“I expect a lot from myself and I expect a lot from our defensive line as a whole, we’ve been doing a lot of good things in camp and hopefully we can keep that moving forward”.
Words that rang heavy from defensive end Brian Robison, who is the clear cut veteran on the Minnesota Vikings defensive line. With nine seasons under his belt Robison understands the importance of training camp and preseason games, but also is aware how non significant they become once the regular season is underway.
So far in camp the Vikings defensive line has looked flat out dominant with a plethora of talent mixed with depth, stemming from a healthy rotation of more than serviceable backups. With guys like Everson Griffen, Sharrif Floyd, and Linval Joseph one could not assume much playing time would be available for the backups behind them. However, as we saw last season, head coach Mike Zimmer uses a heavy mix of his player up front in an almost hockey style rotation to keep guys fresh throughout the game, and more importantly late in the fourth quarter.
“We got three good guys behind Everson and (Brian Robison) and I think throughout this year we’ll get a great rotation and put a lot of pressure on the quarterback”, said defensive end Justin Trattou.
Trattou himself is a long time backup with four years of NFL experience between the New York Giants and Vikings, but has always made the most of his opportunities wherever he is. In the team's first preseason game Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers Trattou led the Vikings with five pressures (two hits and three hurries) according to Pro Football Focus.
Aside from Trattou and 2014 third-round pick Scott Crichton; a lot of buzz has been made about this year's third-round pick, LSU’s Danielle Hunter. Not everyone loved the pick, Hunter was labeled as a big reach by Rick Spielman and the Vikings' front office. He was seen as a raw and inexperienced player, but so far he has opened a lot of eyes during training camp.
“It turns out he’s not as raw as we thought he was,” smiled coach Zimmer in a press conference who unleashed Hunter for nearly their entire first preseason game, leading all players with 62 snaps.
Even being so raw and untapped that didn't scare Spielman as Hunter’s 6’5” 250 pound athletic frame was obvious on tape and could be used as a toy for Zimmer inside his front seven.
Although Hunter could turn into the eventual replacement of Robison down the road, that didn’t stop the veteran from praising the youngest player in the league.
“Obviously he’s long, he’s got speed, and that’s what we need we need a guy who’s rangy and can bend.. he’s got a lot of tools and I think he’s got an opportunity to be really good in this league” Robison said.
With such a broad range of veterans to youth with players like rookie Danielle Hunter the time it takes to gel together as a unit seemed like it would be daunting and time consuming at first, but Robinson says that hasn't been the case thus far, “It’s been good, a lot of young guys are doing a lot of great things out there, the rookies have been doing great.. so I think our defensive line as a whole has a chance to do a lot of good things this year”.
Watch the interview with Brian Robison, Justin Trattou and Danielle Hunter here:
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