Vikings make bold move to acquire Jared Allen

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 05/01/2008

 In Vikings history, the biggest trade ever was in 1989 when Mike Lynn traded away three number-one picks from 1990-1992 for Dallas star running back Herschel Walker. That deal has been documented as, from the Vikings’ standpoint, the worst in NFL history. Last week, the Vikings gave the Kansas City Chiefs their 2008 first-round pick plus two third-round choices in exchange for NFL sack leader and All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen.

 It will take time for history to measure this deal and who ultimately took advantage of whom. The NFL is a copycat league, and everybody follows the leader — that leader is the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants. Last year, the Giants pulled off the greatest upset in NFL history by knocking superstar quarterback Tom Brady down many times and beating the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII.

 The Giants led the NFL in sacks last year with 53; the New England Patriots had 47. In fact, every team in the NFL with 40 or more team sacks made the playoffs. Dallas had 46, Seattle 45, San Diego 42 and Tennessee 40. The Vikings had 38, finishing 8-8 and missing the playoffs for the fifth time in the six years since Dennis Green’s tenure as head coach ended.

 The Vikings believe with the addition of the 26-year-old pass rushing specialist Allen, they can now play with anybody. Allen has in just four years and 61 games sacked a quarterback 43 times. Last year, he had 15.5 sacks to lead the NFL. The Vikings can also line him up at tight end on goal line situations and throw him the ball. In 2007, he grabbed two touchdown passes.

 The Vikings, after agreeing to the trade, signed Allen to a six-year contract for $74 million that includes a $31 million dollar signing bonus, making him among the highest paid defensive players in the NFL. He has had off-the-field issues — in fact, he served a two-game suspension for DUI in 2007. If he has another DUI, he will be suspended for four games, which makes this deal quite risky. The Vikings obviously see the opportunity in the risk.

 This is certainly the biggest splash the Vikings have made since the ill-fated Walker deal, which Dallas used as the foundation to win three Super Bowls. Will this deal have that kind of impact? The Vikings led the NFL in rushing last year and were number one in the NFL against the run. Now they will be able to put more pressure on the quarterback; in theory that means more wins.  

I do not have a crystal ball, but putting three All-Pro defensive linemen together — Kevin and Pat Williams with Allen, all in their prime — means the Vikings are headed back to the playoffs. It also means they have returned to their roots from the years when Alan Page, Carl Eller, and Jim Marshall terrorized quarterbacks. Championships are built on defense; the Giants proved that and now the Vikings are following their lead.

 Fitz Notes & Quotes

 No first-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft? No problem! Six NFL teams — Minnesota, Indianapolis, Green Bay, Cleveland, Philadelphia and Washington — did not have first-round picks in this year’s NFL Draft. In 2004, the Vikings did not have a first-round pick and that could come back to haunt the organization. As we have seen with the Vikings, from1989 to 1992 — four straight years — they did not have a first-round pick in the draft. That was before the salary cap and free agency era that exists today. Remember: the Vikings wasted a first-round pick in the 2005 draft on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who could run like the wind but could not catch the football.

It was during the Mike Lynn era, when he was general manager and the Vikings had 10 owners, and he ran the day-to-day operations after undermining aging founder and Vikings owner Max Winter during a power struggle. The self-serving Lynn was able to save the Vikings ownership tens of millions of dollars in signing bonuses — while on the flip side helping the Dallas Cowboys win three Super Bowls in four years.

 

Obviously, there are many ways to go about building your football team. Five teams — Kansas City, New York Jets, Dallas, Atlanta and Carolina — had two picks in this year’s first round. Only Dallas (13-3) among those five teams made the playoffs last year. This year’s draft was the first time since 1990 that no wide receivers were taken in the first round. Last year, the New England Patriots scored a record 75 touchdowns while racking up 589 points, the most in NFL history.