Minnesota Vikings: Contender or Pretender for 2009?

Despite the fact that I am a die-hard Denver Broncos fan, here in South Dakota you don't hear much other than Vikings football, so I figured I'd throw my two cents in on their situation.

In 2008, the Minnesota Vikings went 10-6 and hosted their first playoff game since Daunte Culpepper was the team's quarterback.  Adrian Peterson has emerged as one of the league's best running backs, and the Williams Wall led defense is considered to be one of the stingiest the league has to offer.

Still, Vikings fans were left scratching their heads yet again, and the team's championship drought is beginning to draw comparisons to the Chicago Cubs.

With the defense still mainly intact from last season, and the offense on the rise, can this team really contend for a Super Bowl in 2008?

Offense

The Minnesota offense is pretty simple: get the ball to Adrian Peterson.  Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels will battle it out in training camp for who will be handing him the ball, and therein lies the Vikings' biggest fault.

Since Daunte Culpepper went down with a knee injury, the Vikings have had absolutely no stability at the quarterback position.  It has led to slow starts and, ultimately, poor conclusions to this team's seasons.  Jackson is not a difference-maker at this level and Rosenfels is prone to turning the ball over.

Minnesota relies too much on the production of Peterson and his backup Chester Taylor; a one-dimensional offense like that can only last for so long.  Until this team makes a move for a big game quarterback, they will never improve offensively.

In addition to lacking a star quarterback since the Culpepper era, the Vikings have also lacked a big-play receiver since Randy Moss and Cris Carter roamed the Metrodome.  Bernard Berrian is a solid deep threat, but far too often is overpowered and is not a consistent target in the offense. 

Sidney Rice has potential, and at times has flashed it, but like Berrian, he is far too inconsistent and has yet to develop.  He could be one of those players who signs a modest contract after his rookie deal is up and has great success later in his career because he is so young.

In an offense predicated on the short pass, Minnesota's top target in the clutch has been Bobby Wade, whom I really like.  Wade had 53 catches last season and proved to be a very valuable target on third downs. 

Another safety valve for Jackson or Rosenfels will be Visanthe Shiancoe, who really emerged last season.  How is this for a stat: every six passes Shiancoe caught last season, he scored a touchdown. 

Some of the Vikings' offensive woes could be blamed on their offensive line, namely the right side.  Bryant McKinnie has really regressed from his first three seasons in the league, and Anthony Herrera and Ryan Cook simply do not cut it.  The team is really going to miss perennial Pro Bowler Matt Birk at the center position.

On the first day of the draft, the Vikings need to target two players, and two players alone.  In round one, they need to go with North Carolina receiver Hakeem Nicks.  Nicks has been compared to Anquan Boldin, and rightfully so.  He is a big-catch receiver who is extremely tough.  Minnesota would benefit greatly from his presence.

In round two, the Vikings need to go after Louisville center Eric Wood.  Wood had an excellent showing at the combine and at his pro day, and has risen his stock to the point where Minnesota could take a shot at him near the end of round two. 

Defense

The one and only thing preventing the Vikings' defense from becoming elite is their pass rush.  Minnesota ranked near the middle of the pack in terms of sacking the quarterback, which I personally feel is the reason for their poor pass defense.

If you want to run on the Vikings, you sure as heck better bring it.  Minnesota's run defense, led by Kevin and Pat Williams, is among the best in the NFL.

In addition to their ability to defend the run, the Vikings have one of the NFL's top pass rushing defensive ends in Jared Allen.  Allen strikes fear into opposing offenses, and has even played through injuries in his career.

The team and its fans are also really high on backup Brian Robison, who could compete with Ray Edwards for the starting defensive end spot opposite Jared Allen.  One dark horse to win that job is former first round pick Kenechi Udeze, who battled cancer over the last year and is set to return in 2009.

Minnesota's linebacker core is going to get a huge boost in the form of E.J. Henderson for 2009, who is coming off of a serious injury.  Henderson will join rising star Chad Greenway and the massively underrated Ben Leber to form one of the most versatile groups of 'backers in the league.

Henderson is mainly a run-stuffer, but Leber and Greenway are both great in coverage as well as in rushing the passer.

In pass defense, the Vikings boast Antoine Winfield, who finally lived up to his big free agent contract last season.  In fact, he was so good in 2008 you could have made a case for him as the Vikings' MVP.

On the other side of Winfield is the recently re-signed Cedric Griffin, who is good, but not great.  

The departure of Darren Sharper could really hurt this secondary, but waiting in the wings is last year's top pick Tyrell Johnson, the workout warrior.  Johnson will pair with Madieu Williams at the safety position.

Williams spent a lot of time on the injury list last season, but when he returned, he showed he was worth every penny the Vikings spent on him in the offseason.

Minnesota also returns Marcus McCauley, Charles Gordon, and has added former Denver Bronco Karl Paymah to compete for the nickel and dime spots.

Special Teams

The Vikings' special teams really needs no introduction.  They have had one of the strongest special teams units the league has had to offer over the last couple of years.  Chris Kluwe is arguably the top punter in the NFC, and Rian Longwell is virtually automatic at kicker.

Overall

The outlook for the Vikings in 2009 is very strong.  With a good draft, the Purple People Eaters and their fans can look forward to a very prosperous season.  It all hinges on the play of the quarterback, as it has the last five years for the Vikings.  If Minnesota can get 20 or more touchdown passes from their starting quarterback, they should be contenders for the Super Bowl, if not more.