In his stint as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, Leslie Frazier had one of the league’s most productive defensive ends in Jared Allen.
Frazier now is the defensive coordinator for Tampa Bay and he thinks the Buccaneers have someone who can play like Allen. That’s Michael Johnson, whom the Bucs signed away from the Bengals in free agency.
“Jared’s been a great player in our league and a tremendous pass-rusher now for a long time, but that’s one of the reasons we signed Michael, to be that guy off the edge for us and to make things happen,’’ Frazier said. “It’s so important for this defense and every defense in our league to find guys that can rush the passer. We think Michael is one of those. That’s one of the reasons we signed him and we’re looking forward to him coming on and having a great season for us.”
Frazier and the Bucs took a leap of faith on Johnson. He had only 3.5 sacks last season, but had 11.5 in 2012. I don’t know if Johnson ever will put up the numbers Allen did.
But, if Johnson can be a double-digit sack guy, I think Frazier and the Bucs will be very happy.
