EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) -Jared Allen’s hunger for adventure has taken him on hunts for red deer in New Zealand, bear in Idaho, and wild boar in Texas.
The next task is to track down a quarterback in Green Bay – and all the other places Minnesota plays this season.
“Now everything that goes on paper sticks. Preseason’s erased, and I’m excited,” Allen said. “The first week is always exciting. The trick is to carry the same enthusiasm through 16 weeks.”
From what the Vikings have seen so far from Allen, the guy they gave dozens of millions to upgrade their pass rush and ideally elevate a sound defense to a level of dominance the franchise enjoyed years ago, maintaining a good mood won’t be a problem for him.
Days after he joined the team, Allen sauntered on a stage with his fellow defensive linemen at a draft party for fans wearing a cowboy hat, tight jeans and huge grin. He was often seen clowning around with teammates after training camp practices, and he has a wit as quick as his moves to the quarterback.
“I told somebody the other day, ‘God help us when he gets comfortable around here,”’ coach Brad Childress said.
For the bounty they committed to the NFL’s reigning sacks leader, the Vikings need Allen to be pumped up for much more than just 16 weeks. Failing to make the playoffs again – they’ve gone only once in the last seven seasons – will not be acceptable for this team. Many questions are left to be answered, but the Vikings have positioned themselves as a legitimate contender in the NFC.
Allen was fetched in a trade with Kansas City for three draft picks, one in the first round and two in the third. He then signed a defensive-record six-year contract potentially worth more than $74 million with at least $31 million – plus $69 to match his jersey number – guaranteed.
That’s too high of a price for another 8-8 finish.
“I’m eager to watch him play when it’s for real and when things start counting,” Childress said. “I’ve had a pretty good window here. … He’ll flash every day. He’ll do something sudden every single day that you watch him play. God willing, he does a couple of those things come Monday night.”
in the fourth round out of Idaho State.
“I know he had a sweet mullet for a while and he had that cool sack celebration that I hope he doesn’t get to do on Monday,” Rodgers said. “He’s a great player, and he definitely adds something to their defense.”
Tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams both played in the Pro Bowl last season. The other starting end, Ray Edwards, will enter his third year after getting five sacks in 12 games in 2007.
“The front four they have, I’d put that against any front four in the NFL,” Rodgers said.
That’s what the Vikings believe, too, with a group that could compare to the old Purple People Eaters of the 1970s more closely than any other defensive line this team has formed since.
“We’re ready to turn it up another notch and go have some fun,” Allen said.
Fun is a word these linemen use often. Fun is also an experience that got Allen into trouble, enough to end his stay in Kansas City early. Allen and Chiefs president and general manager Carl Peterson were upset at each other for the way their relationship deteriorated after two drunken driving arrests that embarrassed Allen and the organization.
His vow to give up alcohol, though, impressed commissioner Roger Goodell enough to cut a four-game suspension last season in half, and the Vikings were impressed by their interviews with the 26-year-old Allen.
“We will never, if there is a guy with issues, not go to the ‘nth’ degree to do our due diligence,” vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman said earlier this year. “And I hope we’re right every time.”
With Allen, they must also be right on the field. They must be right that he’ll make a significant enough impact to justify the cost of acquiring him.
“I think every football player wants to be that guy,” Allen said. “As far as that final link, like I said before, this puzzle is always growing. It’s an endless chain. Each person in an organization has a different role. … I don’t think I am ‘the’ piece. As a collective whole, I think I am part of the puzzle.”
If he is as good as the value of his contract, well, he also might just be getting started.
“Every year I get older I feel one year younger,” Allen said. “Each year I try to get better. I think as a football player I can always develop something new.”
This is the week to show it.
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