Russell Wilson, not Case Keenum, consistently draws comparisons to Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton. But as Vikings quarterbacks in the four decades since Tarkenton go, however, Keenum is the closest thing the team has had.
Daunte Culpepper possessed mobility, but he used it vertically far more often than horizontally. (And Culpepper ultimately paid for it, with a serious knee injury in 2005 from which he never really rebounded.) Keenum consistently uses his legs behind the line of scrimmage to buy time, instinctively moving in whatever direction is needed to give his receivers more time to get open, all the while keeping his eyes down the field, inevitably finding an open man.
It’s a dynamic that’s not easy for a defense to plan for; if the opponent sends four linemen, Keenum can elude them even longer. If extra players come, he can more quickly locate someone who has beaten single coverage (or no coverage at all).
The only way to keep him from doing it is to keep him from getting started at all by sealing off his escape route from the pocket, essentially surrounding and swallowing him up before he can commence what ultimately is a much more controlled version of the Wilson/Tarkenton chicken-with-head-its-cut-off routine.
Indeed, the turning point in last week’s game for the Saints came when the rush devoured Keenum, who got the ball in shotgun formation, on third and four from the New Orleans 30. The play knocked the Vikings out of field-goal range, forcing a punt that became the first seven points of the comeback from a 17-0 deficit.
That’s what the Eagles need to do on a regular basis on Sunday -- collapse the protection from the snap and prevent Keenum from commencing a low-key Houdini routine that happens so smoothly that it’s not nearly as impressive as it should be.