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We've been talking all week about Minnesota Vikings DE and former Kansas City Chiefs DE Jared Allen. He asked the fans not to boo him. Todd Haley and Leslie Frazier talked about him. It seems Allen and his connection to KC is the highlight of this game on Sunday.
Three and a half years ago the Chiefs traded him to the Vikings and, after looking at the results, it seems like a pretty fair trade for both sides. The Chiefs got a couple of starters out of the deal and the Vikings got one of the top pass rushers in the league.
So I asked our Vikings blog, Daily Norseman: Was it worth it? Three and a half years later, would you do the Jared Allen trade again?
Um, that's kind of like asking a Powerball winner whether or not buying the ticket was worth the hassle. He's done nothing but dominate since he donned the purple. He's been one of the few bright spots of the disastrous start to the season, and he's on pace to have one of the best years of his already illustrious career. Even when he had a supposed "off year" in 2010, he managed to record eleven sacks. The rap on Allen used to be that you could use screens and inside runs to counteract his outside speed rush, but a lot of the pressure he has created in 2011 is from faking his speed rush and then cutting inside. He's an invaluable vocal leader on Minnesota's defense.And while we couldn't ask for much more on the field, he's been even better off the field. He's cleaned up his act since the DUI problems early in his career, and you can't go too far in the Twin Cities area without seeing some sort of public appearance by JA. He has a weekly live radio show, and even his own freaking iPhone app. So yeah, I'd say we're pretty happy with that trade. Brandon Albert seems like he's doing a pretty good job at left tackle for you these days, but I'd do that trade again 1,000 times over.