The Minnesota Vikings: Most Feared in the NFC?

Many of you may think that this is a ridiculous statement. How can the Minnesota Vikings be the most feared in the National Football Conference? Well here is a quick break down of how they fared in 2007.

As a team they gained 2,634 yards on the ground, leading the league and with the 2nd place team finishing 243 yards behind.

Running Back Adrian Peterson was leading the league in rushing yards until his injury in week 10 against the Green Bay Packers. He finished the season with 1,341 rushing yards (2nd place behind LaDanian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers), a 5.6 yards per carry average and won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award

Their defense allowed 5,410 yards of total offense.  They allowed 4,225 through the air and 1,185 on the ground with an average of 5.1 yards.

They allowed 305 first downs and allowed their opponents to convert 40% of their 3rd down conversions

They drew even with their opponents total in sacks with 38 and finished +1 in turnover ratio.

Now after hearing this, you would wonder why should the Vikings, of all teams be the most feared in the NFC.

The Vikings clearly have the most dominating rushing offense and defense on paper. They have Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor returning as their 1-2 punch at running back. Combined, the two rushed for 2,185 yards. Now that they know how to utilize Adrian Peterson and get him more involved in the offense, both of their totals should be more balanced with the two of them sharing time in the backfield.

They are also returning their defensive tackle duo of Kevin and Pat Williams, the most dominating DT duo in the NFL. They have already been able to stop the run effectively between the two of them. Their biggest move of the off-season was trading for Kansas City's defensive end Jared Allen. Now they have the personnel to put more pressure on the QB and allow their 2nd and 3rd level players room to make plays.

They allowed a mind boggling amount of yards through the air in 2007, finishing 32nd in the league in passing yards allowed. In response to that, they released Dwight Smith who, in my eyes, is an above average cover defender. The signed free agent safeties Madieu Williams from the Cincinnati Bengals and Michael Boulware from the Houston Texans.  Williams, being a better ball hawk than run stopper, will complement the aging veteran Darren Sharper. Michael Boulware is an overall play maker but was outplayed in Houston and relegated to special teams duty in Houston. He should play better now that he has a clean slate in Minnesota.

The Vikings also drafted Tyrell Johnson out of Arkansas State in last month's draft to eventually replace Sharper once he decides to hang up his cleats.

Many people still consider the Vikings QB situation as its glaring weakness. Indeed, it is but I will say this...they don't need Tavaris Jackson to put up Pro Bowl numbers, it would be greatly appreciated, but all they need him to do is make better decisions and manage games better.  Picture the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, just not with a dominating defense.

Last, the receiver position. The Vikings rid themselves of Troy Williamson, their hopeful Randy Moss replacement turned bust.  Williamson just never managed to fit into the molds in Minnesota. Sidney Rice did a great job as a rookie last season and exceeded expectations. They also signed Bernard Berrian away from their division rival the Chicago Bears. There has been a lot of criticism over the signing due to the lack of an adequate deep passer and Berrian's reputation as only being a homerun threat. The way their receiving core could be used is having receivers Robert Ferguson and Rice be the short to middle passing threats due to their size and catching ability. Whereas Berrian and Rice being thier deep threats. 

The Vikings have a better group of players than last years 8-8 team. The suspect play at QB could be the deciding factor but I can see the Vikes being able to make a deep playoff run in 2008. They can run the ball and they can stop teams from running. They can now pressure the QB and they can now also hit the deep ball with a some what proven receiver. Now let's see if they can get better decisions out of their QB's.