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Our good friend Marshall Faulk is back with another question. . .one that's kind of humorous, given the events we've seen off the field this week.
This week’s focus: FOCUS. On-the-field leaders wanted! Here’s my question for @sbnation: http://t.co/DP2hjWd7xN #GMCPlaybook
— Marshall Faulk (@marshallfaulk) September 16, 2014
To be Professional Grade, you must keep a single focus on the goal at hand. In the midst of adversity, who is that one leader that helps keep your team focused on the field?
Boy howdy, the Vikings are going to need some serious focus this week, that's for sure. Obviously, it's going to come from head coach Mike Zimmer, but Faulk is looking for on-field leaders. . .and, through two games this season, there's one guy that comes to mind right away.
In the first two games of this season, safety Harrison Smith has shown exactly what sort of an impact he can have on a football game. After missing a big chunk of last season with a toe injury, Smith is back with a vengeance in 2014, already coming up with his third interception return for a touchdown. He also put together a pretty solid effort against the New England Patriots, helping to limit All-World tight end Rob Gronkowski to just 32 yards on four catches.
In just his third season in the NFL, Smith is one of the "seasoned veterans" of the Minnesota secondary, a unit that is filled with rookies and players in their second or third year in the league. So far, however, he has proven that he deserves to be mentioned in the upper echelon of safeties in the National Football League. With a murderer's row of quarterbacks coming up in the next four weeks (Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, and Matthew Stafford), Smith's continued steady presence on the back end of the Minnesota defense is going to play a huge role in whether or not the Minnesota Vikings can keep those passing attacks at least somewhat contained.
Harrison Smith is one of the leaders of the Minnesota Vikings' defense, and after one of the most trying weeks in recent team history, this team is going to need that leadership.
Join the #GMCPlaybook discussion at sbnation.com/sponsored-gmc-playbook and on Twitter by following @thisisgmc & @marshallfaulk.