Remember when Brian Robison and Ray Edwards were the Truth, the Answer, the Solution? Remember when they were going to team with a healthy Erasmus James to crash down upon opposing quarterbacks with unstoppable force?
Yeah...That was fun while it lasted.
Robison, Edwards and James (who was in for 18 plays) couldn't get past the Seahawks backup left tackle on Saturday. It's definitely not a good sign that a team can keep its All Pro LT on the bench and still not have any problems keeping the Vikings away from its quarterback. And it's not like the ends were opening things up for everyone else either, as the Vikings failed to record a sack. The good thing is that James was seeing his first action of the year and he didn't have any setbacks. The bad thing is that, well, the Vikings only had 30 sacks last year (7th least in the NFL), despite the fact other teams dropped back to pass 629 times against them(Most in the NFL). The Vikings weren't planning on counting on Edwards and Robison to turn around their pass rush--that's James' job. And while he didn't accomplish much in his 18 plays, his knee responded well. Finding out whether or not he can get to the quarterback will have to wait. It's too bad we already know that the other starting end cannot.
The Vikings' also avoided providing more info on which of their five safeties they are going to keep. Darren Sharper and Dwight Smith are locks for the team, which means Mike Doss, Greg Blue and Tank Williams are fighting for two roster spots. Doss didn't play against the Seahawks due to a calf injury, and neither Blue nor Williams made too much of an impact that I saw. Due to an undisclosed injury to Tank Williams and the fact that Doss continues to miss practice, it appears that Greg Blue is going to have all the opportunity in the world to win a roster spot against Dallas on Thursday. He's already got an advantage because he's younger and he's cheaper. He also, as you may recall, made "JACKED UP" last year for a hit against Buffalo. Definitely doesn't hurt.
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