dismal 3-13 record last season, tying the worst mark in franchise history, and the subpar play in the secondary was a major one of them.
"There are some things we can do personnel-wise if you have the number of defensive backs that we are thinking about keeping, versus where we have been in the past," Frazier said. "Now you can match up a little bit better when people go three, four, and five wide receivers. It eliminates the potential of you having to stay in zone coverage all the time like we've had to do over particularly this past year.
"That will help us, that you can't just go into the game saying 'Well they've only got this many defensive backs, they have to play this particular coverage.' Then the flexibility we have with some of our linebackers that have the ability to cover as well and can blitz off the edge. If we can keep these guys healthy we have a chance to be a little bit more creative with the way that we want to approach opposing offenses."
The Vikings had to like what they saw from Smith as he made his first preseason start in last Friday's win over Buffalo. Sent on a blitz in the first quarter, Smith knocked down a third-down pass from Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Given the fact the Vikings seem to have more confidence in their safeties, that should enable them to do more things with that position, too. It's been a while since that was the case.
"If you know that you have a liability, especially today when you have safeties that have got to cover tight ends, you have a liability there and it's going to get exposed when you play man so you are less likely to play man coverage because you are going to have problems," Frazier said. "It depends how you want to die, slow death or quick death?"
Frazier would prefer to see his defense not experience either type of death in 2012.