Sorry, Vikes: Five Reasons the Minnesota Vikings Won't Hoist the Lombardi Trophy

It happens every year.

Every year, without fail.

No, not the inevitable crazy person name change, Chad Ocho Cinco.  I'm talking about how every year it seems like the football pundits fall in absolute love with a team that just barely missed the playoffs last year.  They slate them for the #1 seed of their conference and talk about how anyone who badmouths them "isn't a true believer".

It happened with San Francisco last year.  It happened with Miami two years ago.  And here it's happening with Minnesota this year.

Don't get me wrong; they've added a whole bunch of talent on both sides of the ball.

But so did San Francisco last year.

And so did Miami the year before that.

So, I've compiled a list of five reasons why Minnesota is not going to be winning the NFC North.  Nor will they be lifting the George S. Halas Trophy or the Lombardi Trophy.

5. Adrian Peterson Lacks Experience: Yeah, you read that right.  The kid has only one year's worth of experience.  Admittedly, if you'd want a running back who'd only played for one full year, you'd want Adrian Peterson.  The kid is a game-changing back.

For now, at least.

See, for all the fantastic press he got - and trust me, the man can run - he wore down massively as the season went on.  In the last four games, when his team needed him most, he averaged 2.7 yards a carry.  If Minnesota is at all jockeying for playoff position come week 14, this may prove troublesome.  Let's not forget the rookie of the year from two years ago: Vince Young.  Remember his season from last year?  Yeah.

Of course, this entry is #5 on the list for a reason.  It's just as likely that he has a 2,000 yard season just to shut me up.

4. Bernard Berrian is no Randy Moss: One of the more absurd reasons I've read as to why the Vikings will just dominate this year is the signing of Bernard Berrian.  Let's take a stroll through his four-year career, why don't we?  225 yards and 2 TDs in 2004, 246 yards and 0 scores in 2005, 775 yards and 6 TDs in 2006, and 951 yards and 5 TDs in 2007.  Or, if you're not much for arithmetic, a grand total of 2,197 yards and 13 TDs.

And this guy gets a $42 million contract with $16 million guaranteed.  To compare, Terrell Owens (4,498 yards and 48 TDs in the same length of time - including a season-ending suspension in 2005) just signed a contract for $34 million with $13 million guaranteed.  And Randy Moss (3,818 yards and 47 TDs in the same timespan) got $27 million over the off-season.

Very Snyderesque move, I must admit.  Admittedly, the masterful statisticians that are the Minnesota Vikings are probably hoping that Berrian's upward trend will continue.  But any way you slice it, it's a ridiculous move and he's no more surrounded with talent on the Vikings than he was with the Bears.

3. Uh, Exactly Who Is Playing At Quarterback Again?: Tarvaris Jackson, Gus Frerotte, and John David Booty.  Pop quiz: who do you want quarterbacking your team?  OK, let's get the positives out of the way first - Jackson did step up and show flashes of brilliance at the QB position, Booty comes out of USC and is hopefully more Carson Palmer than Matt Leinart, and Gus Frerotte is...well, a really nice name.  But they're going to need more from their most important players than occasional greatness, a lack of playing time, and a nice name.

First, let's get Jackson's 2007 stats out of the way.  He threw 9 TDs to 12 INTs.  As a matter of fact, in two years, he has a career 11-16 TD-INT ratio.  And while he's 8-6 as a starter, it's hard to ignore the facts: he only has two 200+ yard games to his name.  He needs to step it up, because if something bad happens to Adrian Peterson, it's on him to carry the team.  And as of this posting, I'm not entirely convinced that he can. 

You see, playoff teams usually have a solid quarterback.  Brady, Romo, Favre, both Mannings, Garrard, Roethlisberger, etc.  Guys that you know can win games on their own.  Who knows - by the end of next year, Tarvaris Jackson could well be in this discussion.  But for now, he's not.

Booty, as stated earlier, could be the next Carson Palmer or the next Matt Leinart - time will tell.

And Frerotte?  Still a nice name.

2. Their Schedule Is No Cakewalk: Let's see here: two games against Green Bay, a game against the New York Giants, and they're playing the AFC South.  So, they basically go up twice against the NFC's #2 seed, the defending Super Bowl champs, and the AFC's tightest division (not only did both wildcards come out of the AFC South, but no team in said division had a losing record).

"Yes," you say, "but that's only seven games.  Even in they lost all of those and won all their others, that's a 9-7 record, which, in today's NFC, is good enough for a wildcard."

Just sit tight for my next point, friends.

1. Don't Write Off Green Bay: OK, so they lost Favre.  Big deal.  What Green Bay still has is a dynamic, athletic team that retains most of its key figures from the group that headed to the NFC Championship game.  My money's still on them to win the NFC North.

Green Bay beats Tampa Bay, Tennessee, Houston, and Detroit and Chicago both times.  If you will also recall, Minnesota went 0-2 against Green Bay last year - the second game they lost 34-0.  I see them winning more games - and the division.

So, maybe next year, Minnesota faithful.  Maybe next year you'll have a better QB.  Maybe next year you'll have a legit WR.

Maybe next year.