Chad Greenway Makes Pro Bowl For First Time

by Christopher Gates on Jan 9, 2012 7:08 PM CST in Minnesota Vikings 2012 Off-Season

The Minnesota Vikings got a second player into the Pro Bowl today, as it was announced that linebacker Chad Greenway will be getting the nod. Greenway had been an alternate, but after Chicago's Lance Briggs pulled out because of an ankle injury, the sixth-year man from Iowa (by way of South Dakota) was chosen to go in his place.

Greenway was the Vikings' leading tackler in 2011, racking up 174 tackles this past season. He signed a long-term deal with the Vikings just prior to the start of the season after being designated as the team's franchise player just prior to the lockout taking place. When it came time for the Vikings to choose a player to use their tag on, they chose Greenway over defensive end Ray Edwards and wide receiver Sidney Rice. It came as a surprise to some, but looking at the seasons those other two players put together in 2011, it would appear that the Vikings made the right choice.

As strange as it sounds, I seem to remember a lot of people. . .myself included. . .sounding as though they were disappointed with Greenway's play this season, but apparently the people who are experts at this sort of thing weren't among them. Hopefully a coaching change in 2012 will help him out even more.

Congratulations to Chad Greenway on being named to the NFC Pro Bowl squad!

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WOOO!

Go Greenway! I’m so glad he finally made it into the Pro Bowl.

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." -Mark Twain

by Landonio on Jan 9, 2012 7:12 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

Congrats to Greenway

it wasn’t a “wow” season, but he finished 3rd in the NFL in tackles, and was a career best for him. he’s playing at a high level — maybe we just came to expect more, and with at least a handful of flashy plays to remember…??

"Th_r_'s n_ h_p_ f_r _ssh_l_ f_ckw_ts."

Can I buy a vowel...?? +1, Kluwe.

by rj-b on Jan 9, 2012 8:13 PM CST reply actions

Happy he made it

But I stand by the fact that he doesnt make enough impact plays. He’s horrible is pass coverage to go along with that.

by Coolio12 on Jan 9, 2012 8:16 PM CST via mobile reply actions

or maybe

he is being stretched on pass plays by our horrible DB’s. better coverage in the back field would go a long ways to allowing the Linebackers to cover the middle like they are supposed to.

Will the Real Thor Please Stand Up ... ?

by the Real Thor on Jan 10, 2012 9:43 AM CST up reply actions

He doesn't play middle linebacker so he typically doesn't have to cover the "middle"

He’s just bad at pass coverage. He always has been. He’s a sound tackler, and I have liked him since his days at Iowa. He’s just not a playmaker (INTs, sacks, FFum, etc.).

"At this point, what we got to lose, right? So we might as well throw caution to the wind and hit people in the face."
--Vikings DE Jared Allen

by NMVike on Jan 10, 2012 10:02 AM CST up reply actions

It's hard to criticize Greenway, though. And congrats to him!

If you have to choose between Greenway and Erin Henderson on the other side, then there is no comparison. Henderson got fewer than half the tackles.

Typically, the middle linebacker has the most tackles on a team due to runs up the middle, but E.J., as the 18th best in tackles in the NFL this year, is just not dominant. Erin is barely even on the list at 109th in tackles, and has a major weakness in getting to the play, whether pass or run. I think Greenway is making up for some of the weaknesses in the middle and other side.

by liveforadrenaline on Jan 10, 2012 11:03 AM CST up reply actions

No, youre right, congrats to Greenway

He is a solid player. I’m glad to have him on the Vikes. He just isn’t great in pass coverage. And he isn’t a playmaker.

"At this point, what we got to lose, right? So we might as well throw caution to the wind and hit people in the face."
--Vikings DE Jared Allen

by NMVike on Jan 10, 2012 11:05 AM CST up reply actions

Hopefully the Hendersons will step up next year

And take some of the pressure offa Greenway so he can improve pass protection and start doing some other things. Not sure they will step it up, though, but would be great to see…

by liveforadrenaline on Jan 10, 2012 11:26 AM CST up reply actions

I have a hard time believing they will be back

I see more of a possibility of erin coming back but maybe as a backup. Erin just isnt the same as he was preinjury.

They are some of the better people in the league so i’d love to see them both back and show improvement, but I think there will be a huge youth movement this year and a lot of people coming and going.

by reebs on Jan 10, 2012 11:47 AM CST up reply actions

Stats

INTs for linebackers are pretty infrequent. He had 3 in 2009, and if I eyeballed it right no one has been on the list of top ten linebackers in INTs more than once in the last three years (stats here).

As far as sacks, for a 4-3 OLB, that depends a ton on how frequently the guy is asked to blitz. I don’t have numbers on that, but my sense is that he doesn’t blitz a ton (and most of our pass rush, like more 4-3 defenses, comes from the line).

by amiller92 on Jan 10, 2012 12:27 PM CST up reply actions

Great point. "playmaking" from the LB position is more right place at the right time.

BUT…he has been a little disappointing. I just remember seeing him get completely owned a few times. Maybe its just realistic expectations, but when you see guys like Suggs, Urlacher, Willis and the other top-tier LBs, you almost never seem to see them getting owned. Greenway absolutely has a nose for the ball and gets a ton of tackles. Maybe if more of those were in the backfield with quarterbacks I’d feel better. Congrats are absolutely in order though if not for this year, then last year.

White Horn Gold Pants

by DM_Purp on Jan 10, 2012 1:13 PM CST up reply actions

Urlachers been labelled

“soft” by some too.

Haters gotta hate, I guess.

by amiller92 on Jan 10, 2012 1:25 PM CST up reply actions

Give me some pass break ups at least

Which is just another statistic where Greenway comes up short. I think Briggs has like 3 times as many career pass break ups (64 compared to 19). Yes Briggs has played 3 more seasons, but even if you prorate it, Greenway comes up way short.

Greenway was blitzed a lot more in 2010 than he was in 2011. But in either case, he seemed to always gets picked up by a lineman.

"At this point, what we got to lose, right? So we might as well throw caution to the wind and hit people in the face."
--Vikings DE Jared Allen

by NMVike on Jan 10, 2012 2:03 PM CST up reply actions

Greenway is not good in coverage

http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2011/12/19/re-focused-saints-vikings-week-15/

Greenway Exposed in Coverage

Chad Greenway (-3.0) has always been known first and foremost for his run defense. His struggles in coverage this season are quite alarming though. He was completely exposed in coverage by the Saints. Greenway was unable to prevent a single one of the nine passes thrown his way from being caught, resulting in significant damage after the catch. On Sproles’ 39-yard screen play, Greenway appeared to be responsible for covering the left flat but slipped when Brees released the pass and couldn’t get to the sideline quick enough to force Sproles out of bounds. At 1:38 second quarter, Sproles again makes Greenway look bad, getting inside positioning for a quick touchdown pass over the middle. Greenway was victimized on the long ball as well, giving up a 47-yard touchdown to Lance Moore (+1.2). Greenway dropped back into the deep middle zone, as was his responsibility, and could not tackle Moore after he made the catch.
-—————————————————————————————————————————————
http://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/01/06/32-teams-32-observations-10/

Minnesota Vikings: The 717 receiving yards outside linebacker Chad Greenway allowed was 150 more than any other outside linebacker. He has led outside linebackers in yards allowed in three of the past four seasons (and finished third the other season).
-—————————————————————————————————————————————

I guess there are more haters out there. It has been painfully obvious why he has not been making the pro bowl. And that is because his passes defended and INTs are not on par with his peers. Thus Lance Briggs has been going ahead of him and deservedly so.

I think it is great that he gets to go but it is as an alternate. That is good but it is not like he got voted in as a top guy. He makes a lot of tackles because he is on the field so much.

by MarkSP18 on Jan 10, 2012 5:54 PM CST up reply actions

You probably meant to reply to amiller92

but, word.

"At this point, what we got to lose, right? So we might as well throw caution to the wind and hit people in the face."
--Vikings DE Jared Allen

by NMVike on Jan 11, 2012 9:06 AM CST up reply actions

Maybe they were watching last season's tape

Hard to imagine that he is the next guy in line to go to the pro bowl, is there really no one else better than him?

"You can write articles and do whatever you want, you can break down every player. Good, bad or ugly. But we just aren't good enough as a team, as a group. Offensively, defensively and special teams, from the No. 1 on the roster to the last man on the roster. We just aren't good enough. It's as simple as that." - Chad Greenway

by Grape Drank on Jan 9, 2012 10:03 PM CST reply actions

great for him!

underappreciated outside linebacker. he’s a force and a great team player. congrats, chad!

by A's Crazy on Jan 9, 2012 10:09 PM CST reply actions

It's about damn time.

Just one more validation for his contract extension. 4 straight years of the most tackles on the team, and now a Pro Bowl appearance. Great for him!

I know some of us here have been critical of him, especially his coverage skills and lack of turnovers. But, the guy is a tackling machine. Gotta give him credit for that.

Ponder. Peterson. Percy. Purple Perfection.

by CCNorsemen on Jan 9, 2012 11:59 PM CST reply actions

I'm confused as to why

nobody has mentioned Percy Harvin as a potential pro bowler this season, he really had a great season

by michiganpat on Jan 10, 2012 7:10 AM CST reply actions

Percy is an alternate. If any of the top NFC receivers go down, we’ll have 3 Vikings in the ProBowl. One Viking for each win of the 2011 season! :D…………………………..:{

by Odin'sDrunkenSon on Jan 10, 2012 7:56 AM CST up reply actions

Hmm....

I would be interested in seeing how that actually stacks up, wins in a season to pro bowlers you have.

\m/

by Edgecrusher71 on Jan 10, 2012 9:01 AM CST up reply actions

didn’t realize he was an alternate…

by michiganpat on Jan 10, 2012 11:01 AM CST up reply actions

Too critical

I like Greenway and I’m happy he got picked – even though I’ve been pretty critical of him this season. It just looked like a lot of times he was out of position in pass coverage and was making too many of his tackles downfield after an 8 yard run or an 11 yard pass completion. However, after reading more analysis it makes sense that a big part of his perceived lack of play-making had to do with him being asked to compensate for other players’ deficiencies around him. I think that even though Jasper Brinkley isn’t a super mobile MLB, he should be an upgrade over EJ in coverage – maybe.

Anyway, I’m happy to see another Viking get the honor. I’d say that if Greenway was our biggest issue we’d be in very good shape.

by Torstein on Jan 10, 2012 7:52 AM CST reply actions

Jasper

I remember when the he had to come in as a rookie at the tail end of the 2009 season to replace (horribly) injured EJ.
Sure, he made some rookie mistakes, but coming in as a rookie in that position, I felt he played really damn well. He also looked good last year when he’d come in to replace EJ. I was pretty disappointed when we lost him so early last year.

I’m looking forward to see his level of play this season.
I also miss Ben Leber, but I’m probably in the minority.

by Odin'sDrunkenSon on Jan 10, 2012 8:06 AM CST reply actions

Congratulations Chad

"Go hard. I mean, like relentless. I want a bunch of coaches that coach like their hair’s on fire, and I want a football team that goes for four to six seconds (per play) with relentless effort." OSU Coach Urban Meyer.

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by Ted Glover on Jan 10, 2012 8:17 AM CST reply actions

Greenway is one of the best

Tacklers in the NFL. How many times have you seen him miss a tackle? Congratulations!

by Vikefandc on Jan 10, 2012 10:33 AM CST via mobile reply actions

He missed some this year

But I think the bigger issue with Greenway is: Is he a big enough playmaker at his position to justify the big contract he just got? I thought for a while this year that it’d be interesting to see if the Vikes could move him to the middle because he’s more mobile than EJ and seems like he could cover the deep middle more effectively in the Tampa 2 D.

However, I heard him say that he’s never played MLB – at any level. Sounds like he has zero interest in making this transition which means it wouldn’t work.

by Torstein on Jan 10, 2012 11:27 AM CST up reply actions

He gets dragged a lot as well

He might make the tackle, but how many yards after contact does he give up? I do not think tackles is a good way to judge how good he is, in my opinion he was definitely not a pro-bowler this year but good enough to take over for an injured Lance Briggs I guess. Just to be clear I think Greenway has played well in the past, this season was one to forget

by Grape Drank on Jan 10, 2012 3:51 PM CST up reply actions

AWESOME!

No one tackles people ten yards down field after they’ve been hit 3 times already as good as he does. He’s the Joe Mauer 2 out down by 5 bottom of the ninth single hitter of the NFL.

by Jepp The Viking on Jan 10, 2012 11:46 AM CST reply actions

Because with two outs and down by 5

You can win it with one swing?

by amiller92 on Jan 10, 2012 12:29 PM CST reply actions

OT: who watch the championship game and how did top prospects look?

I had other commitments last night and couldn’t watch the Alabama-LSU game. I’ve searched around (lightly) and haven’t found any analysis of how the top draft prospects played. Does anyone hear have opinions on the subject and how it might affect what the Vikes do? I’m kind of surprised it isn’t a fanpost . . . . Thanks.

put a body on 'em

by RayBourque on Jan 10, 2012 1:51 PM CST reply actions

OT: who “watched” . . . .

put a body on 'em

by RayBourque on Jan 10, 2012 1:52 PM CST up reply actions

Incredibly boring

I watched very little of it because I hate the SEC and Alabama, bit I did see that Morris Claiborne (LSU CB) also returns kicks and had a couple of nice tackles. I’m not going to pretend to know if he’s worthy of a top 5 pick.

As an aside – in the NFL if you get into the playoffs as a wildcard, you have to play an extra game and all playoff games are on the road. In the NCAA, you can finish 2nd in your division, skip the conference championship game, and then go play for the national title having played 1 fewer game. What a great system.

by Torstein on Jan 10, 2012 3:08 PM CST reply actions

if spags becomes are d coordinator book him a ticket to pro bowl for every year from here on out.if he could blitz around jared every almost every passs down he would get a ton of sacks!!

by vikes 1 on Jan 10, 2012 10:12 PM CST reply actions