Week 10: Looking Ahead, a Breakdown of Each Minnesota Vikings Position

It's no secret that the Minnesota Vikings are struggling this season, and one of the huge problems seems to be a lack of depth at certain positions on the roster.

Some of the roster areas have needed improvement for a while, while others look great on paper and entirely different come game day.

Let's take a look at each position on the field and what that position needs to solidify this ballclub.

Quarterback

Honestly, this is probably one of the positions I feel most confident about...now that Christian Ponder has finally been given a chance to prove himself.

Let's face it: Veteran Donovan McNabb is washed-up, beyond his prime. Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan is far from intelligent, and Minnesota should have taken into consideration the fact that Shanahan benched McNabb in favor of QB Rex Grossman.

Frazier threw Ponder into one of the toughest games of the season against Green Bay, and he definitely held his own. Despite losing the game, Minnesota made cheeseheads nervous on more than one occasion. And that's something McNabb never did.

Ponder then played well against Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, coming away with one of only two wins this season. He reads the field well and is not afraid to throw the long ball.

The young quarterback out of Florida State seems entirely confident in his abilities, and his presence on the field is generating positivity and excitement from the fans.

Running Back

Minnesota holds the rights to one of the best running backs in the league with Adrian Peterson. In September, Peterson signed a seven-year deal worth $100 million.

In only five years in the NFL, Peterson has tallied 6,580 yards and an impressive 61 touchdowns. Not too shabby.

Toby Gerhart stands as the second-string RB, and he occasionally comes in to strut his stuff behind Peterson. The second-year athlete out of Stanford is persistent up the middle and also shows speed and quick-stepping abilities. However, Gerhardt has yet to show a real confidence on the field.

All in all, the depth at running back remains sketchy, at best.

Fullback

The Vikings fullback--currently listed as the starter--is Ryan D'Imperio, a second-year out of Rutgers.

Ryan who?

Sometimes playing fullback for Minnesota is Jim Kleinsasser, aka "The Dinosaur." I have nothing but respect for Kleinsasser who, selected in the 1999 NFL draft, has played all 13 years as a Minnesota Viking. The North Dakota native has rumbled through defenders for years, but he's starting to slow down. He only has one reception in the books this year. No one can fault him for age beginning to take effect, but it's something to be aware of in upcoming years.

Wide Receiver

In my opinion, wide receiver is one of the positions that Minnesota is lacking in the most. The main receiving corps consists of Percy Harvin, Devin Aromashodu, Michael Jenkins and Greg Camarillo.

The third-year Harvin is incredible when healthy, but migraines and injuries have continued to haunt him over the past two seasons. If he can remain above the weather, Harvin promises fans great catches, explosive speed and high yard totals.

However, the depth at receiver ends there. Aromashodu comes up with an impressive play here and there, but the former Chicago Bear has averaged only one reception per game up to this point in the season. That's not exactly what one wants to see from one of their two starting WRs.

Successful teams require a deep receiving corps—just ask the Green Bay Packers. Championship QB Aaron Rodgers routinely throws to six to 10 different players every game.

The Vikings needs to spend some money on decent receivers.

Tight End

If one looks up the word "inconsistency" in the Webster's Dictionary, I'm fairly certain he or she will find a photo of Minnesota tight end Visanthe Shiancoe.

Kleinsasser is also listed as a second-string TE, and the age thing still remains a factor in looking ahead to the future.

Last but not least, let's talk about Kyle Rudolph—this guy is entirely underrated by Frazier and the rest of the Vikings coaching staff. Standing at 6'6" and 259 pounds, Rudolph came out of Notre Dame as the first TE drafted in the 2011 rookie class.

The guy has an incredible vertical leap and displays strength and stamina for picking up yards, so why doesn't he get any minutes? For so much hype surrounding the young athlete—he's only 21 years old—he certainly doesn't get as much time on the hash marks as he deserves.

In my opinion, Rudolph could vie for Shiancoe's starting position. If the rookie sees more playing time next year and Shiancoe can round things out a bit, Minnesota only needs one more solid asset at tight end.

Offensive Line

I'm including the offensive line as a single unit in this slideshow.

Why?

The entire line fails to live up to its potential, game after game.

Charlie Johnson, Steve Hutchinson, John Sullivan, Anthony Herrera and Phil Loadholt are excellent athletes...on paper. Johnson joined Minnesota following six years with the championship-caliber Indianapolis Colts, Hutchinson is an 11-year veteran with seven years of Pro Bowl experience under his belt and Loadholt has received recognition as a starter since day one.

As a unit, though, I have a hard time respecting the line. If you're a quarterback coming into Minnesota, you might as well prepare yourself to be running for your life—a lot.

I hesitate to give Donovan McNabb any excuse, but a veteran QB that's losing his legs and his steam doesn't stand a chance in purple. Brett Favre experienced the same thing during his last season with the Vikings—a lot of "ground" time.

The New England Patriots hold an outstanding offensive line, and it's half the secret to their success. Sure, Tom Brady has an arm like a cannon and boasts incredible accuracy. However, he also has an hour (okay, maybe a slight exaggeration) to get set, find an open receiver and nail the pass.

If the Minnesota Vikings tightened up their offensive line and didn't force the quarterback to scramble on every single play, the squad might stand a chance.

Punter

At about $1 million per season, Chris Kluwe is one of the 10 highest-paid punters in the NFL. Kluwe has tallied 511 punts over seven years with Minnesota, and he gets the job done.

In 2010, Kluwe's teammates named him the Special Teams Player of the Year. In addition, the Pennsylvania native became the only rookie in Vikings history to win a Player of the Month award when he won for special teams in Sept. 2005.

In other words, Minnesota is pretty well set at punter.

Kicker

With 15 years of experience, Ryan Longwell spent nine seasons in Green Bay before crossing the border to its rival neighbors. Longwell is at 82 percent thus far for 2011, and his longest field goal of the season measured at 53 yards—not too shabby for 37 years old.

Longwell's leg continues to look solid, but the Vikings will have to start shopping for a kicker in the next couple years.

Defensive Line

Brian Robison (LDE)

Coming off a stagnant 2010 season, Robison stepped up his game this year. The 28-year-old totaled only two sacks during all of 2010, and thus far he has 4.5 sacks to his name.

While at the close of last season I might have been in favor of shipping him, I think Minnesotans can be optimistic about Robison's place on the line.

Jared Allen (RDE)

Excuse my informality, but Allen is a beast—enough said.  

Remi Ayodele (NT)

Minnesota needs to find a replacement for Ayodele. He started out okay as a rookie, but this season his name is almost nonexistent in the books. He poses no threat to opponents—as part of the defensive line, I'd say that's a problem.

Kevin Williams (DT)

Williams is in his ninth year with the Vikings. He had an outstanding first two seasons, but since then he's a tough guy to count on. I would never say he's untalented, but after missing the first two games due to drug violations, Williams hasn't done much to impress.

The Vikings need to have a "Plan B" in mind at defensive tackle. Don't give Williams the boot yet, but I'd be prepared to have a backup option on hand.

Cornerback

Cornerback proves to be yet another position at which Minnesota cannot find consistency.

Left Cornerback

Veteran Antoine Winfield tends to be a favorite among fans. At only 5'9" and 180 pounds, Winfield knows how to utilize his small frame in an explosive manner that threatens offenses across the league. Unfortunately for Minnesota, Winfield suffered a neck injury and has been sidelined for a majority of the season.

Marcus Sherels has done a decent job filling in for the injured Winfield. Sherels—a 24-year-old native of Rochester, MN—demonstrates speed and agility on the field. With only two years of experience under his belt, I'm hoping that Minnesota gives him another year or two to work out the kinks. He shows great potential.

Right Cornerback

This position is unstable at best. Once a dangerous player, Cedric Griffin hasn't been the same since suffering two injuries over the past two seasons. He's just not as quick at the cuts as he used to be.

Call me cruel, but I think it's time to cut the ties between the Minnesota Vikings and Asher Allen. I realize that he's only three years into the league, but I think that he's had an adequate period of time to prove himself.

More times than not, Allen misses the tackle or is one step behind the passing game. To put it bluntly, his negatives outweigh his positives at this point.

Safety

Safety is probably the position I have the least to say about.

Free safety Husain Abdullah definitely holds his own on the field, and Minnesota should keep him on the roster for the next few years. Although he struggled a bit in his first two seasons (2008 and 2009), Abdullah tripled his tackles (75 total) and grabbed three interceptions in 2010. He's well on his way to similar or improved numbers this year, as well.

Strong safety Jamarca Sanford has 22 tackles and two interceptions in 2011, and while he does come up with the big play once in a while, his numbers haven't seen a rise in the three years he's been in Minnesota.

The Vikings depth chart reveals there isn't a whole lot to go on for second-string players, so Minnesota should be on the lookout for an additional safety in the upcoming year or two.