Here Comes The Pass Rush
October 24th, 2014
Interestingly, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer, the former Cincinnati defensive coordinator, dropped a lot of cash on DE Everson Griffen, now in his first season as a full-time starter, rather than sign his former protege, Michael Johnson.
When Bucs fans decide to partially fill the Stadium on Dale Mabry Highway Sunday, they should expect to see a pass rush. No, not from the Bucs! Just what have the Bucs done this year that you would actually expect them to harass Teddy Bridgewater, even with a porous offnesive line?
No, the pass rush is coming from Mike Zimmer’s charges with the Vikings. Specifically, defensive end Everson Griffen who already has seven sacks himself (the Bucs have a grand total of nine). Matt Vansel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune details how Griffen has been a pleasant surprise.
The returns are early, but Griffen is rewarding the Vikings for their investment. He has performed his sack dance in three consecutive games. And with a career-high three sacks during Sunday’s 17-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Griffen has surged to second in the league with seven.
“I just had to wait for my time to come so I could go out there and do what I do,” Griffen said.
It wasn’t easy for Griffen, a fourth-round pick from USC in 2010, to remain patient as he backed up Allen, who this season could crash into the top 10 of the NFL’s career sack list, and fellow defensive end Brian Robison, who is a pretty good pass rusher in his own right. Even today, Griffen, who is as hyper as they come, isn’t quite sure how he was able to sit still for so long.
So let Joe think about this for a moment: Zimmer, the Vikings coach, came from Cincinnati where he had a starting defensive end by the name of Michael Johnson. So Zimmer decided, after studying tape, he would rather drop mega cash in the lap of a guy who was never a full-time starter, a guy Zimmer had never worked with before, rather than go get a free agent defensive end Zimmer knows thoroughly and had significant starting experience.
Joe thinks that speaks volumes.
Hopefully, someday, Johnson will prove Zimmer wrong.
October 24th, 2014 at 9:04 am
Lovie’s basement is the beer goggles of talent identification
October 24th, 2014 at 9:09 am
High ankle sprain
October 24th, 2014 at 9:13 am
Did he have a high ankle sprain last year, or is he “being asked to do something different” this year?
No way you give that guy $16 million of guaranteed money over 2 years.
October 24th, 2014 at 9:14 am
Sounds like Zimmer is zooming us.
October 24th, 2014 at 9:20 am
Not this year
October 24th, 2014 at 9:28 am
Interesting story Joe. Thanks.
October 24th, 2014 at 9:52 am
Well nobody ever accused Lovie of being able to assemble a quality roster on his own or be a good judge of talent. He was sold as a coach with a proven defensive scheme and one who players respected and wanted to play for. Um, well, um…I guess we’ll wait and see
October 24th, 2014 at 10:00 am
I’m sure Rick spielman had something to do with the decision as well you know. You know, the guy that hired Mike Zimmer?
October 24th, 2014 at 11:22 am
Two main jobs for a head coach.
1) Choose players
2) Coach them up
Which Bucs player on the entire roster is playing better this year than last?
As an example: Louis Murphy has as many receptions as any of our RBs, and is tied for the team lead in TDs with 2. Cut after training camp?
tickrdr
October 24th, 2014 at 12:42 pm
That’s silly, Joe. A rookie head coach like Zimmer is going to make foolish mistakes like this at times. He actually thinks defensive ends should be evaluated according to how they play football; what a buffoon! A seasoned head coach like Mr. Smith knows what’s important in player evaluation: height, arm length, and body fat ratios. Sure, good football players might win more games, but how can that possibly matter if they don’t fit the prototype. This Zimmer idiot might want to pay attention to how a real football coach assembles a roster. Good football players? Ha! That’s for losers like Zimmer who take their jobs seriously.