* NFL Writer
Vikings defensive end Jared Allen has been one of the league's best pass rushers for his entire NFL career, and as a result he's one of the league's highest-paid players. But this season the Vikings don't appear to be getting their money's worth.
Through five games, Allen has just one sack. That would put him on pace for just three sacks all season, a far cry from the 14.5 he's had in each of his two previous years with the Vikings, and even well below his career-low of 7.5 in 2006, when he played for the Chiefs.
Allen knows that has people asking if he's slowing down. But he says he's still making a difference, as he did in consistently applying pressure in Sunday's game against the Cowboys, even if he isn't getting any sacks. playoffs.
"I think people are kind of shocked," Allen told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.(Romo) elected to throw the ball and we got (two interceptions) instead."
So does Allen have a case that he's playing well despite having only one sack? It's true that defensive ends can affect a game just by getting pressure even if they're not tackling the quarterback, but Allen is at times struggling even to get pressure. Gregg Rosenthal of Pro Football Talk watched Allen closely in Week 1 against Saints tackle Jermon Bushrod and came away unimpressed.
And the folks at Pro Football Focus are more than just unimpressed with Allen this season. They say that Allen is the worst 4-3 defensive end in football right now.
Allen is only 28, so I don't think he's getting old, and he hasn't had significant injuries, so I don't think he's slowing down. But I do think that people are right to be shocked by how badly he's playing right now. One sack for a guy who makes $12 million a year just isn't acceptable, and Allen is one of the players who has to get better for the Vikings to make the
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