National Football League

Jared Allen effective despite having only one sack

Published Oct. 15, 2010 10:12 a.m. ET

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If he just had another half-second, or was just another half-step quicker, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen figures he could have a half-dozen sacks by now -- instead of just one.

"You could count four, five, six, maybe," Allen said after Thursday's practice. "Look at the Detroit game. I would have had two in the Miami game. That half-step, that half-second, is huge. Huge! There's always what ifs, but eventually it comes back. They seem to come in spurts."

They came in spurts for him last season, with more than half his sacks (7 1/2) coming in two games against the Green Bay Packers. Allen has had 14 1/2 sacks in each of the past two seasons and is the NFL leader in sacks with 73 since 2004.

Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier defended Allen's lack of sacks this season, saying: "He's playing well. What's happening with Jared is that he's still in a lot of situations where there are backs chipping and tight ends to his side, and what it does is help other guys and helps our pass defense. Our pass defense is really improved primarily because of the type of blocks we're getting from offenses right now.

"He's going to have a bust-out game, and hopefully it will be this weekend. He's not a disappointment by any means, whether it's our run defense or pass defense. People pay a great deal of attention to him. We just have to get the other guys who are getting one-on-ones to step up and help us in those areas."

The Vikings have only six sacks after leading the league with 48 last season. And, even though the season is one-fourth over, Allen doesn't appear concerned that he has only one sack.

"There always are little things you can improve on," Allen said. "You've just got to keep plugging away. Monday night (against Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez), I was there three times I could have had him. He escaped up the middle or I went this way, he went that way. It's like a cat-and-mouse game. Eventually, he'll be sitting back there. It'll come in bunches."

The sacks came in a bunch in last season's NFC divisional playoff game, when the Vikings sacked Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo six times on their way to a 34-3 victory. Ray Edwards had three sacks, but Allen was a big-time contributor with one sack, a forced fumble and a tackle for a loss.

Sunday, the Vikings face Romo again, and Allen hopes for a similar outcome.

"We're going to have to put pressure on him," Allen said. "We can't let him sit back there and pat the ball and pick us apart. It's really the same game plan week in and week out. It's stop the run and try to harass the quarterback. We're not going to overthink it.

"We've got to jump on them and jump on them fast."

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