NFC North Preseason Schedule: Minnesota Vikings Breakdown

It's amazing if you stop to consider the fact that no other sport has a moment where we spend hours of our time looking at preseason matchups.

Heck, they barely acknowledge them.

Of course, not the NFL, not when it can remind us of the power they wield over our attention. (For another example...Nike jerseys, anyone?)

The Vikings have had a quiet offseason, likely hiding in their mad scientist labs to try and come up with a formula for rebuilding this team in something more than Frankenstein Monster form.

They'll hopefully have found the formula by training camp. Here's there beta test schedule.

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Minnesota Vikings

at San Francisco

Buffalo

San Diego

at Houston

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That's actually a pretty tough schedule, the toughest (for what that's worth in preseason) in the North. San Diego is the weakest team there, and they aren't usually pushovers. Buffalo has to prove they aren't pretenders, but they got stronger defensively.

How did this work out?

Let's look a little closer at what the Vikes are in for.

At San Francisco 49ers

The Niners were quite a surprise last season, and while they lost out on the Manning sweepstakes, they remain a very good team.

While Alex Smith is no Joe Montana, he played coach Jim Harbaugh's offense perfectly. They've tried to get him more weapons, and while none are top-shelf (that includes Randy Moss), they are better than they were last year and healthy. Of course, Frank Gore is a stud, and the depth just got better with the addition of Brandon Jacobs. The Vikings defense will have its work cut out for them.

Their best hope lies in constant pressure on Smith, though the scheme the Niners run is predicated on short, quick plays where Smith doesn't take much time. Jared Allen and company will have a split-second (relatively speaking) to get at him and build pressure.

The secondary won't be as tested, as Smith doesn't stretch the field, but had better be ready to pitch in on run-stopping.

It isn't any easier on the offensive side of things. This is a very, very good defense with few holes anywhere. Second-year quarterback Christian Ponder has to be incredibly careful with the ball, and the offensive line (hopefully with new tackle Matt Kalil) has to give him time. The other major question is, will we see Adrian Peterson? Probably not, but we'll know more by training camp.

This will be a tough game for both sides of the ball.

Buffalo Bills

Which Bills team do we get? The sick freaks who shocked everyone to start the 2011 season, or the trainwreck that emerged too often by the end of the season? We'll get a little glimpse here in the second week of preseason action.

Ryan Fitzpatrick will do his best to get back to the rhythm he had early on in 2011, and the key will be protection. If the Vikings defensive front can overcome the Bills offensive line, Fitzpatrick will get skittish. The secondary will surely be tested by Stevie Johnson as well, so we'll get an idea of where things stand there too.

The Vikings offense again faces a tough task, as they meet a pretty good Bills defense, including new Bill Mario Williams. Again, Ponder must be careful with the ball and quick with his reads. Again, this will be a hard game for the offensive line, as I expect the Bills to come after Ponder hard, especially if Peterson remains shelved.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are still a bit out of sorts right now, and may be until after the draft.

After they lost Vincent Jackson, another player will have to step up. But who? Robert Meachem seems like a likely candidate, but I suspect he may struggle as the top receiver. Vincent Brown looked promising at times last season, and Malcom Floyd plays well. With Philip Rivers throwing the ball, you know the secondary will be attacked early and often, and this is the third week he'll get a lot of reps.

The defense will see its longest sustained exposure to starters in the preseason, and we'll get a very good indication of how well they are doing. The Chargers offensive line can be penetrated, and the Vikings do have the weapons to do it.

Ponder and the offense will face a defense which has yet to re-establish their identity. They do have players who can rush the passer, so Ponder will still have to be very aware of the defense, but by now, he should have a much better grasp of what he is doing. This is a good test for him, a nice barometer of where he is at as leader of this offense.

At Houston Texans

With the fourth game of the preseason, normally, you don't see the starters for very long. Maybe that's the case here for Minnesota, or maybe Ponder and company see more than three snaps before heading to the sideline. Certainly he can use the work. I don't mean that as a slam—he's a developing quarterback, and the more he plays, the better off he is.

Some of that should be dictated by what the Texans do. This is a tough defense, and there will be a risk Ponder gets hurt the longer he's in—it's one thing to flaunt that risk in a real game, but another when it's a preseason match.

So Ponder will probably see more action than most starting quarterbacks, but more than a quarter is unlikely. Same for most of the starters, if not all.

Here's a game that might be one where Peterson returns, which, aside from the rookies and second-stringers, would be the bigger story involved. Of course, we won't know that until much closer to August.