Status of the Vikings

By Ryan Ebert, Ryan@nflen.com

     Three first-round draft picks was one of the biggest news on draft day.  Sharrif Floyd, defensive tackle from Florida; Xavier Rhodes, cornerback from Florida State; and Cordarrellle Patterson, wide receiver from Tennessee all look to make a big influence in the Vikings organization.  General Manager Rick Spielman did a fine job of finding talent to help not only for the next few seasons, but also the distant future.

     First, the defense, Minnesota was seventeenth in the league in total yards allowed on this side of the ball.  Not great, but not horrible.  They were twenty-fourth in pass defense something that definitely needs improvement, and eleventh on run defense.  This team has always been stout defending the run in the last decade, but the main focus this year for defensive coordinator Alan Williams is to get improvement from being the twenty-fourth passing defense to somewhere in the teens at least.  This defense has plenty of potential that can help give the ball to the offense and Adrian Peterson for them to score more points.

     The secondary starring second-year pro Harrison Smith is one that has young talent.  Josh Robinson and Chris Cook start at cornerback with backups A.J. Jefferson, rookie Xavier Rhodes who may become a starter, newcomer Jacob Lacey, and Marcus Sherels.  There is nice depth here, but no name here makes quarterbacks worried of throwing their direction.  Veteran Antoine Winfield was the only guy that did that and he left the team to go to Seattle.  Harrison Smith teams up with Jamarca Sanford at safety.  Behind them are Mistral Raymond, and Robert Blanton.  Not great depth according to talent at all concerning this position.  If these players can stay healthy and work as a unit, they will be capable of good things this season.

     One of the biggest acquisitions for this team was linebacker Desmond Bishop, who came over from the Packers.  He will join a group that includes Pro Bowler Chad Greenway, Erin Henderson, Marvin Mitchell , Audie Cole, rookie Gerald Hodges, and Tyrone McKenzie.  The starters are solid, but like the secondary, is weak in depth as talent goes.  The starting group of linebackers is one that I can trust to make plays and make plays when it is needed.

     Defensive line is where the Vikings have dominated for the last decade.  Kevin Williams, the longtime Pro Bowl defensive tackle with Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen lead this group.  The other two starters are Letroy Guion and Brian Robison, and Fred Evans, Everson Griffin, Christian Ballard, newcomer Lawrence Jackson, and rookie Sharrif Floyd make up the backups.  Defensive tackle has fair depth that has played well in the NFL at times, but the backups at defensive end is feeble.  The entire group though is great and able to be one of the best in the league.

     On offense, the biggest news was the signing of Greg Jennings from rival team Green Bay.  Jennings will be an immediate starter on this team that also has Jerome Simpson, rookie Cordarrelle Patterson, Jarius Wright, and converted quarterback Joe Webb.  The talent here is solid.  A veteran in Jennings, a speedster in Simpson, a playmaker in Patterson, and more that can benefit this team.  The wide receiver corps led by Jennings will need to work many many times with the quarterback as this team was second to last in passing offense.  Therefore working with the quarterback will improve the likeliness of more consistent and bigger plays for the upcoming season.

     Tight end is set with Pro Bowler Kyle Rudolph and John Carlson.  These two will likely be the main targets of the quarterback as these two can make plays all over the field.  Rhett Ellison is behind them.  I look forward to seeing many throws to these guys during the year.

     The offensive line consists of Pro Bowl left tackle Matt Kalil, left guard Charlie Johnson, John Sullivan at center, Brandon Fusco at right guard, and Phil Loadholt at right tackle.  This is a substantial group that helped Adrian Peterson reach 2,097 yards last season.  Joe Berger, newcomer from Indianapolis Seth Olsen, DeMarcus Love, Kevin Murphy, Jeff Baca, and Brandon Keith back will be backing the starters.  Though I listed five, only three will be kept during the season as eight lineman will be on the roster.  The tough part is who will they be?  None of the names stand out really.  The starting group is a good one, but still needs to get better at pass protection to keep their quarterback clean.

     At quarterback, there is some news that last year's starter Christian Ponder is facing competition with Matt Cassell who came over from the Chiefs.  In the first preseason game Ponder looked decent at best, and Cassell looked in charge of his offense.  Ponder will likely be the starting quarterback when the season begins, but he needs to step up in order to keep his job and earn the respect of the fans.  There were even a few times when Peterson ran for more yards than Ponder threw last season!  That is unacceptable as a quarterback.  Ponder needs to take more of the reigns and make better decisions as a quarterback throwing the ball.  When that happens, this Minnesota Vikings team will be dangerous and a top notch offense.

 
     The face of this team, Adrian Peterson has done great things for this franchise and hopes to see this team make the Super Bowl and earn the Lombardi Trophy.  Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Rhodes, and Cordarrlle Patterson will do their best to help Peterson see his hopes come true.  Maybe not this year, but there's no telling this team can do it.  They were in the playoffs last year on the sweat and blood of Peterson alone as he carried this team on his back and named MVP of the league.  If this team can work together as a unit and have the offense help the defense and the defense help the offense, then we will see a dangerous team this upcoming season.