Desmond Bishop Will Start Camp at Outside Linebacker

Oct 23, 2011; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Green Bay Packers linebacker Desmond Bishop (55) against the Minnesota Vikings at the Metrodome. The Packers defeated the Vikings 33-27. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

When the Vikings signed Desmond Bishop we all assumed he would compete with Erin Henderson for the Mike linebacker job. But apparently that assumption was not entirely valid. Leslie Frazier says Bishop will begin camp on the outside with Erin remaining inside.

The reasoning behind this decision? Frazier says the Vikings like Bishop’s blitzing skills. So they envision him as more of a downhill blitzing linebacker and not so much a ground-covering type who could play the Mike?

Interesting. Because Bishop has always been an inside guy. But the Vikes are looking at his skill set and seeing something else. What we’re really seeing here is the evolution of the Vikings’ defensive scheme. If we’re talking about blitzing, we’re talking about more man coverage, more aggressiveness on defense.

This fits in with everything we’ve been hearing this offseason about the Vikings’ intentions with their defensive scheme. They want to get away from the vanilla looks and mix things up. To me this is all a reaction to modern offenses. With so much spread and zone-read making its way into the NFL, the old Tampa-2 is quickly becoming obsolete.

Kudos to Alan Williams and Leslie Frazier for adapting to the times. Now we’ll see if they have the personnel to run this retooled scheme of theirs.

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