Exclusive: Jared Allen’s art of the sack

Only two players in NFL history have put together three straight seasons with at least 14.5 sacks: Reggie White and current Vikings defensive end Jared Allen.

A fourth-round pick by the Chiefs in the 2004 draft, Allen has evolved into one of the premier pass rushers in the NFL with 78.5 sacks in his career to date.

Prior to the Vikings loss to the Packers on Sunday, I had a chance to interview Allen and talk about his preparation and the art of the sack.

The Physical Preparation

One of the big challenges for any football player is keeping their body in shape throughout the rigours of a 16-game regular season. Even though he’s listed as being 270 pounds, Allen admits that his actually weight is down to 255 pounds. While he is lighter, Allen says he’s in the best shape of his life, and the main reason for that is the incorporation of MMA training during his workouts.

"The biggest difference is my overall cardio and my overall core strength," he explained. "My game really stepped up another level when I picked my conditioning up another level. In this league everybody is strong and everyone has talent. Some of the things I can control are that I can be in better shape than everyone else. I can out last you and I can out work you.

The Mental Preparation

It goes without saying that being mentally prepared is equally important to being physically prepared.

That means a lot of film work and a lot of time studying the game plan. On top of learning his assignments in the Vikings’ run defence as laid out by coordinator (and now interim head coach) Leslie Frazier, Allen also spends time preparing for the offensive tackle on the team he is about to face.

"When it comes to the pass rush, I am really focused on beating that guy in front of me," said Allen. "So when I prepare, I go through the game plan through the week. But when you go home, there’s a lot of studying my opponent, that particular left tackle. Things like, ‘does he set me up outside or inside?

A big part of Allen’s film study is looking for something he refers to as a "tells."

These are subtle physical tip-offs by an offensive lineman or a quarterback that he can use to his advantage. Prior to the Vikings’ win over the Cardinals in Week 9, Allen noticed that their centre (Lyle Sendlein) had a tendency to move his head slightly just before snapping the ball in their shotgun formation.

Allen used that knowledge to get an extra jump off the ball and ended up with 2.5 sacks that day.

The Head-to-Head Battle

At 255 pounds Allen is giving up at least 60 pounds to most of the offensive tackles he faces on a weekly basis. However, Allen says his new-found, MMA-inspired strength and sound technique help him to win many of those one-on-one battles.

"Leverage and technique will always win and a guy my size can bull rush a big 330 pound guy sometimes because of leverage and technique."

Allen said that when he turned pro, he realized that he needed to spend more time learning the craft of defensive end in the NFL.

"My first coach – Dick Vermeil – told me that the best way you can help our team is by being the best player you can be."

The Move

Assuming Allen isn’t going to try and bull rush an opposing tackle, he will have to come up with a move to get to the quarterback. Defensive ends have a myriad of different moves they use to beat offensive tackles; the speed rush, the spin move, the swim move etc.

One of the biggest adjustments Allen had to make when he turned pro was the realization that he can’t just use one move in the NFL.

"In college and high you school you had a set pass rush move in your mind that you’d try to execute; in the NFL you can’t really do that. You have to be able to react to what the offensive lineman gives you. If I went in thinking, ‘I’m going to beat this guy inside and he sat down inside (read the move), then it was a wasted rush. You learn how to set a guy up. It comes down to not really having a set plan, reacting what the tackle has given you.’"

The Finish

Even if Allen is able to beat his man, there is still no guarantee he will be able to sack the quarterback.

Every quarterback in the NFL has their own unique way of avoiding pressure in the pocket. This forces Allen to have a different game plan for each opponent.

"Some quarterbacks like to duck down to get out; some spin out, some will retreat up or back. The first thing that is usually going through my mind is; can I knock the ball out of his hand? I actually missed a sack on Tom Brady because I went to knock the ball out and he pumped fake and I missed and went over the top of him. Luckily it was an incomplete pass.

You basically know the guy you’re playing if he’s going to escape, the way he likes to escape. A guy like Tom Brady, he sits in the pocket pretty well, he’s not going anywhere. So you can take those chances a little more then just trying to get a guy on the ground. Sometimes they work in your favour, sometimes they don’t."

The Free Spirit

As much as Allen takes the art of the sack very seriously, he has never taken himself too seriously.

This past offseason, Allen shocked the NFL when he cut off his famous mullet for his wedding day. But as he told me, the spirit of the mullet that took him three years to grow will never go away.

"I always tell everybody it (the mullet) is a lifestyle and it is still in my heart"

While there has been little to cheer about this year in Minnesota, Allen still loves the game and is humble about his accomplishments.

"I just like going out there and having fun. Just to have my name mentioned with a guy like Reggie White is pretty awesome and that is more than you ever dream of."