Although I was watching the game, I didn’t notice this little drama:
In Sunday’s 24-21 victory over the Cowboys, the Vikings put Harvin in the backfield seven times. That includes two plays that were negated by penalties and another play the Cowboys quickly aborted.
With the score tied 21-21 with 6 minutes, 12 seconds left, the Vikings lined up at the Dallas 23-yard line. They had three receivers bunched near right, Randy Moss wide left and Harvin standing beside Brett Favre in the shotgun.
The sight of Harvin in the backfield caused not one, not two, but four Cowboys defenders to signal for a timeout. The Vikings went to a different formation after the timeout.
“Dallas probably didn’t have the personnel in the game to deal with that,” backup running back Albert Young said. “That’s the kind of mismatch that can catch a team off-guard. But I don’t think people will be caught off-guard anymore after seeing that one.”
When a player appearing in a different position causes the defenders to panic, you know that player is considered highly dangerous.
