A half-second — the time it takes to snap your fingers, or blink your eyes, or flip a coin.
Or find a receiver breaking free from coverage for a 20-yard gain.
A half-second is what separates good from great in the NFL, and Jared Allen has arrived in Minnesota to wipe out that half-second and push the Vikings defense in that same direction.
The Vikings finished the 2007 season with 38 quarterback sacks — a respectable total that ranked eighth in the NFL. But that statistic masked a less desirable ranking — 32nd in the league with 264 passing yards allowed per game.
Some of that, of course, can be attributed to a run-stuffing defense that forced opponents to put the ball in the air early and often. But if Allen can help produce a more consistent and effective pass rush, picking your poison won't be an easy decision against the Vikings this fall.
That brings us back to that half-second.
When Allen joined the Vikings this spring, he
immediately began studying last year’s game
fi lms to become more familiar with his new
teammates and the defensive schemes the
team will employ this season. What he saw was
a sliver of daylight and an opportunity that he
hopes to exploit as he pushes his linemates —
Kevin Williams, Pat Williams and Ray Edwards
— from good to great…
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