Vikings defensive end Allen to meet with commissioner Goodell Tuesday

Updated: November 18, 2008, 11:49 AM ET
ESPN.com news services

Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen will meet with commissioner Roger Goodell and other league officials Tuesday to discuss his flagrant hits on quarterbacks that could result in a possible suspension.

Allen was fined $50,000 after two hits in Week 9 on Texans quarterback Matt Schaub, who may be out for the season with a torn MCL stemming from one of those plays. In Week 10, Allen had helmet-to-helmet contact with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers that was not as controversial, but league officials want Allen to explain his tactics.

When Allen was asked by reporters what he will discuss with league officials, he replied, "I have no clue. I'll find out when I get there."

Allen has said all season he never intentionally tries to hurt another player.

"We play a violent sport. We know that and we willingly sign up for it," Allen said earlier this season when talking about the fines being issued by the league. "We don't ever purposely go out to hurt anybody, ever.

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"I know for myself, I have the utmost respect for everybody who plays this sport. But at the same time, it's like you can't make rules to tame it down. This is what we do. We're grown men. We make the decision to do what we do."

Childress has defended Allen's hits, saying it can sometimes be impossible for a player running full speed to let up and avoid an opposing player who gets the ball away a split-second sooner.

That was the case against the Packers, when Allen went unblocked and had a free run at Rodgers. Moments after Rodgers released the ball, Allen hit him high and knocked him down, drawing a roughing-the-passer penalty.

When he looked at the tape last week, Childress said it didn't appear to be a helmet-to-helmet hit.

"It's like going from a green light to a red light without a yellow light in between," Childress said. "He's full-speed, on the gas, and the ball comes out. ... Without being a physics major, I don't think there's any way that you can stop on a dime."

Physics aside, that's exactly what could happen to the Vikings' quest for their first playoff appearance since 2004 if the NFL holds true to its historically hard-line nature when it comes to suspensions.

Three weeks ago, Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork also had a meeting with Goodell in which he was also facing a suspension. He came away with a $30,000 fine but was not taken from the playing field.

Information from ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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