Nice article in TwinCities.com on Greenway...
On the football field, Chad Greenway keeps going and going, a linebacker continually in motion. "I just love watching him play," fellow Vikings linebacker Ben Leber said. "He flies around, and he never seems to get tired. "He's kind of the Energizer Bunny of our defense."
E.J. Henderson was generating a Pro Bowl buzz after an outstanding start to the 2008 season. But Greenway's numbers through the first three games — Henderson was injured in the second quarter of the fourth game, against Tennessee — were nearly identical to those of Henderson. Henderson had 34 tackles, including three for losses, one sack and one forced fumble while Greenway had 26 tackles, including three for losses, one sack and one forced fumble.
Despite the sizable hole Henderson leaves in the middle of the Vikings' defense, Greenway has emerged as a reliable playmaker on the NFL's sixth-rated defense. He leads the team with 87 tackles (27 more than the next-closest player) and five tackles for losses, he's tied for first with three forced fumbles and he's third on the team with three sacks. "He's making a lot of plays," Leber said.
Greenway's performance isn't a surprise to the Vikings; it is what they expected when they drafted him 17th overall in the 2006 NFL draft. But the Mount Vernon, S.D., native suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the exhibition opener, and he missed the 2006 season. Greenway returned in 2007, started every game, recovered a league-high four fumbles and finished second on the team with 130 tackles.
But he didn't feel comfortable.
"In my case, I was trying to impress everybody, because they basically handed me a job," Greenway said. "I put so much pressure on myself because I wanted to be everything everyone wanted me to be. "You always want to fulfill your potential." Admittedly, Greenway's greatest challenge was consistency, especially as a dependable tackler.
Vikings defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier said Greenway's issues were understandable.
"Last year was really a rookie year for him, and there were things that happened and he would second-guess himself," Frazier said. "There were times he was hesitant. 'Where do I go?' and all we wanted him to do on those blitzes was just to go, and trust his athletic ability."
Last offseason, though, Greenway realized something: He wasn't as explosive an athlete in 2007, something he didn't quite grasp until this past spring.
During the 2007 offseason, Greenway was rehabbing up until training camp. But earlier this year, he was able to push himself physically. "There were no signs in my play that I was hurting," Greenway said, "but I wasn't back to my normal self." Greenway also worked on two areas of his game, tackling and understanding the team's defensive scheme. He studied how offenses try to attack Minnesota's Cover 2 defense, and he focused on not leaving his feet as much and trying to run through an opponent to make tackles.
"He's really making a difference," Frazier said, "and part of it is his confidence."
For instance, Frazier recalled Greenway "looking wide-eyed" when coming off the field at times last season. "When you're talking to him now, sometimes I'm getting ready to say something, and he's telling me what I was going to say before I say it," Frazier said. "That's huge."
That decisiveness has added an important wrinkle to the Vikings' defense. Though the pressure generated by his line is much improved, Frazier can count on Leber and Greenway to blitz on occasion to complicate things for opposing quarterbacks. Leber has only a half-sack, but he has seven quarterback hurries, including two against Green Bay on Sunday.
As middle linebacker Napoleon Harris familiarizes himself with the defense again, Leber and Greenway are doing well with their communication, coach Brad Childress said. "There's great communication, and a lot of times it's non-verbal between those guys," Childress said. "That's the best when you have that understanding, unconscious competence where you don't have to think." That, too, was a problem a season ago, Greenway said.
"You overthink things a lot of times," he said. "When you think too much, you really take yourself out of the game. "Now it's just reactive. My confidence is at a premium because I know what I can do."
Finally up to speed
I've caught a Viking game here and there, I don't even look anymore to see where he lines up. The way he's playing and producing, who cares... right!
