Linval Joseph's vision for success with Vikings becomes reality

Linval Joseph got to know the Philadelphia Eagles and their fans when he played four seasons with the New York Giants before joining the Vikings in 2014. He says the Vikings should be ready for a rowdy crowd.

"Very hostile, the fans are crazy," Joseph said. "They cuss, they fight, they have a jail under their stadium."

The 6-4, 329-pound Joseph signed a contract extension before the season for $50 million over four years, and this season he showed he he is worth it.

He has long been known as one of the strongest players in the NFL, having bench-pressed 225 pounds 39 times at the 2010 NFL combine. This year, he really anchored the defensive line and finished with 68 tackles. That number was good for the fourth highest in the NFL for a defensive lineman and the second-highest mark for a defensive tackle, behind the 76 for the Giants' Damon Harrison.

Joseph said that when he joined the Vikings, this was the kind of season he was dreaming about.

"Vikings reached out to me. They gave me an offer and I came and visited and I liked what they were telling me," he said. "Four years later, we're having the opportunity to go to the Super Bowl. That's what we were talking about."

Joseph was in his second year as a pro when he started in Super Bowl XLVI for the Giants vs. the Patriots in February 2012 in Indianapolis.

Early in the fourth quarter, Joseph pressured Tom Brady, who was flushed out of the pocket and threw downfield toward Rob Gronkowski. But the pass was picked off by linebacker Chase Blackburn.

"I was so young," said Joseph, who was 23 then. "… I was talking to JPP [Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul] last night about winning it. It was a big thrill. I'm just excited to have another opportunity to hopefully make it there.

"I just remember hitting Brady and making him throw an interception. We tried to run the clock out and we scored. They had the ball for the last two minutes and we stopped them."

Joseph said when he looks at the Vikings, he thinks they have what it takes to reach the Super Bowl.

"I think we have a great opportunity and a great chance. We have a great team here," he said. "We have good offense, good wide receivers. We have good O-linemen. Our D-linemen not too bad. We're playing at a high level.

"We're young, we're hungry and we want it right now."

The early challenge this week for the Vikings has been to move past their miracle vs. the Saints. So how has coach Mike Zimmer approached getting ready for another huge game?

"You have to believe, stick with the plan. That's what we have been doing," Joseph said. "We've been trying to gel together, make less mistakes, and get the job done."

It might not be at quite the same level as Stefon Diggs' 61-yard catch, but the Eagles made a big play themselves to beat the Falcons, stopping Atlanta on fourth-and-goal at the 2 to win Saturday night.

Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards did not mince words when talking about the challenge his team faces with Philadelphia.

"No doubt about it. This week is the best team we have played," he said.

The Eagles finished the season ranked No. 7 in the NFL in total offense and No. 4 in total defense. The Vikings were No. 11 in offense and No. 1 in defense.

So, how do you stop the Eagles at home?

"We have to go in and try to make them one-dimensional and shut down their run game and then do well in situational football," Edwards said. "We have to play better in the red zone this week and do our duty on third downs."

Edwards thinks Nick Foles, the backup quarterback playing for injured star Carson Wentz, really is fitting into the Eagles system. When asked about the lack of deep passes with Foles playing, Edwards didn't think much of that.

"You look at them pretty much for a season and they haven't been throwing the ball extensively down field," he said. "It's more of a West Coast kind of feel to what they're doing in the passing game. Their big thing is to get the ball out, try to outleverage you in the coverages, and we've got to do a good job with our pattern matches and things underneath."

Foles is not the caliber of future Hall of Famer Drew Brees. However, Edwards said: "He has played in this system before and he has some skins on the wall and started in this league for a long time. It'll be a tough contest for us."

The real battle Sunday might be on the ground. The Eagles led the NFL in rushing defense at 79.2 yards per game, and the Vikings were No. 2 at 83.6. The Eagles rushing offense was third in the league at 132.2 yards per game while the Vikings were seventh at 122.3.

"We have to do our due diligence to go out there and stop the run," Edwards said. "They really use three backs [Jay Ajayi, LeGarrette Blount and rookie Corey Clement] that are very capable of making big runs against you."

Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field has a natural grass field, and a good part of it was resodded after Saturday night's game with Atlanta. The Vikings depend on their speed on both sides of the ball.

Last weekend, the Falcons had trouble slipping on the field, including on the final play of the game, when star receiver Julio Jones fell down in the end zone.

The field and the great crowd certainly give the Eagles a pretty good home-field advantage.

• Zimmer said Mike Remmers, the usual right tackle who moved to right guard for the past two games to help the offensive line, is one of the five best players on the team. As for Rashod Hill, who is playing right tackle, Zimmer said he will have a tough matchup in Philadelphia. "What I'd like for him to do is play like he did in the beginning of the [Saints] ballgame," Zimmer said. "He played great the first 30 plays, then he kind of hit a little snag and had to get readjusted again. Just be consistent, can do it every time, that is what he has been working on the entire time."

• The New York Times had a big profile on Case Keenum this week that was headlined, "Vikings' Case Keenum isn't a star, but he is playing like one."

• Former Vikings quarterback Rich Gannon turned down a chance to be the QB coach for Jon Gruden in Oakland. Gannon was NFL MVP playing for Gruden with the Raiders in 2002. Gannon, who lives in Excelsior, said the demands of the job were a bit too high and he is instead going to stay with CBS, where he has been since 2005.

Sid Hartman can be heard on WCCO AM-830 at 8:40 a.m. Monday and Friday, 2 p.m. Friday and 10:30 a.m. Sunday. • shartman@startribune.com