Will the Real Za’Darius Smith Please Stand Up
Ted Schwerzler
|
Coming into the 2022 NFL season, the Minnesota Vikings looked to have a pretty fearsome pass rush with Za’Darius Smith and Danielle Hunter coming off the edges of their new 3-4 scheme. Both had injury concerns, but as long as they remained on the field, opposing quarterbacks were on notice.
It was a pretty fun start to the Vikings portion of Za’Darius Smith’s career. He came out guns blazing and racked up sacks in droves to start the season. Minnesota saw the type of production Smith had made common over the course of his career and pairing that with Hunter was something to behold. Then things changed.
Following the Buffalo game, Smith played in seven more contests this season for Minnesota and registered just a half of a sack. It was clear that he was limited at times, and there were also situations in which he was slow to get off the field. Something wasn’t right, but it was more than evident in the box score as well.
As the Vikings went through a five-game stretch in which they allowed more than 400 yards to the opposition, it was clear their pass rush simply couldn’t get home. Danielle Hunter was doing his part to bring down the quarterback, but only one side of the rush was causing a push. Now we know why.
Talking with the media on Wednesday, Smith revealed that he has been dealing with a troublesome knee injury that sapped his production. He assumes it happened during the overtime win against the Buffalo Bills, and that would jive with the timeline where it is evident his numbers fell off.
Last week Smith was dealing with a personal matter and was originally intending to meet the team in Chicago to play the Week 18 contest against the Bears. Instead he wound up being inactive for the game and gave himself additional time to get healthy. Now fully ready to go, the Vikings should have the completed tandem ready to chase down Daniel Jones on Sunday.
Despite it being a slower start to the year for Hunter, he did have some big moments down the stretch. In the final eight games of the season Hunter racked up 4.5 sacks and was able to get to Jones twice during the Vikings first matchup with New York. He posted seven tackles that game and had a season-high four hits on the quarterback.
The Vikings won’t see a high-flying offense in New York, but the Giants are methodical and can pick apart a defense. Saquon Barkley is the talent to focus in on, and Jones is able to beat soft coverage with his legs as well. Having both Smith and Hunter fully healthy and ready to chase down ballcarriers is a good thing for Kevin O’Connell’s team.
After Smith was disappointed in how his 2021 went with the Packers, he’ll get an opportunity to play a playoff game for the Vikings during year one. Having seen Green Bay’s season end a week ago, he should have plenty of eyes from his former organization watching to see how he performs.
Ted Schwerzler is a blogger from the Twin Cities that is focused on all things Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. He’s active on Twitter and writes weekly for Twins Daily. As a former college athlete and avid sports fan, covering our pro teams with a passion has always seemed like such a natural outlet.