It's been a while since Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen faced an offensive lineman in practice (or a game, for that matter) who could slow him down.
Rookie left tackle Matt Kalildid his homework before squaring off against last year's sack leader, and it's paid off in training camp.
Tom Pelissero of ESPN Twin Cities reported that Allen "cursed loudly" after Kalil "stonewalled" him on two consecutive snaps Tuesday. That's exactly the havoc the Vikings want from Kalil, the fourth-overall draft pick out of USC. Asked about the confrontation on Wednesday's edition of NFL Network's "NFL AM," Allen laughed it off.
"Like I said, if I'm worrying about beating him every day, I've got bigger fish to fry," Allen said. "I'm trying to get myself ready for the season. ... I've had to put a couple moves on him. We did a short-yardage drill yesterday, and I could see him foaming at the mouth ready to come off and take my head off, and 'Whoops, you missed!' So ... but we've been having a good time.
"If I beat you some way and you want to know why, just ask," Allen said. "At the end of the day, we've got to work together, a lot of people been trying to build this hype up between me and him. I told him, I said -- I've been telling everybody -- don't worry about beating me, you don't play me. You've got 16 other guys you have to worry about. I think he's going to be all right."
It hasn't taken Allen long to notice that Kalil possesses "all the skill set you'd want." The Vikings' offense remains more of a mystery than a guarantee, but with a premier left tackle in place, second-year pro Christian Ponder has a better chance to develop under center. As for Kalil, slowing down the likes of Allen is a sign the Vikings might have their guy.
