The Flea Flicker countdown of the 100 Greatest Minnesota Vikings Players continues with players ranked 20-11.
100 Greatest Minnesota Vikings Players: 20-11
20. Kevin Williams, DT
19. Joey Browner, S
18. Gary Zimmerman, OT
17. Harrison Smith, S
16. Chuck Foreman, RB
15. Jared Allen, DE
14. Chris Doleman, DE
13. Ron Yary, OT
12. Mick Tingelhoff, C
11. Paul Krause, S
It’s time for the Hall of Famers. Gary Zimmerman, Chris Doleman, Ron Yary, Mick Tingelhoff, and Paul Krause are in Canton. Jared Allen could make it any year now. If injuries hadn’t cut into their talent and careers, Joey Browner and Chuck Foreman would be there already. Despite their shortened careers, both have a case that they deserve to be there. Kevin Williams had a Hall of Fame caliber career. Harrison Smith is having a Hall of Fame caliber career.
When I think of Kevin Williams I often think of a play against the Kansas City Chiefs from his rookie season (2003). At the snap, Williams blows through Will Shields, wrecks an attempted block by Tony Richardson, and stops Priest Holmes for a loss. Shields, Richardson, and Holmes made the Pro Bowl that season. They were among the best in the league at their respective positions. Shields is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and rookie Kevin Williams went through him as if he was made of paper. It was an astonishing play. He had a lot of plays like that over his career. I think that he’s a Hall of Fame player. Now it’s up to the Hall voters. Richard Seymour made it last year. Williams and Seymour were similar players with similar careers.
Joey Browner is one of a handful of Vikings defensive players that I’ve seen simply take over a game. There was a 1988 playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams in which it felt like there were about six Joey Browners on the field. He had several games like that. He was an incredible football player. I always felt that he was the safety equal of peers Ronnie Lott and Kenny Easley. Those two are in the Hall of Famer. Browner should join them.
I wish that Gary Zimmerman had played his entire NFL career in Minnesota. His defection to Denver was tough. It worked out for him as he won a Super Bowl with the Broncos. He was just so steady. Pass rushers didn’t get past him. I’m not sure if the NFL was easy for him but there were times when it looked easy.
Maybe it’s a recency thing but I have Harrison Smith ahead of Joey Browner mostly for his longevity and durability. Every now and then, I dream of a defensive backfield with both Browner and Smith in it. It’s a beautiful dream. I like them both so much. Smith plays everywhere. He can play deep, in coverage, against the run, rush the passer. A quarterback needs to know where Smith is at all times but he can be anywhere. He’s a smart, instinctive, terrific football player.
When I first became a Vikings fan, I was so intrigued by their defense. It was Chuck Foreman that hauled my attention to the offense. No back had ever caught passes like he did. At least, none that I’d ever seen. He was such a fun runner. Those spins! Oh my! The Vikings offense was always at it’s best when the ball was in his hands.
It’s a challenge to rank/separate Jared Allen and Chris Doleman. Both were great defensive ends. Today, Doleman gets the edge. Tomorrow, it might be Allen.
The Vikings traded a handful of draft picks for Jared Allen in 2008. It was one of the best trades in franchise history. Over his six seasons in Minnesota, he was named first-team All-Pro four times. He was named to five Pro Bowls. He had 11 sacks in the season that he didn’t make the Pro Bowl. Teamed with “the Williams Wall,” Allen had one mission. Get after the quarterback. He did. One quarterback even ran out of the end zone for a safety to avoid him. Allen had 85.5 sacks for the Vikings. His 22 sacks in 2011 was a half sack short of the league record. It also should’ve won him the Defensive Player of the Year award that somehow went to Terrell Suggs. Allen will join Doleman in Canton. Hopefully, next summer.
One of my fondest memories of Chris Doleman’s playing days was a Christmas night game in 1989 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Going against Bengals all-world tackle Anthony Munoz, Doleman collected four sacks. It was that night that I knew Doleman was destined for a bust in Canton. He collected 21 sacks that season. As a pass rusher, Doleman was a missile. He was also strong against the run. It’s tough to compare any Vikings front to the People Purple Eaters. The late 1980s front of Doleman, Keith Millard, Henry Thomas, and Al Noga is worthy of comparison. So is the late 2000s front of Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, Pat Williams, and Ray Edwards.
#13 feels low for Ron Yary. It’s due to the greatness of the players in front of him. Another day, he’s probably in the Top 10. Yary was the best offensive tackle in the league for much of the 1970s. He’s on the All-Decade Team. He has a bust in Canton. He and guard Ed White had Fran Tarkenton’s right side locked down. Yary was a great football player.
One of the sad facts about the great players in Vikings franchise history is that few played their entire career in Minnesota. Mick Tingelhoff is the team’s only Hall of Fame player that played zero games for another team. He was arguably the league’s best center through the 1960s. He earned first-team All-Pro five times. He was named to six Pro Bowls. He played the center position so well that he even earned some votes for Rookie of the Year in 1962. Centers of Tingelhoff’s era often had a full-game war with the opposing team’s middle linebacker. His peak years were the peak years of Dick Butkus, Ray Nitschke, and Joe Schmidt. Those three Hall of Famers were three of the best middle linebackers to ever play. Tingelhoff battled each twice a season and excelled. I wish that he’d received his deserved Hall of Fame recognition much earlier in his life.
Paul Krause’s 81 career interceptions is an NFL record that may never be broken. Bud Grant made things simple for Krause. “Don’t get beat deep.” Krause patrolled the back of the defense. He played the back of the defense much like Ed Reed did three decades later. Krause did it first. If interceptions are the measuring stick, Krause did it best.
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