So for those of you living under a rock, Jared Allen has left the Minnesota Vikings and signed a four-year $32 million contract with the Chicago Bears. Yes they are one of the main rivals of the Vikings in the NFC North but as a Vikes fan; I can’t hold too much ill will towards the leader of the Mullet Militia. So I want to use this article to say thank you to Rodeo Jared Allen.
Drafted by the Kansas City Chefs in 2004 (fourth round 126th pick), Allen’s first few years in the NFL were defined by what could be described as his immaturity. He was arrested twice in 2006 for DUI’s and was suspended for four games the following season. The 2008 Draft came around and with it came one of the best moves the Vikings have made in the last decade. For a first round pick, two third rounders and an exchange of sixth round picks the Chiefs traded Allen to the Vikings. Allen was handed a six-year $72 million contract and that as they say was that.
He cleaned up his act and has become one of the outstanding representations of an NFL player, he runs several charities such as ‘Sack Diabetes’ and ‘Jared Allen’s Homes 4 Wounded Warriors’, and he holds charity events for these on a regular basis and is actually involved in building the homes. His love of food is famous; introducing himself for TV broadcasts as from ‘Culinary Academy’ and has wrote a cook book called ‘The Quarterback Killers Cookbook’. He is also known for his practical jokes and has appeared in a Jackass film.
Known for his ability to get at the auarterback and as of last season has amassed 128.5 sacks it is hard to argue that we aren’t watching a future Hall of Famer in action. Allen doesn’t just impact games from sack statistics he is a team and crowd motivator! He routinely will stand up from the defensive line and with a flick of his wrists incite the crowd to cheer louder, usually before he sacks the quarterback and the stadium will erupt in elation.
Case and point, during last seasons Browns game the Vikings were on the fringes of a bad season but there was still hope! It was a Late game and for those of you this side of the world (Ireland for this writer), that means that kick off isn’t until 2 am. This game was ugly, the Vikings had been burned on two trick plays, and QB Christian Ponder was appallingly bad. The defense had been stagnant and up stepped Jared Allen, encouraging the crowd to get behind the team, raising his arms to the sky before going and getting a sack, his custom rodeo celebration enticed the crowd to cheer louder and then with a flick of the wrist, you felt that this team could turn things around. The Vikings went on to lose the game but at 4:00am when you are tired and half interested in the game the sight of Allen motivating the stadium into a frenzy is enough to make you want to scream at the TV.
Jared Allen, along with Adrian Peterson were the first names I associate with the Minnesota Vikings, I became a fan of the Vikings during the 2008 season, having gotten into American Football the previous year but had still not selected a team to follow. A combination of a partners family ties and the exhilaration of watching AP tear it up on offense and the mammoth defense of Jared Allen and the Williams wall made me go yes this is my team.
Allen has been a constant bright spot in the team, he was one of the few good things about the 2012 season when he almost beat the single season sack record just falling short by a half sack, if he continues the trend of 10 or more sacks as season (like he has in the last seven seasons) he will find himself somewhere in the 160-170 + career sacks mark.
When last season started, the writing was on the wall that Allen was in his last year in purple and gold, he was earning $17.9 million the most for a DE in the league and was coming off a Ssoulder injury, he was also going on 31. The Vikings defense last season was just appalling and came close to giving up the most points by a team in NFL history. One of Allen’s greatest strengths is also one of his greatest weaknesses, his desire to get up field and go after the Quarterback means that he is often out of place when it comes to stopping the run, the run defense has been one of the strong points of the Vikings during the history of the team but it was not there last season. So when Mike Zimmer was appointed the head coach it was obvious that Allen was not coming back. Zimmer’s defense tends to rely on being structurally sound rather than trying to get after the auarterback.
I am not mad that Allen signed with the Bears and I wish him well against every team but the Vikings. It made sense that he is now a Bear, they were in need of a defensive end after letting Peppers go and he now gets to play six times against Offenses he knows intimately for the next four years. I am looking forward to seeing the training camp talk of Allen V Kalil on the field, how these two engage one another and who wins. Allen said he expects boos when he visits Minnesota, yes there will be boos, if he gets a sack, it will hurt to see a legend of the team in another jersey but that is the nature of sports. I will expect him to be warmly welcomed when he returns and when he does retire I hope he does it as a Viking. Equally I expect him to be respectful of the fans and tone down the celebrations for his first game in Minnesota not wearing Purple.
So to number 69 I say thank you for the memories, I wish you well with the Bears and I hope you get that Superbowl ring….. but not at the expense of the Vikings.
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