Whereas a previous post recounted the glory days of the
Vikings past in the 1970s and 1980s, in the last twenty years the Minnesota
Vikings have been won five division titles with the last one coming in
2009. That five is more than many
franchises, but the Vikings have set the standard so high for years that only
championships and maybe Super Bowl appearances will suffice.
There were some exciting and underrate football players to
play for the purple in the last twenty years.
We’ll recount some Viking greats that are criminally underrated.
1993 is a pivotal
year for the Vikings. They finished 9-7
that year with key offensive positions using the committee approach. I mean, the Vikings teams in the last twenty
years have been known for great and exciting offenses and here in 1993 running
back Scottie Graham led the team with 488 rushing yards! Jim McMahon couldn’t
muster 2,000 yards passing in twelve starts (although he did go 8-4). However in 1993, future HOF Cris Carter
collected his first 1,000 yard season and youngsters Jake Reed and Robert Smith
were getting their first bit of playing time.
“Three Deep” - Wide receiver Jake Reed was a big 6’3” 220
pound physical wideout from Grambling State who actually had been drafted back
in 1991. In 1994 he exploded onto the
scene as a super number two receiver behind Cris Carter, catching 85 balls for
1,175 yards and four scores, Pro Bowl worthy numbers, even by today’s
standards. Of course Reed was
overshadowed by Cris Carter and eventually replaced by Randy Moss, two of the
most elite talents ever to play at the position. You’ll notice the theme here, when Reed broke
out in 1994 with 85-1175-4, Cris Carter went completely haywire catching 122
passes for 1,256 yards and seven scores.
In the four year span of 1994-1997, Reed averaged exactly 1,200 yards and 74 receptions and scored 26 times during
that span. He never made the Pro Bowl which is pretty
criminal considering. By the time the
Vikings were on everyone’s radar in 1998 he was the third receiver and Randy
Moss was seen as the explosive playmaker.
He’s still probably considered a top five Viking receiver of all time –
he just happened to play with the top two names on that list.
“Griff” - Robert Griffith was also a rookie on that 1994
team as a defensive back from tiny San Diego State. He worked hard to make plays in the first
two years but started to make an impact as a starter in 1996. That season he collected two sacks, four
interceptions for 67 return yards, two forced fumbles and a fumble
recovery. Pairing with free safety
Orlando Thomas, they made one of the great safety tandems in the late
1990s. Griffith was blessed with great
coverage skills, sure hands but was eminently known for his run-stopping
ability. He made tackles all over the
field for Minnesota, racking up 837 in his Viking career. Underrated by many, he was a two-time All Pro
and made the Pro Bowl in 2000. He had
already been the leader in the Vikings defensive backfield since he was a
starter and is still quite underrated.
Another underrated Viking on the defensive side of the ball
from the last twenty years is defensive end Lance Johnstone. This slightly undersized 6’4”, 250-pound
defensive came over from the Raiders in 2001 and went about harassing
quarterbacks immediately in the NFC.
During the early 2000s era when the Vikings defense was middling and the
team finished right around .500 every year, Johnstone was the main pass rush at
defensive end, and benefited when the team added defensive tackle Kevin
Williams in 2003 and 2004. Both seasons
saw both players collect double digit sacks, and Johnstone collected 41 sacks
in five years as a Viking. It is
important to note that Johnstone was a pass rushing specialist who only started
23 out of the 80 Viking games he played in.
Minnesota rotated him in and out on obvious passing downs, although he
was never used that sparingly in Oakland.
Makes one wonder what Johnstone’s numbers would have been like if he had
played more that 50 percent of defensive snaps. I suppose he wasn’t a phenomenal run stopper
during those years but neither were contemporaries Simeon Rice or Dwight
Freeney. Seems like the Vikings played
enough passing threats to leave Johnstone in more. We’ll never know.
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