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| On 12 years ago

Erin Henderson Out Against The 49ers

By Brett Anderson

According to Tom Pelissero of ESPN 1500, linebacker Erin Henderson will not be starting for the Vikings this weekend as they host the San Francisco 49ers.

Notice that last part: “Audie Cole will be active too.” The possibility of Cole getting to play a few snaps on the starting lineup will probably have some Vikings fans excited. Perhaps it’s a slight consolation to the fact that the Vikings will be without their leading tackler in what could very well be their toughest game of the season.

Now, if this is the first time you’ve heard about Erin Henderson being injured, you wouldn’t be alone. Henderson missed practice this week due to a concussion he suffered in last week’s match-up. The concussion went unnoticed though until Wednesday when Henderson came out for practice and “did not feel right.”

Apart from a blown coverage last week against the Colts Reggie Wayne, Erin Henderson has looked great so far this season. Not only is he tied for 6th place in tackles in the league with an exceptional 22 combined tackles but he also leads the Vikings in sacks (2).

Marvin Mitchell, who will start in Erin Henderson’s place, was signed in the offseason by the Vikings for his “experience not only on special teams but also on defense.”

Defensive coordinator Alan Williams was asked about whether or not he was comfortable starting Mitchell this weekend.

“Marvin has been in ball games as a starter, he’s been in ball games as a backup, he’s played a lot of football so everything that happens is not new to him out there. That gives me comfort and when he’s been in ball games, he’s performed well so that gives me comfort that it’s not all new to him and we’re not playing guys that have not played a lot of football. Marvin has so I feel good about that,” Williams said.

It goes without saying that Marvin Mitchell will have big shoes to fill this Sunday and will be expected to step in and play a prominent role on the defense. The Vikings defense already had their hands full going up against a passing attack with a bunch of weapons in the 49ers. What was already a difficult task now seems even more daunting.

Alas, all we can do is hope for the best. Maybe even an interception? Nah…

 

Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson (Founder) is a passionate Viking fan hailing from Sin City, Las Vegas. He can remember, as a child, scraping his knee on the playground and his friends being completely shocked by the purple blood trickling from the wound. When Brett isn't scouring the Internet for some semblance of Vikings news, he enjoys blindly putting money on them to beat whoever their opponent may be, and daydreams about being their next Tight End. Brett graduated from UNLV with a degree in Architecture and specializes in web/graphic design; he hopes to provide this site’s visitors with the best Vikings experience on the net.

View Comments

  • "Apart from a blown coverage last week against the Colts Reggie Wayne, Erin Henderson has looked great so far this season"

    He's looked adequate against the run, Freds doesn't agree with great. He is quite average when it comes to solo tackles ( a big impact stat from a linebacker..usually) and he has zero, passes defended. Less than one passes defended in two games. Zero..... and dude stays in on the Nickle package. When Aaron can begin to run and cover, we can talk about "good", " "great".... nope.

  • OR.......perhaps his coverage skills are SO good, they don't throw to the guy he is covering, therefore, no passes defended. mmmmmm..... probably not.

  • I'm going with your assessment, Freds. Nobody knows blown coverages and missed tackles like Freds Smoots. I say take it from the mouth of an expert.

    • none of that stuff will matter. it will all be a smoot point when audie 'the magnetized football vacuum black hole accumulator' cole returns three interceptions for TDs, all within the first 12 seconds of game time. as for the rest of the game's 59:48, they won't throw to his side of the field

      unfortunately, we'll still lose, 31-24

  • Ok, obviously SF is favored and the better team. In spite of that, I think this is a closer game than people expect for several reasons. This is the type of game where a young team knows two things 1) If they don't put in a smart effort, they'll get embarrassed, and 2) if they come up with a big performance, the rest of the league will take note and give them some respect. The 49ers are coming off a couple big wins (Packers and Detroit) and it will be hard for them to reach peak intensity for this game. I'm tellin' ya, this game is ripe for a surprise performance on both sides of the field.

  • ok, 6 of my next 20 hours to be spent on watching minnesota football

    a win would be cool, especially on sunday

    • the gophers actually looked pretty good tonight

      i think it's too early in the season for the vikes to pull an upset over a team like SF. two games probably just isn't enough time to put it together yet. we'll need to play a really good game, make very few mistakes, and see them play down to us a little, to have a chance to win. being lucky wouldn't hurt us, either. who knows? on any sunday...

  • Is it really gonna matter against the 40ers? It is not the the defense is a steam roller these days. It is more like a sieve.

  • Just about everyone is sayin' Niners are the best team in football. Good. Guess if anything we'll know how good or bad we are after this game...right? Going to need some turnovers, and pressure on A.Smith. Mr. Allen, time for some sacks...