Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen has explained the reasons behind his comments about the team's defence during their 44-31 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Allen was overheard by cameras on the sideline calling it the "worst defence I've ever been part of" as the Vikings slipped to a third consecutive defeat to go 1-6 for the season.
However, the five-time Pro Bowler insists that his comment was not a slight on the quality of his side's players or coaches, but rather the performance that they put in on the day.
"When I made that comment, 'This is the worst defence I've ever been on,' it had nothing to do with the players, nothing to do with calls, nothing to do with any of that. We're not performing. It has everything to do with performance, and that was the worst defensive performance I'd ever been a part of," Allen told reporters.
"I'm going to stay on my teammates, not let anyone get in a hole. They're going to stay on me. One thing we have is a tight locker room here. We're going to push people. We're going to push the coaches. They're going to push us.
"It's time to refocus, get motivated if you weren't already and not accept mediocrity. I'm going to be tougher on the players. I'm going to be tougher on myself. I've already told Coach, 'If you see somewhere I can improve, please let me know. And let's go to work.'"
Meanwhile, Allen has also insisted that he has no hard feelings over the Vikings reportedly attempting to trade him before yesterday's deadline.
Barney Corkhill
