Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen gave fans his perspective on what happened to the team’s defense after their impressive 5-0 start.
No fan wants to relive the emotions the Minnesota Vikings put them through last season. They were playing so good that there were early talks of the Vikings playing in the Super Bowl. That chatter was quickly replaced by talk of them hopefully making the playoffs.
It was a painful ending to the season with the Vikings only winning three more games after their impressive start. The defense felt the pain the most because they were one of the positive takeaways from the season. One of the players that really felt it was defensive end Everson Griffen.
Griffen earned a second Pro Bowl appearance last season. He played stellar getting eight sacks and 36 tackles during the season. In an interview with local media on Wednesday he gave us some insight on what happened last year when he was asked if the defense ran out of steam.
"“Yeah I would say that. Being straightforward, yeah we probably ran out of a little steam, a little momentum and that happens. But I think we just had a lot on our plate as a defense. We were out there on the field a lot to be quite honest. But it’s a team game and we’ve just got to find different areas to step it up. Special teams got to step it up. (On) the offensive side of the ball, we’ve got to step it up a little more, (and on) defense we’ve got to step it up. So it all works together, we’re a team.”"
He knows they have to step it up as a team, but Griffen puts a lot of the weight on his shoulders. The season was not easy for him.
"“It was a grind. Me personally, I was going through a lot off the field. But it is (a grind). You move past it, you move forward, and you figure out who you are and you just deal with it. The best thing I can do right now is take it day by day, set that solid foundation, believe in each of my teammates and just be humble and have patience and just let the game come to you.” Minnesota Vikings The Viking Age 0d - 6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings history More headlines around FanSided: 1d - Former Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC North 1d - Bears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take 1d - 6 Vikings who (maybe) won't make the 53-man roster in 2023 2d - Which teams could be drafting a quarterback next year? 2d - Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022 More News at The Viking Age"
Despite the crushing losing streak, Griffen remains optimistic and is ready to get back to work on the field.
"“You’ve really got to look at the details of each and every game, you’ve got to be very critical of yourself, and you’ve got to go back and just fix the mistakes that you did last year and not let them happen again. But it all starts now. You’ve got to set a solid foundation and go out there and play ball and let the past be the past.”"
If the Vikings remain healthy they will have no problem getting back to the level they played early last season. One positive health related note is that Sharrif Floyd thinks he is going to be alright moving forward. The injury bug hit the Minnesota Vikings hard during last season so that is something they need to avoid in 2017.
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No one knows for sure how this season will play out. But it does seem certain that Griffen will do everything in his power to make sure the Vikings do not run out of steam again this year.