The Minnesota Vikings are this year's NFL darlings and reasonably so.
The team barely missed the playoffs a year ago, revamped an already impressive defense, and, oh yeah, they have some guy named Adrian Peterson.
Many experts are picking the Vikings to run away with the NFC North this year, and some have them going further. Sports Illustrated's recent "NFL Preview" actually predicted that the Vikings would finish the season 13-3, as the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs (losing in the NFC Championship game).
Of course, many experts who pick the Vikings do so solely on the fact that they finished second in the division a year ago and the team that finished ahead of them happened to get rid of the best quarterback in NFL history during the offseason. That being the Green Bay Packers and Brett Favre.
This season is undoubtedly the most unpredictable in the NFC North's history. Pundits have the Packers finishing anywhere from 11-5 to 6-10, depending on the play of new starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But nearly everyone predicts the Vikings to have a successful season; picking them to finish anywhere from 13-3 to 9-7.
After all, the Vikings were an 8-8 team a year ago and improved themselves in several positions. They paid a steep price, but nonetheless added NFL sack leader Jared Allen to their defensive line. Likewise, they signed former Chicago Bear Bernard Berrian to give quarterback Tarvaris Jackson the deep threat he has been lacking over the years.
Allen will be an immediate help to a line that is already strong up front. Gigantic tackles Kevin and Pat Williams have been reeking havoc up the middle for several years for the Vikings, all but putting a stop to the opposition's running games. However, the team has lacked a pass rush at the same time.
The Williams' would make teams one-dimensional against the Vikings, but with no pass rush, teams were still able to have success through the air. Allen should help solve that problem.
While Allen helps a big defensive problem for the Vikings, Berrian does the same for the offense. Jackson has a monster arm, but he has had problems hitting receivers down field.
A deep threat such as Berrian should help with that, as Berrian averaged 14.6 yards per catch last season with the Bears while also playing for mediocre quarterbacks.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, with all the positives the team has added, there are still several glaring weaknesses that could be exploited. While Allen will help the pass defense with his rushing abilities, the coverage is still spotty.
Time after time last season, the Vikings' pass defense was exploited. As good as cornerbacks Antoine Winfield and Cedric Griffin can be at one-on-one coverage, the zones that Brad Childress runs were exploited in 2007.
If quarterbacks get time to throw against this defense, and, let's face it, Allen can't get to the quarterback EVERY time, they will find their receivers in an uncovered zone, just like they did last year.
The team signed safety Madieu Williams in the offseason, with the hope of shoring up that coverage. However, Williams will miss the first six weeks of the season, leaving untested rookie Tyrell Johnson back their with the aging Darren Sharper. Sharper is still solid overall and makes big plays at times, but at the same time he's not the Pro Bowler he was years ago.
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2 months ago
Nice job.
We may not agree, but this is a really good article...
from 2 months ago
I agree with this article 100%. Yes Favre is gone, but the Packers are still an excellent team without him. People have the Packers as good as Rodgers will be, that's wrong. Vikings are predicted by many to have a stellar season, with a worse QB. Packers had the youngest team last year, and they're only going to get better.
If the Vikings were being predicted soley on their QB play, then they deserve a sub par record.
I see the Vikings being better with great new pickups. However, the Pack will be on top again.
2 months ago
I agree as well. The Packers are still the dominant team in the NFC North. If Rodgers goes down, back-up rookie QB Matt Flynn will go in. And just to let you all understand something, Matt Flynn did so much better than Brian Brohm in the pre-season.
The Packers have some strengths in the QB position. The only weakness in that department is experience. However, like Brett Favre said last season, experience isn't always a good thing. The fact that some of those players on the Packers are so young is why they do the things they do. And the things they do are great. That is what Favre said. Not in those words but its what he said.
Though the man may not be on the Packers anymore, what he said about the team is still true. The only old players on the team are Al Harris and Charles Woodson. Hopefully Green Bay can get some replacements for them soon when they retire or the Vikings WILL finally win the NFC North.
2 months ago
IF Rogers stays healthy the Packers will be better than the Vikings?.......NO. No one seems to remember Tarvarvis Jackson, who was 8-4 as a starter. So IF Jackson is healthy the Vikings WILL win the North by winning atleast 10 games.
2 months ago
You're silly to think that the Vikings aren't going to do any better this year than they did last year. They did a great job upgrading the key spots on the team that needed upgrading (pass rush, pass coverage, and passing offense). Any reasonable upgrade in play this year from Tarvaris Jackson is going to give the Vikings a monstrous beast of an offense, and it's going to be hard for any team to compete with that.
You can darn near write it in stone, if the Vikings enter the 4th quarter of play with the lead at any point this season, they are almost guaranteed to win the game. Control the clock by stuffing opposing defenses with a healthy dose of Purple Jesus. If they are entering the 4th quarter behind (especially by more than one possession), I think you will see the Vikings struggle.
Sorry, but I just don't feel that this article accounts for the notable upgrades in key areas for the Vikings. Yes, there are some injury issues right now, but those should be shored up in the next month to six weeks. You can't reasonably assume that the Vikings are going to lose their first 4 games because Williams and McKinnie are out, however. Even with McKinnie out, the Vikings still have one of the best offensive lines in football. And once a healthy and full lineup is back, the Vikes will be a team that nobody looks forward to playing.
The key for the Vikings is going to be in quarterback competency, and staying healthy. Health is a factor for any team, however, so the biggest question mark for this team, as most analysts have already pointed out, is going to be in how well T-Jack manages the game.
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