Disaster struck the Vikings dominant defensive line Tuesday as the NFL handed down four-game suspensions to Pat and Kevin Williams and four others for violation of the league’s steroid policy.
After a drawn out appeal process, the Vikings take a massive hit and will likely be without the Williamses for the remainder of the regular season. If the Vikings make the playoffs, the two will be able to return on December 29th.
The good news is there may be plans in the works to file an injunction in an attempt to keep the players active for the remainder of the season.
It will be seen how important Pat and Kevin are to the Vikings defense in the remaining four weeks, and this could very well keep them out of the playoffs. This move will change opposing teams’ game plans so drastically that they will no longer be afraid to run against the Vikings.
Just as the Vikings took over the sole lead of the NFC North, the foundation of their defense has been taken away. The Vikings rely on a strong pass rush and run defense to make up for a less than average secondary.
In the next four weeks, the Vikings will see average running backs Kevin Smith and Tim Hightower, and two dominant, stud running backs in Michael Turner and Brandon Jacobs. If the Williamses are done, the last weeks of the season could be a nightmare.
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