Greg Cosell NFL Films: 'Harrison Smith and Sendejo best safety pair in the NFL'

so I am confused.... does Dejo suck or not?   Or is Harry just so fucking good that he alone makes them the best S duo in the league?

Sendejo used to be ... not very good. That's why we were always trying to replace him. He was a hitter, but nothing else. He was not good at all in coverage. Always arrived late. And sometimes he hit his own teammates. But he has gotten a lot better.  He is now a real asset and the young guys behind him are not even close.

@"dadevike" said: Sendejo used to be ... not very good. That's why we were always trying to replace him. He was a hitter, but nothing else. He was not good at all in coverage. Always arrived late. And sometimes he hit his own teammates. But he has gotten a lot better.  He is now a real asset and the young guys behind him are not even close.

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"dadevike" said: Sendejo used to be ... not very good. That's why we were always trying to replace him. He was a hitter, but nothing else. He was not good at all in coverage. Always arrived late. And sometimes he hit his own teammates. But he has gotten a lot better.  He is now a real asset and the young guys behind him are not even close.

he was never as bad as his naysayers tried to make him out to be.   very few looked at him without trying to compare him to the best in the league which is really a dumb way to try and grade a player.   he made most the plays he was asked to make and rarely made mistakes,  pretty much what you ask a safety to do.   even the best get burned once in a while.

I have no interest in bashing any Viking player. And I love the idea that Sendejo has gotten himself to the point where his absence from the field is a real problem (which also means our backup safeties are not very good). But I'm not going to engage in revisionist history. Sendejo was not a good safety just a couple of years ago, whether compared to Smith or to any other good safety. But now he is and I am happy to celebrate that.

I  for one am  happy  he  is  on the  Vikings and  wish  him a  speedy  return  hopefully this weekenf

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"dadevike" said: Sendejo used to be ... not very good. That's why we were always trying to replace him. He was a hitter, but nothing else. He was not good at all in coverage. Always arrived late. And sometimes he hit his own teammates. But he has gotten a lot better.  He is now a real asset and the young guys behind him are not even close.

he was never as bad as his naysayers tried to make him out to be.  

@"dadevike" said: I have no interest in bashing any Viking player. And I love the idea that Sendejo has gotten himself to the point where his absence from the field is a real problem (which also means our backup safeties are not very good). But I'm not going to engage in revisionist history. Sendejo was not a good safety just a couple of years ago, whether compared to Smith or to any other good safety. But now he is and I am happy to celebrate that.

everybody likes to point out that we kept taking later round or undrafted safeties to try and replace him,  or maybe it was the fact that our existing reserves were so bad they felt they needed to add talent to the position over all and if they found somebody better well thats a bonus.   I dont think taking guys in the 7th round really count as trying to replace an apparent weakness.

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"dadevike" said: Sendejo used to be ... not very good. That's why we were always trying to replace him. He was a hitter, but nothing else. He was not good at all in coverage. Always arrived late. And sometimes he hit his own teammates. But he has gotten a lot better.  He is now a real asset and the young guys behind him are not even close.

he was never as bad as his naysayers tried to make him out to be.   very few looked at him without trying to compare him to the best in the league which is really a dumb way to try and grade a player.   he made most the plays he was asked to make and rarely made mistakes,  pretty much what you ask a safety to do.   even the best get burned once in a while.

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"dadevike" said: Sendejo used to be ... not very good. That's why we were always trying to replace him. He was a hitter, but nothing else. He was not good at all in coverage. Always arrived late. And sometimes he hit his own teammates. But he has gotten a lot better.  He is now a real asset and the young guys behind him are not even close.

he was never as bad as his naysayers tried to make him out to be.  

Totally agree, but nor is he as good as he's being hyped right now. 

But I will say this. There isn't a player on the Vikings as good as this balanced supporting cast is making him look right now. When it comes to sports teams, I'm a huge believer in synergy, in the idea that the team is better than the sum of its parts. You put Keenum on another team without this offense and these receivers, he's not the same QB. Same with Sendejo, Diggs, Thielen, Kendricks, Reiff...everyone actually. It's why free agency can be such a crap shoot sometimes. GMs sometimes don't adequately factor in context, supporting cast. 

I think Zim has changed the way Sendejo plays very similar to the way he changed Rhodes.  Sendejo has always been a decent thumper, even on special teams.  Now he's noticed for his coverage skills, and still is a tough guy thumper vs the run.

He's now a way more complete player than the first couples seasons with the Vikes.  I've always like him.  He's a 100mph player that's only gotten better.

@"greediron" said:

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"dadevike" said: Sendejo used to be ... not very good. That's why we were always trying to replace him. He was a hitter, but nothing else. He was not good at all in coverage. Always arrived late. And sometimes he hit his own teammates. But he has gotten a lot better.  He is now a real asset and the young guys behind him are not even close.

he was never as bad as his naysayers tried to make him out to be.   very few looked at him without trying to compare him to the best in the league which is really a dumb way to try and grade a player.   he made most the plays he was asked to make and rarely made mistakes,  pretty much what you ask a safety to do.   even the best get burned once in a while.

Very few are as bad as some will make them out to be.

He is very solid now, doesn't make mistakes and allows Zimmer to move Harry around at will.

But I will also add, Harris has really come on this year as well.  He obviously isn't as good as Sendejo, but he has made some really big plays for us this year.

@"HappyViking" said: I think Zim has changed the way Sendejo plays very similar to the way he changed Rhodes.  Sendejo has always been a decent thumper, even on special teams.  Now he's noticed for his coverage skills, and still is a tough guy thumper vs the run.

He's now a way more complete player than the first couples seasons with the Vikes.  I've always like him.  He's a 100mph player that's only gotten better.

Correct me if Im wrong - but I have heard that Sandejo is like the Defensive QB out there for the DB's  - he is making sure everyone is on the same page and the correct position etc. for the defensive calls that come in. That is one of the reasons we had mental mistakes and miscommunication etc. as Zim put it, in the second half - and it was particularly noticeable when Sandejo had to leave the game. 

Is that a fair assumption? Could swear I heard somewhere like this after the game.

@"NorthernCalVike" said: Correct me if Im wrong - but I have heard that Sandejo is like the Defensive QB out there for the DB's  - he is making sure everyone is on the same page and the correct position etc. for the defensive calls that come in. That is one of the reasons we had mental mistakes and miscommunication etc. as Zim put it, in the second half - and it was particularly noticeable when Sandejo had to leave the game. 

Is that a fair assumption? Could swear I heard somewhere like this after the game.

@"NorthernCalVike" said: Correct me if Im wrong - but I have heard that Sandejo is like the Defensive QB out there for the DB's  - he is making sure everyone is on the same page and the correct position etc. for the defensive calls that come in. That is one of the reasons we had mental mistakes and miscommunication etc. as Zim put it, in the second half - and it was particularly noticeable when Sandejo had to leave the game. 

Is that a fair assumption? Could swear I heard somewhere like this after the game.

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"NorthernCalVike" said: Correct me if Im wrong - but I have heard that Sandejo is like the Defensive QB out there for the DB's  - he is making sure everyone is on the same page and the correct position etc. for the defensive calls that come in. That is one of the reasons we had mental mistakes and miscommunication etc. as Zim put it, in the second half - and it was particularly noticeable when Sandejo had to leave the game. 

Is that a fair assumption? Could swear I heard somewhere like this after the game.

Wouldn't surprise me. I've heard Tom say that Harry is really shy. May not be the kind of guy comfortable in that role. 

@"greediron" said:

@"MaroonBells" said:

@"NorthernCalVike" said: Correct me if Im wrong - but I have heard that Sandejo is like the Defensive QB out there for the DB's  - he is making sure everyone is on the same page and the correct position etc. for the defensive calls that come in. That is one of the reasons we had mental mistakes and miscommunication etc. as Zim put it, in the second half - and it was particularly noticeable when Sandejo had to leave the game. 

Is that a fair assumption? Could swear I heard somewhere like this after the game.

Wouldn't surprise me. I've heard Tom say that Harry is really shy. May not be the kind of guy comfortable in that role. 

I doubt that is the reason, I imagine he wouldn't have issue communicating with teammates, IMO it is more because he is moving and close to the line so often, he doesn't have the same vantage point as Sendejo.

Sendejo has been bashed a lot by Vikings fans. I never thought he was a bad player. I do think he has gotten better, and the defense suffers without him.

Hopefully hes back on the field again this Sunday!