The 5 Most Disappointing Minnesota Vikings This Season
Just four more games left.
That's what the Minnesota Vikings and their fan base are telling themselves. And with four games left, it's pretty much WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get).
The Vikings (3-8-1) are among the worst teams in the league and vying for a top-five pick in the draft. Leslie Frazier's coaching status for 2014 is as big a question as ever and there is a reason for it.
It's called a disappointing season.
And at the heart of a disappointing season is disappointing performances, which is what we're here to discuss. It would be tough to pick out five impressive performances from this season, but it's rather easy to pick out five disappointing ones.
The tough part, was narrowing the list to five.
Players who have missed a significant amount of time for injury (more than three games) were not considered for this list.
Expectations, team status, draft status, salary and previous performance are all included in considering a player's potential status on this list, which is ranked in ascending order.
Step inside and please comment on where I got this wrong.
5. Defensive End Jared Allen
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Jared Allen is a five-time Pro Bowl selection and a four-time First-Team All-Pro pick.
He has never recorded fewer than 11 sacks in his six-year career with the Vikings and no fewer than 7.5 sacks in any single season of his career.
This appears to be the beginning of the end for Jared Allen, as he is on pace for the second lowest sack total of his career.
The 31-year-old has six sacks and 39 tackles through 12 games, putting him in line for eight sacks and 52 tackles this season.
The former Idaho State defensive end hasn't been the most positive teammate this season, mouthing on the sideline, "This is the worst defense I've ever been a part of," during the 44-31 loss to Green Bay.
Allen's contract is up at year's end, and the 6'6'', 270-pound pass-rusher is set to face many questions in the offseason.
It appears that age is catching up with him and that his contract may be distracting him a bit. Allen still has the high motor but the overall skill set seems to be regressing, very quickly.
And this is just the beginning.
4. Wide Receiver Greg Jennings
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All offseason Greg Jennings was defending Christian Ponder's rough first two seasons.
He went on ESPN and said Ponder struggled his first two seasons because he had no one to throw to. He referenced the fact Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre had talent to throw to, which undeniably enhanced their value.
Jennings' point was that he would help take Ponder to the next level.
Well, we're all still waiting.
Statistically speaking, this has been one of the worst season's of Jennings' career.
He's on pace for roughly 65 receptions, 705 receiving yards and four touchdown receptions.
The reception and touchdown totals would be his lowest production in a full season since 2009, and the receiving yard total would be the lowest output since his rookie season in 2006.
The 30-year-old Jennings hasn't recorded a 100-yard or eight-reception game this season, but he has had one game with two touchdown receptions.
It's tough to evaluate Jennings' prospects for the final four years of his five-year, $47.5 million contract because the quarterback play has been so inconsistent.
But it looks like the regression Green Bay feared is absolutely real.
3. Quarterback Christian Ponder
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With the 12th pick in the 2011 NFL draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected quarterback Christian Ponder from Florida State University.
It's a decision that the franchise has to regret at this point, especially with the success of second-round picks Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick.
Ponder was expected to make a big leap this season, having had 27 NFL games under his belt in addition to new and improved toys to play with.
Percy Harvin was out, but Greg Jennings was in.
Kyle Rudolph was a year older.
Cordarrelle Patterson was a top-flight athlete with playmaking abilities for a rookie.
And, there's always Adrian Peterson.
It didn't play out like Ponder or the Vikings wanted and the quarterback was benched after Minnesota's showing in Week 3 against the Cleveland Browns, a 31-27 defeat.
Ponder looks as uncomfortable as ever operating in the pocket and fails to get rid of the ball in a timely fashion. He doesn't appear to adequately go through his progressions and teammates have questioned his spot as the starting quarterback.
After the win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, a game in which Matt Cassel led the team to victory, Adrian Peterson was asked who should start the next game. Adrian Peterson replied, "What do you think?"
And going into this Sunday's game, Ponder is unlikely to start—granted it's due to a concussion. But it hasn't been encouraging that the "franchise quarterback" can not solidify his status on a team where the main competition is Josh Freeman and Cassel.
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2. Cornerback Chris Cook
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Part of the reason Minnesota had to feel all right about releasing Antoine Winfield was that it truly believed it had a star in the making in Chris Cook.
The 2010 second-round pick had the physical stature (6'2" and 212 pounds) to become a true No. 1 cornerback. But in the last couple years, injuries have always derailed his season.
Injuries have played a role again in 2013. Cook has played in just nine of 12 games, but the real problem is Cook has regressed significantly from 2012.
Cook has never had great ball skills, but he has always displayed physicality with the opposition's No. 1 receiver.
It just hasn't translated into Cook taking the next step this season.
The former Virginia Cavalier has had his fair share of off-field incidents prior to 2013 and was supposed to assume more of a leadership role this season.
Yes, because leaders illegally touch a ref, get ejected from games and incur $26,000 fines.
Cook is on pace for a career high in tackles (roughly 49), but he still lacks an NFL interception.
He certainly hasn't earned the big contract he was hoping for at year's end, but Cook could still be worth re-signing if he takes a reduced salary with plenty of incentive pay.
1. Right Tackle Phil Loadholt
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When the move was made to re-sign Phil Loadholt for four years and $25 million, the Vikings thought they had locked up one of the league's best right tackles.
He had been inconsistent throughout the first three years of his career, but he seemed to put it all together in 2012.
The 2013 campaign was supposed to be where he took it to another level. And he has. Just not the way Minnesota expected.
Loadholt is playing very much like a middle-of-the-road right tackle, at best.
Whenever Christian Ponder, Matt Cassel or whoever Minnesota's quarterback is takes a sack, it's typically Loadholt hovering over him ready to lend a hand to help him up.
The reason he's the first to help him up: It was his man who recorded the sack.
Loadholt had shown skill as a run blocker in the past but had struggles as a pass-blocker. This season, he's had trouble with both—especially the pass-blocking.
Loadholt has improved slightly this season as the rest of the offensive line has gotten its act together, but he's still not worth the money Minnesota is paying him.
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