EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Vikings have expressed a desire to improve their run defense this preseason.
The Vikings allowed 4.5 yards per carry in four exhibition games after allowing 4.3 per carry in the 2015 season.
Minnesota has been without middle linebacker Eric Kendricks, who led the Vikings with 105 tackles as a rookie.
The second-year linebacker missed the entire preseason but is poised to slide back into his starting spot in the middle on Sunday at Tennessee for what could be a physical contest.
"I've been practicing hard and going over the film the same way I always do," Kendricks said Wednesday. "I only expect one thing, and the coaches expect a lot out of me.
"I have to make a big difference this weekend and I'm going to show up," he later added.
Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer said he'd like to see him team get stouter against the run but said Wednesday that exhibition games can be taken with a grain of salt.
"I think it was OK," Zimmer said of the run defense. "It's hard to evaluate when No. 1, you're not game-planning, and No. 2, you're missing some guys.
"Kendricks would probably make a big difference in a lot of those things," he added. "The things you can evaluate during the preseason, to me, are tackling, the technique that your guys are playing, stuff like that."
Know the Tennessee Titans key contributors on offense, defense and special teams heading into the Vikings-Titans game Sunday.
Mariota completed 23-of-31 passes for 319 passing yards in three preseason games. He totaled a completion percentage of 74.2 and a passer rating of 104.1 heading into his second NFL season.
The 28-year-old running back enters his first year with the Titans, after a career low of 3.6 yards-per-carry with the Eagles last season. Murray looks to return to his form in Dallas where he rushed for NFL bests of 1,845 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2014.
Walker eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards for the first time in his 10 seasons in 2015 (1,088 yards). He had several career-highs last season, including catching 94 passes and hauling in six touchdown passes.
Sharpe was selected by the Titans with the 140th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. The rookie played his college ball at UMass and has reeled in nine passes on 12 targets for 163 yards in the preseason.
Johnson leads all active players with 14,100 career-receiving yards. Johnson will begin his 14th season in the NFL on Sunday and his first with the Titans after 12 seasons with the Texans and one with the Colts.
Derrick Morgan has shown the ability to rush the quarterback as an outside linebacker over his years in Tennessee. Morgan has 11 sacks in 26 games since 2014 when the Titans switched to a 3-4 base defense.
McCourty is a quick defensive back, who was clocked running the 40-yard dash at 4.3 seconds. His twin brother, Devin McCourty, is an active safety for the New England Patriots and they share a Twitter account.
Casey had 7.0 sacks and 54 combined tackles in his fifth season for the Titans in 2015, garnering his first selection to the Pro Bowl.
Orakpo is a three-time Pro Bowler who signed with the Titans before the 2015 season. He led the Titans with 12 tackles for loss and 37 quarterback pressures.
The current head coach for the Titans has prior experience in Minnesota. Mularkey played tight end for the Vikings for the first six seasons of his career 1983-88, playing 75 games and making five touchdown catches with the Vikings.
The Vikings will certainly get a stern test in Tennessee's two-headed attack of running backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry, a second-round pick this past April.
The Titans rushed for 644 yards on 120 carries this preseason, good for an average of 5.37 yards per carry.
Murray rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries while Henry added 216 yards and three scores on 34 carries.
Add in an elusive quarterback in Marcus Mariota, and Zimmer said the Vikings will have their hands full.
"I think that they have an excellent running game, obviously. I think their offensive line is playing well," Zimmer said. "DeMarco Murray is a heck of a back. I think he's had a transformation when he came there, as opposed to where he has was last year. He looks a lot like he was in Dallas (when he rushed for an NFL-best 1,845 yards in 2014).
"And then, Henry is a guy that really everybody liked in the draft. He's a big, physical guy that has great feet and acceleration," he added. "So I think all of those things and then the combination of Mariota with the things he can do with his legs, as well. It makes it difficult."
Defensive end Everson Griffen said the biggest key for the run defense is to be effective early and give the Vikings pass rushers a chance to pressure Mariota.
"The biggest thing for us to do is stop the run," Griffen said. "By stopping the run, it's playing your gap and doing your job. It's simple.
"You get rewarded by being able to rush the passer," he added.
Kendricks said that's a recipe for success the Vikings are looking to follow in their season opener.
"They're going to come at us," Kendricks said. "They have a good stable of backs and they want to be physical.
"So far this preseason that's what we're seeing (from them) – a physical run game," he added. "It's our job to stop it."
