Minnesota Vikings: 10 Biggest Steps in Their Upcoming Rebuilding Process

At 2-10, the Minnesota Vikings are simply playing out the string.

With the playoffs realistically out of reach since mid-October, the purple faithful have been planning ahead, trying to sort out what their favorite team can do to avoid another disastrous season in 2012.

From wholesale changes to tweaks here and there, every fan becomes a general manager (and the Vikings need one) and everyone has their own ideas as to how the team can become a contender again as soon as possible.

The 2011 version of the Vikings turned out to be worse than anyone had imagined they would be, and at 2-10, Minnesota at least has the opportunity to do some player evaluations in game situations that they couldn't if they were in the playoff hunt.

As the Vikings head into the final quarter of the 2011 campaign, here are the 10 biggest steps the Vikings need to take to become a playoff-caliber team again.

Hire a General Manager

The picture you see is that of Vikings owner Zygi Wilf, whose first move this offseason should be to hire a general manager.

Since the Vikings hired Rick Spielman as VP of Player Personnel in 2006, Minnesota has not had a general manager in place, and whether Spielman is the de-facto GM or not, the Vikings need to have the position filled.

For years now the Vikings have had a VP of Football Operations, a VP of Player Personnel and Director of Player Personnel. None of the three bears the brunt of the responsibilities that come with being the General Manager.

In the end it may just be semantics, but without a GM in place, there never seems to be any accountability, or a front man if you will, when it comes to drafting, player moves, etc.

Obviously any GM works closely with the coaching staff on all such matters, but with no apparent front man, head coach Leslie Frazier ultimately becomes tasked with explaining all moves and team ideology when he should be doing other things.

This cloak of unaccountability has helped to gather the underwhelming roster the Vikings now have. It seemed that Brad Childress was more of a head coach/GM than Frazier, but whoever is judging the talent on this roster is clearly failing.

Find Three or Four Starters in Every Draft

No one player is going to turn around a franchise (at least no one player not named Andrew Luck).

Vikings fans who've been zeroing in on the second overall pick for the past couple of weeks felt a lot of angst Thursday when news out of Los Angeles was that USC junior tackle Matt Kalil is leaning towards returning to play his senior season. 

While Kalil would have looked great as the Vikings left tackle for years to come, on the bright side, a team like the Vikings, with so many holes to fill, really can't go wrong with their first-round pick.

Depending on where they pick and what underclassmen enter the draft, the Vikings will have plenty of options: taking a receiver, taking a defensive back, taking an offensive lineman or trading back for an extra pick or two.

First-round picks certainly haven't been the problem for Minnesota over the last decade.

What's crippled the Vikings has been their inability to draft well after the first round and not being able to find any undrafted free agents. Over 40 players (out of 180) in the last two Super Bowls were undrafted free agents.

The Vikings talent level just isn't where it needs to be and the first place to start fixing that is in the draft.

Spend Wisely on Free Agents

The Vikings obviously have holes to fill all over their roster. They won't be able to fill them all in the draft, so they'll have to go out and sign a free agent or two that can provide immediate help.

Free agent signings can be a tricky thing, as illustrated this year by the Philadelphia Eagles, who spent like crazy in the offseason only to become perhaps the most disappointing team in the NFL.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but you would assume the Eagles probably regret spending $60 million to get Nnamdi Asomugha for five years. He's played well for the Eagles, but certainly hasn't been the missing piece for a Super Bowl team.

On the other hand, Philadelphia did very well in signing Jason Babin to a more reasonable five-year deal for $28 million.

Depending on what the Vikings are able to get in the draft, they'll have to grab a starter or two via free agency. A big wide receiver to play opposite of Percy Harvin seems to be the most likely target for Minnesota—and plenty will be available, including Vincent Jackson, Pierre Garcon and Stevie Johnson.

Fix the Offensive Line

Football fanatics of all stripes, fans, pundits, prognosticators, etc, will always argue about what the most important part of a football team is. As league trends come and go, as long as you don't say kicker or punter, you can make a compelling argument.

As the NFL inarguably grows into a more quarterback-friendly league, the old adage that the game is won in the trenches is as true as it ever was. If your quarterback doesn't have time to throw, he can't be that effective.

Every reasonable analysis of Vikings rookie quarterback Christian Ponder has come with the caveat, "especially considering the terrible offensive line he's working behind."

And considering the running room—or lack thereof—that Adrian Peterson had, you could make an argument that he was having his best season in the league before getting injured two weeks ago.

Center John Sullivan has been the Vikings' best lineman, and he's undersized. Steve Hutchinson might be a Hall of Famer some day, but his age is finally catching up to him.

The other three spots on the line have been way below average this year. The Vikings' best players are Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin, but they can't be as good as they can be without an improved offensive line. 

Fix the Secondary

The undefeated Green Bay Packers have 23 interceptions on the season. The Minnesota Vikings have six. The Vikings have gone seven straight games without an interception.

Opposing quarterbacks have completed 146 of 200 passes for 1,770 yards and 18 touchdowns since the Vikings have last picked off a pass. 

200 passes over seven games, you'd think they'd get one by accident in that time.

And while it's true that the Minnesota secondary has been decimated by injuries and their best pass defender, Chris Cook, has been suspended for most of the season pending legal issues, the truth is the Vikings secondary wasn't very good before all the injuries.

The team has tried to fix this area, drafting several defensive backs over the last five to six years, but too many of them have not proven to be NFL-caliber players.

Getting picked apart last week against Tim Tebow is one thing, but it was the countless breakdowns in coverage that were most concerning—it looked like a group that had just met before kickoff.

Keep Adrian Peterson Healthy

Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the NFL.

He's fast, strong, has excellent moves and runs as hard as any back in the league. And while running the ball might not be as important to winning in the current NFL, there is something to be said for having a talent like Peterson who can help sustain long drives and is also a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball.

The Vikings certainly have to teach Peterson the value of going down when it's prudent.

Peterson has fought too hard, too many times when there are no more yards to be had. It's a process that all long-lasting running backs have to learn at some point in their careers.

This is not to say that you don't fight for every yard when it's there, but sometimes it's just not there.

Peterson showed against Carolina this year what a valuable player he can be catching the ball out of the backfield, an area in which the Vikings have never utilized him enough.

Too often Peterson's touches become too predictable and it becomes a stacked defensive box against a weak Vikings offensive line—often giving Peterson absolutely nowhere to go.

The Vikings invested a lot of money in Peterson, so it would behoove them to protect him and use him as their most valuable commodity.

Maximize the Talents of Percy Harvin

Percy Harvin might be the most uniquely talented player in the NFL.

In his third year in the league, Harvin has been one of the most electric players since he arrived, and Vikings coaches have done a good job in finding many ways to get him the ball. 

Vikings fans have always been in agreement in one thing: they need to get the ball in Harvin's hands more.

Harvin is one of the few players in the league who you can honestly say is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, whether it be as a kick returner, receiver or running back. 

Extremely fast and powerful, Harvin is also blessed with that undefinable "it" factor that some runners have, an ability to run to away from trouble at every turn.

Injuries and migraine headaches have been the only thing that have been able to slow Harvin down, and with the migraines finally under control, Harvin is having his best season in the league and has been one of the few bright spots during the Vikings' dismal season.

Develop Christian Ponder into a Franchise Quarterback

We've said it over and over during Christian Ponder's rookie season: it's been hard to actually gauge how good Ponder has been considering the talent level around him. With four games left in the 2011 season, we've seen enough to know that the Vikings are willing to bet their future on Ponder.

He's shown almost everything you'd want from your quarterback while suffering through all the normal rookie growing pains.

He's only won one game so far, his pass percentage and quarterback rating are too low and he's committed some bad turnovers, but again, it's hard to say how much of that is on him and how much is on the talent and coaching around him.

On the positive side, Ponder has shown great athleticism, a good arm and enough smarts and guile to justify being the 12th pick in last spring's draft. He moves extremely well in and out of the pocket and has the presence of mind to know when to stand in and when to bail out of the pocket.

An offseason of working with his coaches and getting more familiar with his teammates' strengths and weaknesses will only help grow Ponder into the quarterback the Vikings hope to have under center for the next decade.

Fortify the Defensive Line and Linebacker Corps

The Vikings run defense is still one of the bright spots on the team, but at 2-10, that's like being a bright spot in Kim Kardashian's marriage. Without big Pat Williams in the middle of the line, the Vikings have dropped to 12th in the league against the run. 

Jared Allen has been a monster at defensive end and is headed to the Pro Bowl, but the other three spots on the defensive front have been spotty at best.

Kevin Williams missed two games with a suspension and only in the past few games has seemed like his normal self. Brian Robison has been an excellent pass rusher, but is a bit undersized against the run. The linebacker corps has been solid, if unspectacular. 

The Vikings need to add depth at both spots and need to find out what they might have in Everson Griffen. They need someone to step up and take over the tackle spot next to Williams, whether it be someone on the roster now, or someone added from the outside.

While the defensive line and linebackers are hardly the Vikings' weak spots, they need to add depth and playmakers at both spots.

Commit to Leslie Frazier or Move on This Winter

This is obviously the trickiest suggestion of the bunch. While it's true that Frazier was dealt a pretty bad hand to work with, the truth is he hasn't shown a lot to prove that he's the man for the job either.

Frazier is not a fire-and-brimstone type coach; he's cut more from the Tony Dungy cloth than that of Mike Tomlin or Jim Harbaugh. What Vikings fans are dying to see, though, is that Frazier is in control—that he's in charge of the game and has the respect of his players.

The decision-making has been erratic at best, from the signing of Donovan McNabb and the hiring of his offensive and defensive coordinators, to his in-game coaching and adjustments.

In Minnesota it seems that half the town is in the "you have to give him some time" camp, and the other half is in the "he's in way over his head" camp.

Someone in the organization (hopefully a new GM) is going to have to make that determination this offseason and the quicker, the better.

As of now the sentiment within the Vikings camp is that Frazier isn't going anywhere, he's gotten the "vote of confidence" from ownership, but we all know how fast that can change if the team finishes 2-14.