Minnesota Vikings First Quarter Review: What we’ve learned so far
By Chris Schad
The Vikings should have kept Terrance Newman & Brian Robison
One of the key talking points for the Vikings so far has been the decline of their defense. We’ll get to that in a little bit, but one of the biggest reasons for that fall could be the loss of two of their defensive leaders on cut day.
At the time, letting go of Robison and Newman was viewed to be a great way to let the next wave of Vikings take the torch. With leaders such as Everson Griffen, Xavier Rhodes and Harrison Smith on the team, they could afford to let two aging veterans walk in an attempt to get younger.
The results have been disastrous. While there is no way that the Vikings could see Griffen’s issues imploding as they have, the other veterans on the defense have failed to step up. Last week was a prime example when Rhodes booted a penalty flag in frustration, costing the Vikings 15 yards before a Brandin Cooks touchdown on the next play.
Guys like Holton Hill and Stephen Weatherly may be the future of the defense, but for a team that had Super Bowl aspirations coming into the season, having that calming presence in uniform could be something that this defense could use at this moment.