2011 Minnesota Vikings: 5 Needs in Order to Compete for NFC North Title

Coming off of a rough 2010 season and a 6-10 record, the Minnesota Vikings have many needs which the team must address in order to compete in the NFC North in 2011.

After all, the division is no walk in the park. The Green Bay Packers are the reigning Super Bowl champions and are poised to make a run for the repeat. The Chicago Bears were last year's NFC North champions and lost just shy of the Super Bowl to none other than the Green Bay Packers. And lastly, the Detroit Lions looked to be on the up and up at the end of last season finishing on a four game win streak.  

With coach Leslie Frazier entering his first full season as head coach and veteran quarterback Brett Favre calling it quits after 20 years, finding someone to run the offense is only just the beginning of the long list of things the Vikings need.

Quarterback: Can Christian Ponder Get the Job Done?

To no surprise, the first thing on the Vikings' list of needs is a starting quarterback.  After 20 years, it's safe to say (or is it?) that Brett Favre has finally retired.  With that comes decision time for the Vikings' organization.  Do they officially begin the new era and go with first-round draft pick rookie quarterback Christian Ponder as their starting QB?  Do they toss in the almost equally inexperienced Joe Webb to take the snaps while the rookie adjusts to the learning curve?  Or do they go in a completely different direction, dive in to free agency and sign a veteran quarterback, such as Donovan McNabb, for a couple years?  

If the Vikings do bring in a veteran quarterback, it should be for no other reason than to help guide and teach the young quarterbacks and possibly handle a few starts at the beginning of the season.  It is time for the Vikings to officially begin a new era and find a quarterback to build a team around.

Therefore, by the middle to end of the season, one of the young guys needs to be in the starting position.  With the lockout still in effect and the chance of there being no OTA's, mini camps, or training camp to give the young quarterbacks time to learn the new system, picking up a veteran quarterback may not be a terrible idea.  

With that said, the Vikings may very well go with Ponder right off the bat.  Coach Leslie Frazier claims they have their Joe Flacco or Matt Ryan, and wouldn't that be lovely?  However, rookie quarterbacks as immediately successful as Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan are few and far between.  

Nonetheless, Ponder has been tagged as a fast learner with a high football IQ.  He has also shown early leadership skills by organizing workouts for Viking teammates during the lockout in an effort to start learning the system. So, who's to say he can't be the guy?

Run the Offense Through Adrian Peterson

Regardless of who the Vikings go with at quarterback in 2011, the offense needs to go through Adrian Peterson.  Peterson is their Pro Bowl running back and one of the best in the league; it's time to give him his team back.  Having a new staff, new offense and a new quarterback, the safest option is to put the ball in this guys hands.  

With Brett Favre at quarterback the last two years, the Vikings got away from Peterson and seemed to have forgotten whose team it was.  There were too many times last year on short yardage where we saw the ball go through the air rather than into the arms of Peterson to virtually guarantee the yardage.  Last season, Peterson rushed for a career low of 1,298 yards, and in the two years with Favre, the Vikings went from putting the ball on the ground 51 percent of the time time before Favre to throwing the ball 56 percent of the time with him.

The best way to relieve pressure for a new quarterback is to give the ball to Adrian Peterson.

Re-Sign Sidney Rice and Increase Depth at Wide Receiver

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the Vikings are at risk of losing wide receiver Sidney Rice, who would become an unrestricted free agent.  This is a player that Minnesota  must re-sign.

Despite having a rough season in 2010 recovering from hip surgery, Rice had an unbelievable breakout season in 2009 and is undoubtedly the Vikings' top receiver.  Not re-signing Rice would mean losing one of their go-to players and major depth issues at a position that is already terribly sparse. 

Even though the Vikings second option at wide receiver, Percy Harvin, claims to be migraine free after struggling all last season with the headaches, this position still needs some serious attention.

Because of the lockout, the only offseason acquisitions made thus far for Minnesota Vikings at receiver were signing free agents Jaymar Johnson and Emmanuel Arceneaux just after the season ended, and drafting Stephen Burton in the seventh round, a project out of West Texas A&M.

Minnesota also drafted tight end Kyle Rudolph out of Notre Dame in the second round to go along with Visanthe Shiancoe, whom will likely be used in a lot of two tight end sets under the new offense.

Improve the Offensive Line

The aging and injury ridden offensive line for the Minnesota Vikings is a place that could definitely use some improvement.

Seven time All-Pro left guard Steve Hutchinson is easily the Vikings best offensive lineman; however, he will be 34 this year and ended last season on the injured reserve with a broken thumb.  Right guard Anthony Herrera, who just turned 31, is coming off of major knee surgery and is still in the rehab process. Bryant Mckinnie, a 2009 Pro-Bowl selection at tackle, is a huge physical presence, but as of late, his game seems to be digressing rather than improving. Right tackle Phil Loadholt, entering his third season in the NFL, was penalized far too often last season and is still considered somewhat of a project with a lot of potential. And starting center John Sullivan, who also missed a couple games last year with a nagging calf injury, is young but quite undersized.  

Needless to say, the Vikings will be looking for depth along with some guys to step up their game.

Upgrade the Secondary

The Vikings secondary could definitely use an upgrade, specifically at the safety position. Minnesota had just 15 interceptions as a team last season, and only nine of them were credited to the defensive secondary.

With that said, the first issue to address is Madieu Williams. Williams is on a huge contract which has him being paid $5.4 million this season.  Williams, who has had just one interception in his last 29 games, is tying up a ton of money and not matching it with his performance.  

At strong safety, Husain Abdullah could be a bright spot.  He finished last season with three interceptions and hopefully will continue to improve. However, the Vikings should definitely look to add a safety

At cornerback, the Vikings still have 34-year-old Antoine Winfield, known for his great tackling and hard hitting. Although Winfield is coming off of an excellent 2010 Pro Bowl season, he can not defy age forever and may only have a couple of good years left.

Aside from Winfield, the Vikings have Asher Allen who hopefully is improving, but was beat a lot last season, Cedric Griffin, who is returning from two straight ACL tears, and rookie Chris Cook, who showed a lot of potential in preseason last year before joining the injured reserve with a knee injury.