Written by Chris Schad
Last season, the Minnesota Vikings had one of the worst defensive units in the National Football League. As the team allowed 480 points and a whopping 37 touchdowns through the air, there weren’t many teams that didn’t start drooling when they saw the Vikings on their schedule.
Plenty has happened since then and with several additions to the defense and a fresh philosophy from their new head coach Mike Zimmer, the Vikings transformed into a dominant unit during their 34-6 victory over the St. Louis Rams in Week 1.
Obviously, this change didn’t happen overnight, but perhaps the only way to get away from the Charmin-soft defense the Vikings trotted out a year ago was the return of their safety that’s tougher than public restroom toilet paper.
Harrison Smith has been an impact player for the Vikings since he was drafted by the team in 2012. He introduced himself to the league by turning two of his three interceptions into touchdowns and establishing himself as one of the hardest hitters in the league (just ask Kendall Wright).
With Smith’s performance, the Vikings defense had a quick turnaround from a disastrous 2011 season (with 434 points allowed and a 34:8 touchdown to interception ratio) and rode a stinger unit (348 points allowed, 28:10 TD to INT ratio) to a playoff appearance.
Just as Smith’s future appeared to be shining for an encore performance, he missed eight games in 2013 with a bad case of turf toe. Without the physical, playmaking presence of the Notre Dame product, the Vikings faltered as they became the second-worst team in pass coverage according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
With last year now in this team’s rear view window, it appears that Smith has regained the form that made him a promising player during his rookie season. He showed plenty of burst in the Week 1 victory and racked up a sack to go along with his 81-yard interception return that went for a touchdown. (For those of you counting at home, that’s six career interceptions with three of them going to the house.)
The Vikings need that kind of presence in their secondary if they want to keep up with Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Jay Cutler. There’s a long road ahead, but there’s no denying that the defense is a better unit when Smith is lurking and ready to strike.
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Chris Schad contributes to 105 The Ticket and has had his work featured on the Bleacher Report and Yahoo Contributor Network. He serves as the Vikings Lead Writerfor Pro Football Spot. Find him on Twitter @crishad. |