Vikings Offense Struggles in Playoff Loss to Eagles

The Minnesota Vikings saw their season end at 10-7 on Sunday after a 26-14 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. In a game that was close until a 71-yard screen play from Donovan McNabb to Brian Westbrook in the fourth quarter, the Vikings defense looked its best all year, and the Vikings offense looked the exact opposite.

While there is something positive to be taken away from the 2008-2009 campaign in the form of the team's first Division Championship in eight years, for the most part, the 12-point loss to the Eagles yesterday has to serve as the biggest disappointment of the season. So as every season-ending loss will do, it makes us look to September, and where this Vikings squad will be come the start of the 2009 season.

Defensively, I don't think there has been a Vikings team that was this good, and I have been alive since 1984. My father could attest that some of the teams of the '70s may have been as good or better, but I can almost guarantee with the dawn of new technology and workout routines, this defense is bigger, faster, and more athletic than any of those teams who partook in the four Super Bowl appearances.

With that being said, there is little room for improvement. Brian Robison had his best game at left end all season, and I think that the Vikings can be OK without a replacement in the offseason so long as Ray Edwards can stay healthy.

One replacement that must be a priority is the replacement of aging safety Darren Sharper. Sharper was great in his heyday, but he has lost a step or two and has found himself slow to outside passes in cover two and taking bad angles on running plays.

Now I am not Todd McShay or Mel Kiper—I don't pay attention who is coming out of college or how good they may be in the pros. I do know that a draft pick should be spent on getting a decent safety to replace him.

E.J. Henderson will be back to bolster a linebacking corps that I thought overachieved for the better part of the season. With him back the Vikings may have one of the best linebacking corps outside of Baltimore.

Hopefully my alma mater's Charles Gordon will be healed from that horrific injury and can start, because Benny Sapp is not good. He was not good in Kansas City and has only marginally improved since coming to the Twin Cities.

I cannot say enough about Jared Allen. What a player. You know that the guy is worth every penny when he sells out trying to bring Westbrook down running the full 75 yards into the end zone in pursuit. I shouldn't fail to mention that he gave the Vikings' putrid offense great field position when he stripped McNabb. He will be back, and he can only get better it seems.

I think the Vikings are solid at the corner, with Winfield in his absolute prime and Cedric Griffin improving every week.

Now on to that massive white elephant in the room.

The Vikings offense has to improve in just about every area. Let's save the most obvious for the last piece of analysis, as there is much to discuss.

Let's start with the running backs. Chester Taylor kept Adrian Peterson on the sideline for most of the playoff game against the Eagles, simply because he was the better back.

Adrian Peterson should be focusing on two things, and two things only, come training camp. The first is pass blocking. He is atrocious; I haven't seen a worse pass-blocking back. The second is obvious: protecting the ball. He has to keep the ball close to his body when he gets hit.

Chester Taylor may be on his way out when the Vikings have to look at cap room, but his value cannot be overstated, and if he stays, the Vikings offense can only benefit.

On to the offensive line. The Harvard alum looked more like a junior college dropout walking off the field after his snap in the fourth quarter barely got off the ground leading to a turnover when the Vikings had to have a score. He may have played his last game as a Viking. Perhaps the Chiefs will offer him a contract—they are in dire need of replacing their entire line.

Kyle Cook has to be replaced; he is awful. Personally, I think the Vikings should use their first round pick here. Any of the top 25 offensive linemen in the draft would be better than Mr. Cook.

The left side of the line is obviously great. McKinnie could get a half a step quicker, and his awareness could improve on running plays.

The Vikings must re-sign Jim Kleinsasser, who may be thinking about retirement. His value to the Vikings is too high to let him go to either another team or the golf course.

Perhaps more of a must than replacing the quarterback, the Vikings must expend at least one draft pick to get a receiver. I am not real impressed with anyone coming out of college, but getting a possession receiver is a must. I don't care who they get, so long as the guy can beat a corner to the spot in man coverage.

Last but not least is the quarterback. It's my humble opinion that the Vikings will not get to the NFC Championship, let alone the Super Bowl with him, taking snaps.

Yeah, he torched Arizona and moved the ball against the Falcons, but in the loss to Eagles, he looked like the "T-Jack" of the first two games of the season. He threw the ball behind receivers all game. One pass was so far behind Rice that it was taken to the house by Asante Samuel.

He can't read the defense, his receivers don't seem to be helping, which is not his fault, but he doesn't seem to hit the open guy when he has time and space. Don't get me wrong, he's got a cannon, and he's accurate down the field when there is single coverage, but he refuses to make throws when he needs to. When he does, his mechanics are so atrocious it's hard to watch.

He's quick but never seems to run when the situation calls for it. He was 15-35 for less than 200 yards passing, no TDs, and one interception. Those are the numbers of a high school QB for a pass-happy team that finishes the season 5-4, not the numbers of an NFL playoff quarterback.

As any responsible displaced Vikings fan would/should do every Monday, I listen to K-FAN (Vikings radio network) on my computer for my dose of Monday morning quarterbacking from the Paul Allen show.

As he does every week, he had Antoine Winfield on the show, and when asked about whether or not the QB for the 2009 season is already on the roster, the newly appointed pro-bowler replied, "Personally, I think the quarterback is on the roster," and, "I have a lot of confidence in T-Jack."

Now maybe that was just a cover because it was the day after a loss after winning the division. I doubt it though. Maybe they see something in practice that I don't, but to quote the great Pistons guard Allen Iverson, "Practice?! Practice?! You're talking about practice?!"

Frankly I don't care what No. 7 does in practice—I care about his ability to win games when all it takes is one drive to go ahead by five and cripple the Eagles' chances. I care about his ability to hit a receiver when he's wide-open on a slant or an out route instead of throwing it to the guy's inside heel.

Replacements, you may ask? Well, there is not a lot out there in terms of free agency. Kurt Warner would be a definite upgrade, but the downside may be too heavy to carry the upside. He's old, slow, and because he's still good, would cost too much money. Matt Cassel would be an option (as some other writers have talked about), but the Vikings wouldn't be able to afford him unless they freed up some major cap room.

If the Vikings could get a couple more receivers who could actually get open, then maybe they could stick with T-Jack. From what I've seen they need to get the receivers and stick T-Jack on the bench, because that is the role he needs to play.

There is a lot of time for the Vikings to make these important decisions. Vikings fans have to be hoping that the front office and the coaching staff will exhibit the same knowledge they espoused when building the team into a defense and running game first philosophy in this offseason.

I'll be checking back in with some offseason editorials, but until then we'll see you next year, Vikings fans.