As I read the comments in the fanpost over on the side connected to the Jared Allen interview posted by FSU Viking, I said I'd be curious to see a breakdown of the number of run plays and pass plays used by KC opponents in the games that Jared Allen played in last season.

Well, curiosity killed the. . .something or other. So, I set about breaking this down myself.  Keeping in mind that Allen missed the Chiefs' first two games last season, here's how the fourth quarters of the 14 games the Chiefs played in 2007 looked like.

By my count, that's 108 pass plays and 111 run plays faced by the Chiefs' defense in the 14 games that Jared Allen participated in.  However, if you look at the games that they lost, those numbers change to 55 pass plays and 100 run plays, a nearly 2:1 ratio in favor of the run.  It's relatively tough to get sacks when the other team isn't. . .you know. . .throwing the football.  Looking at the play-by-play stuff I sifted through in order to put that table together, I didn't see a lot of other Kansas City Chiefs racking up sacks in the fourth quarters of ball games either, and we know that Allen was the only guy on that line that was worthy of being double-teamed.

In addition, there's more to Allen's pass-rushing than just sacks.  Last season, he also had 24 quarterback hurries, which is a pretty significant number.  To put that in perspective, Minnesota's leader in that department. . .Kenechi Udeze. . .had 15.  E.J. Henderson was next in line with 11.  So Allen had almost as many quarterback hurries in 2007. . .in two fewer games, mind you. . .than the Vikings' top two players in that category combined.  And, again, he did it on a defensive line that didn't have a whole lot else.  Tamba Hali is a nice player, but with Allen out of the picture, I expect to see him getting more of those double teams until Glenn Dorsey can establish himself in the middle.

I expect Allen to be in a much different situation with the Vikings this season.  As the Vikings' offense prepares to take another step forward in its development, I expect them to have the lead going into the fourth quarter on many, many occasions in 2008.  Since he'll be lining up next to the Irresistible Force and the Immovable Object on the Vikings' defensive line, he'll also be seeing. . .and destroying. . .more one-on-one blocking.  There have been a couple of places I've seen predicting a possible 20-sack season for Allen.  Honestly?  I'd love to see it.  I don't know if I'd predict as many as 20, what with there no longer being any spineless QBs in the NFC North that might be willing to take a dive for him, but he should get a significant number of sacks in 2008. . .and plenty in the fourth quarter, too.

By now, anybody that hasn't been living under a rock or in a cave for the last few months knows about the story of Vikings' defensive end Kenechi Udeze.  Shortly after the end of the Vikings' 2007 season, he was diagnosed with leukemia, and has been placed on the reserve/non-football illness list, which means we won't see him on the field for the Beloved Purple until at least 2009, if even then.  Naturally, BKU's health comes first and foremost, but I'd love to see him back on the field again.

I'm sure that many of you out there have had your lives touched by leukemia or some other form of cancer at some point. . .it's a disease that affects a lot of people.  Even though we're more familiar with Kenechi's case because of the fact that we watch him play football every Sunday during the fall, there are many other cases of leukemia affecting families throughout America right now.  Udeze will be getting a bone marrow transplant through his brother. . .a very fortunate circumstance for him, as less than 30% of all leukemia victims manage to find a matching donor.

Fortunately, we can start trying to tip the percentages a little more in the good guys favor by joining the National Marrow Donor Program (click on that spiffy little banner on the right there).  Donating marrow isn't a painful process, contrary to what some TV shows will lead you to believe.  All that will happen when you sign up for the program is you'll get a cheek swab in the mail.  You'll do the swab and send it back.  At that point, you'll be part of the registry, and able to be called to duty should the situation merit.

Now, usually there's a fee for joining the National Marrow Donor Program.  However, with the "Thanks, Mom" campaign they're running from now until 19 May, the signup fee will be waived for the first 10,000 online sign-ups.  As soon as hit the "Publish" button on this post, I'll be making my way over there to register myself, and I hope that many of you will do the same.

I'd like to give a shout out for bringing this to my attention to Stephanie Stradley from AOL Fanhouse's Vikings blog, who relates her own personal story about her sister's battle with leukemia and the folks at Vikings War Cry.  If you go ahead and sign up from here or from either of those sites, let us know about it by leaving a comment on one of the sites.  It will be great to see how many Viking fans out there step up in an effort to make a difference.

Thanks for your time, everyone.  I know I promised football talk today, but something like this has to take precedence, I would think.

But then, we'd pretty much already figured that out, hadn't we?

However, in a very classy move, the Vikings are going to pay Udeze's 2008 salary, even though they are under no obligation to do so after moving #95 to the reserve/non-football injury list.

Under NFL rules, teams are not required to pay players on the NFI list because the "injury" is not football-related. But Childress said that owner Zygi Wilf authorized the payment so that Udeze can "focus on getting well."

Childress added: "He's done a great job with that so far. He's been positive. He's been upbeat. What that does is obviously clear his mind of any financial issues, and the organization, particularly the Wilfs, have taken care of that."

Looks like the Vikings have learned from the whole debacle that took place with Troy Williamson and his grandmother's funeral last November, haven't they?

In a couple of other news tidbits. . .

-Former Viking and current Original Wizzinator spokesman Onterrio Smith was arrested for DUI  in Sacramento last week.  Seriously, did we ever find out whether or not there was an "Imitation Wizzinator" or an "Unoriginal Wizzinator?"  Although I suppose that "Unoriginal Wizzinator" could be used in reference to Dane Cook.

-Smilin' Jimmy Souhan is. . .actually smilin'?  About. . .the Vikings' quarterback situation?  Really?  Is that one of the seven seals I just heard being opened?

-Randall McDaniel will be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in celebration of his career at Arizona State, in which he was almost as dominant as he was in the National Football League.  Also enshrined will be Lou Holtz.  If you plan on attending the ceremony, please be advised if you're in the first couple of rows, you'll be given a Gallagher-style tarp for use during Holtz's induction speech.

-The Ragnarok has some stories up about the Vikings' 2008 Draft, as well as the undrafted free agents that the Beloved Purple are bringing in.

 -Vike Vision is back, as well as a new site called Virginia Viking.  Be sure to check them both out!

That's all for right now, folks.  More tomorrow!