Minnesota Vikings: 5 Questions To Be Answered This Preseason

In 2010, the Minnesota Vikings had very few concerns entering the season.

Brett Favre returned, after serious persuasion, to be the knight in shining armor under center.  Also, a majority returned on a defense that ranked sixth in total defense, 19th against the pass and second against the run.

It was supposed to be the year where everything went perfectly.  Favre was supposed to ride off into the sunset having won a Super Bowl for one of his former team’s rivals. 

The year was far from perfect and more questions remained at the end of the 2010 season than could be answered. 

After a 6-10 season in 2010, the Vikings enter 2011 without Favre or former coach Brad Childress.  It marks year one of the Leslie Frazier era, and there are more questions entering this season than the 2009 or 2010 season. 

Here are five questions, as we’re one day away from the beginning of Minnesota’s 2011 season. 

5. Who Will Start in the Secondary?

Minnesota was the 22nd best past defense in the 2010 season.  That was a season decimated by injuries to the secondary. 

Cornerback Cedric Griffin, already coming off of a left torn ACL during the NFC Championship game in 2009, tore his right ACL in Week 5 of the 2010 season.

Back and healthy, Griffin’s out to prove he can be the player he was in 2009 when he led Minnesota with four interceptions and was third in tackles (78).  If Griffin’s healthy, the second cornerback job is his.

Rookie cornerback Chris Cook was placed on injured reserve after a knee injury.  He showed promise in his time with the Vikings last season and should be a major contributor to the defensive backfield in 2011. If Cook is healthy, and Griffin isn’t, Cook will start alongside Antoine Winfield.

If Griffin and Cook prove themselves fully recovered from their injuries, it’ll improve the Vikings secondary instantly.  If those two are healthy, the Vikings should consider moving Winfield to safety. 

Many would say that Winfield, 5’9” and 180 pounds, is undersized to be an NFL safety.  But Winfield has always been called small and has always been one of the best tackling defensive backs in the NFL.  He’d be up for the challenge.

And it would improve the Vikings’ safety core. 

After releasing Madieu Williams, which was a great move, the Vikings appear ready to start Hussein Abdullah at one safety and either Eric Frampton or Jamarca Sanford at safety. 

The battle for the second safety position will be one to watch in the preseason, as well as the health of the Vikings’ cornerbacks. 

As long as the defensive back unit is healthy, it will outperform the 2010 unit.  If injuries persist for this group, then more of 2010 is ahead.   

4. Can Half of the Defensive Line Successfully Be Replaced?

In 2011, the Williams wall, manned by defensive tackles Pat and Kevin Williams, fell, as Pat was not brought back by the Vikings. 

It could be the beginning of the end of the Vikings’ run-defense dominance of the past five years (from 2006-2009, Minnesota was first or second in run-defense and was ninth in 2010). 

But it’s not just Pat Williams who departed. Defensive end Ray Edwards bolted for greener pastures with the Atlanta Falcons after a contract feud with Minnesota’s front office. 

Edwards is known more as a run-stopping defensive end but posted eight or more sacks in each of the last two years (8.5 in 2009 and 8 in 2010). 

Minnesota looked in-house to replace Edwards, as 2007 fourth-round pick Brian Robison will have the opportunity to become a starting defensive end for the first time in his career.

In four seasons with Minnesota, Robison accrued 13.5 sacks and 48 tackles.  At 6’3” and 259 pounds, some feel Robison is undersized to be a starting NFL defensive end.  He may struggle with stopping the run, as larger offensive tackles may get the better of him, but that’s not his forte. 

Robison’s known as a pass-rusher and should be successful in that department.  He could match Edwards’ sack total from 2010 if he is given a full-time job.

Replacing Pat Williams may be easier.  Williams was superb when it came to run-stopping but was useless when it came to rushing the quarterback or running down anyone.

To fill his void, the Vikings signed former New Orleans Saints defensive tackle, Remi Ayodele, who had 37 tackles and one sack last season. 

If player weights reported by teams are to believed, then the Vikings found themselves a player very similarly built to Pat Williams.  Ayodele’s listed at 6’2” and 318 pounds, while Pat Williams is 6’3” and 317 pounds. 

Ayodele will provide another big body that the Vikings can stuff in the middle of their defensive line to clog up running lanes. And it should be a very similar result to what Pat Williams brought to Minnesota over the past five seasons. 

3. Can Charlie Johnson Replace Bryant McKinnie?

On August 2nd, the Minnesota Vikings released Bryant McKinnie, the franchise’s left tackle, since the No. 7 pick of the 2002 NFL draft joined the team midway through that season after a 100-day contract holdout. 

September 11th, when the Vikings open their season up with a road game against the San Diego Chargers, will mark the 14th time since McKinnie entered the league that he will not start at left tackle for the Vikings. 

Who’s the heir apparent to McKinnie?

Charlie Johnson.

Johnson, who played his college ball at Oklahoma State, spent the first five years of his NFL career as an Indianapolis Colt where he started all but 10 of the Colts’ last 64 games.  Many of those games were spent protecting quarterback Peyton Manning’s blindside. 

It sounds like the man should be up for the task of protecting the more mobile Donovan McNabb’s blindside.

But maybe not.

Defensive end Jared Allen, who Johnson is responsible for blocking as the left tackle, has spent most of training camp in the backfield blowing past Johnson.

Either Johnson’s lost the pass-blocking skills that kept Manning on his feet for much of the past four years, or Allen will be a beast in 2011.  Or it could just be Johnson struggling to get accustomed to a new environment. 

If Johnson isn’t able to handle the role of left tackle, right tackle Phil Loadholdt (who played left tackle during college at Oklahoma) could transition over.  Stay tuned.

2. Which Donovan McNabb Did Minnesota Acquire?

This question may not be answered during the preseason, but it’s something fans will watch closely before the season begins.

The 2010 season was one that quarterback Donovan McNabb wants to forget. 

He posted his lowest passer rating (77.1) and fewest touchdown passes (14) since his rookie season in 1999 (60.1 passer rating and eight touchdown passes). His 15 interceptions were the most he’s ever thrown in an NFL season.

He restructured his contract from five years and $78 million down to one year and $5.05 million.

With his one-year deal serving as a signal that the Vikings believe rookie quarterback Christian Ponder will be ready to start in 2012, McNabb should be motivated to strut his stuff and prove he is still an elite quarterback.  This means the offense could be in for a big year.

But then again, maybe what he showed in Washington last year is where McNabb is in his career.  Maybe he is just an aging quarterback with little left in the tank and his best days completely behind him.  If so, this would mean that rookie quarterback Christian Ponder may see the field in 2011. 

1. How Does Minnesota Replace Sidney Rice?

The clear-cut No. 1 wide receiver, Sidney Rice, is gone. There are 41 million reasons why he left Minnesota. 

What remains is an unimpressive core of wide receivers headed by Percy Harvin.

Harvin will be the No. 1 guy, but that isn’t something the Vikings should be overly proud of, as Harvin is really more of a No. 2 receiver.

A No. 1 receiver is the player who can do everything: go deep, go over the middle, go up in the air and take away the ball from a defender, run good routes, be quick and do it all from outside the slot. 

Harvin is a slot receiver.

He is great in the slot and has no fear going over the middle to clash with big safeties and linebackers. He’s extremely quick and runs good routes, but his deep game could use work.  He’s not a guy that can take the ball away from defenders.

While Harvin’s a good receiver, he isn’t someone who should be relied upon as a team’s No. 1 guy.  He’s built to be a No. 2.

First-year Viking Michael Jenkins served as the Falcons’ second receiver last year but only caught 41 passes for 505 yards and two touchdowns.  He’s a big target at 6’4” and 214 pounds but hasn’t had more than 53 receptions, seven touchdowns or 635 yards receiving in a season. 

Jenkins will serve as the No. 2 or No. 3 receiver on the team.

Bernard Berrian is the man who could earn the No. 2 position ahead of Jenkins.

Berrian was brought into Minnesota in 2008 to "bring the deep ball back" to the Vikings offense.  His first year in Minnesota was his best year as a Viking (48 receptions, 964 yards, 7 touchdowns). 

But Berrian has had two down years during the Brett Favre era in Minnesota.

Unless Harvin elevates his game to an elite level, or Berrian finds lightning in a bottle this season, the receiving core won’t be that great for the Vikings. 

Look for running back Adrian Peterson and tight ends Visanthe Shiancoe and Kyle Rudolph to get more involved in the passing game to compensate for the weak receiving core.