Minnesota Vikings: Why Fans Shouldn't Be Concerned with Loss to Tennessee Titans

After the lengthy lockout and a camp full of expectations and excitement, the 2011 Minnesota Vikings came up short in their preseason debut against the Tennessee Titans. The 14-3 loss probably came as an epic disappointment to Vikings fans who so desperately hoped the team could live up to the success they had in 2009.

The acquisitions of Donovan McNabb, Michael Jenkins and Remi Ayodele had Vikings fans worked up and ready to go for some Vikings football on Saturday night.

Though the Vikings weren't able to score even a single touchdown, fans shouldn't be too heavily concerned.

Here's why:

As anyone would tell you, it is only the first of four preseason games. The Vikings do not have their offense completely installed at this point, resulting in a very vanilla, average game-plan for Saturday night. As the team's offense gets more developed, big plays will happen more often.

Obviously, given that it was the first game, most of the starters had an extremely limited role and some, including Jared Allen and Kevin Williams, didn't play at all.

Vikings star RB Adrian Peterson had only one rushing attempt, something that I think anyone could've seen coming.

Peterson will be the focal point of the offense—it is essentially designed for him. Peterson's limited role is to ensure that he will be healthy come opening day in San Diego. Peterson is a sure thing when healthy, and a pretty sure thing even when hurt. That being said, Vikings fans need not worry about the offense's lack of production.

On a similar note, third-string RB Lorenzo Booker had a solid night, rushing for 47 yards on nine attempts with a long run of 20 yards. He looked very comfortable carrying the ball and even broke a few tackles.

I know what you're thinking: Why is a third-string RB any indication for a team overall? 

Well, obviously Booker could've merely had a good night, but think about it like this: What if it were Adrian Peterson carrying the ball most of the game? The offensive line looked pretty solid when run-blocking, it should be an indication that the offensive line is capable enough to create opportunities for their RBs. This is something the team struggled with in 2010, hopefully this is an indication of improvement before the start of the season.

Donovan McNabb was another bright spot on Saturday night. He had six completions on 11 passing attempts and showed some good mobility, making throws on the run stepping outside of the pocket.

Though the Vikings weren't able to score any touchdowns, they were able to spread the ball around to 14 different receivers for a total of 169 yards. None of these were for big gains, but this will be a glimpse of what Bill Musgrave's offense will look like.

The Vikings will look to run the ball with Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart, and then spread the ball around to many different receivers to stretch out the defense. This West Coast system is the perfect system for the kind of talent the Vikings possess.

Donovan McNabb is the archetypal West Coast QB. He is a magician with play-action and has a big arm to back it up. He also possesses the quickness and mobility to move outside of the pocket and make plays. When you look at the success McNabb had with Brian Westbrook in Philadelphia, he and Peterson are a match made in heaven.

So, in conclusion Vikings fans, don't fret about the boring game you had to watch on Saturday night. This first preseason game is no indication of what the 2011 season will look like. I think that by the third or fourth preseason game, you will see a Vikings team that is going to surprise some people, particularly the rest of the NFC North.

Thanks for reading.

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