2009 NFL Preview: Adrian Peterson And The Minnesota Vikings.

The Minnesota Vikings were pretty good last year. They finished 10-6, won their division and went to the playoffs. But they weren’t able to get past the Eagles in the first round.

Last year, the Vikings main problems were passing related. Both throwing and defending it.

The Vikings were 25th in the league in passing yds allowed per game and were 18th in the league in passing yds per game.

Their QB situation was never stable. Tavaris Jackson is good, but very inconsistent. He was fast, but wasn’t able to consistently find open receivers or throw the ball accurately to them if they were open. 

Gus Frerotte was also their quarterback for some of the season as well.

Frerotte threw more TD'S than Jackson, but was also inconsistent; he threw 15 INTs last season.

On the other side of the ball, the Vikings excelled.

Minnesota's defense was first in the league in defending the run allowing less than 80 yds rushing per game. They were also fifth in the league in rushing yards per game thanks to the best in the business, HB Adrian Peterson. The Vikings star player rushed for over 1,700 last season to lead the league.

Vikings in the Offseason

The Vikings made a huge off-season move. They signed Brett Favre to a two year deal, despite the negotiations stretching into August. 

Favre initially retired last season after he played for the Jets, but he decided to come back and give it another go.

The deal didn’t actually happen until after the Vikings first preseason game. The Vikings now have a future Hall of Famer quarterback under center. Favre is coming off shoulder surgery that occurred in May and will have to get in shape and not overdo it.

For insurance, the Vikings also acquired Sage Rosenfels from the Texans in the off-season; this occurred before the Vikings acquired Brett Favre.

Minnesota also signed some key selections in the 2009 NFL Draft.

They picked up some nice pieces, but none were big players other than Percy Harvin wide receiver. Harvin, who played for the Univ. of Florida and won two national titles, can make this offense even more explosive with his top flight speed.

In other off-season moves, the Vikes also signed some defensive players to help them defending the pass. But the key will be Favre and how he passes this year in comparison to the nightmare that was his stint with the Jets.

The Minnesota Vikings Positional Breakdown

The Vikings have some great players!

They have an elite running back, some big threat wide-receivers, and now a future Hall of Famer quarterback.

Quarterback

Brett Favre is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game; although, he hasn't showed it in the last few years with his injuries and high interception totals (last season he threw 22).

The Vikings are going to have to make sure that they give Favre enough rest during the season. It's their only shot of competing late into January.

This year, Favre is working with great talent at the wide-out position. Last year with the Jets, he didn’t have any big weapons at the position.

Favre has Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin (rookie), and Sidney Rice. He's going to have to be really careful resting his shoulder this season. He doesn’t want to have a career ending injury like some players.

Running Backs

The Vikings have one of the best running backs in the game, Adrian Peterson.

Peterson has been a monster in his two year career. He's rushed for over 3000 yds in his first two seasons in the NFL. Peterson could have done a lot better in his rookie season if he didn't miss two games due to injury.

His yard per carry average in his rookie season was absolutely great! He had 5.6 yds per carry in 2007. In 2008, his yard per carry dropped to 4.8. Peterson did however, have more rushing yards and rushing attempts in 2008. He's primed for another great season.

Wide Receivers:

The Vikings don’t have a lot of depth at the wide receiver position. Their best receiver, Bernard Berrian, was solid last year; he had over 900 receiving yds and seven TD's. He was the Vikings only receiver over 600 receiving yds.

Their No. 2 wide receiver, Sidney Rice, only had 141 yds receiving last year.

The Vikings receivers didn’t have very good communication with their quarterbacks, but that should change this year. With Brett Favre under center, he should help the receivers gain more yardage and develop better route running techniques.

Tight End:

Visanthe Shiancoe is a elite tight end; he isn’t the best in the game, but he is a solid tight end who can get good receiving yardage and give you good blocking. Shiancoe had 596 receiving yds and seven TDs in 2008.

His numbers should go up even more this year, now that Brett Favre is here.

With a better quarterback under center, all of the Vikings receivers and tight ends numbers should rise.

Offensive Line:

The Vikings have a very inexperienced offensive line.

The Vikings left guard, left tackle, and right guard, all have at least five years of experience in the NFL. However, the Vikings center,  John Sullivan, has only 1 year of experience, and the Vikings right tackle, Phil Loadholt, is a rookie offensive linemen. 

Minnesota was 26th in the league in 2008 in sacks allowed. This offensive line is improving, but still needs to get better before the season starts.

Defense:

Minnesota has a great defense led by Pat Williams and Jared Allen up front.

This defense is spectacular in stopping the run. The Vikes were first against the rush last season only allowing 80 yards per game.

But they may be able to rush the passer and stuff backs, but the Vikes main problem lies in their secondary. Their defense allowed 216 passing yards per game last season(18th in the league in 2008).

This secondary needs to really toughen up and not allow any NFL team to intimidate them this year.

Vikings in the Preseason

The Vikings defense looked great against the Colts in the first pre-season game of the season; they held the Colts to three points, recorded six sacks and one takeaway on the night.

The Minnesota offense played well against the Colts; Peterson had four carries for 20 yds; Rosenfels had only three incomplete passes and passed for 91 yards; and the Vikings tight end Shiancoe had 55 receiving yards.

Their second pre-season gamewas also a strong outing against the Chiefs.

The defense played very well as they forced 2 takeaways, 3 sacks, and allowed 13 pts.

The offense was decent against the Chiefs; Brett Favre was 1 for 4 with 6 yds in his preseason Vikings debut; Jackson had 213 passing yds; Peterson had 44yds rushing; and Shiancoe had 42 yds receiving.

Vikings Season Preview:

The Vikings will have a tough time this season winning the division.

Both the Packers and the Bears have improved quite a bit this off-season, and could very well sneak up on the Vikings and win the division.

The Vikings also have a very tough schedule this year that will have them finish no better than 9-7.