Monday, August 15, 2011

NFL 32 in 32: Minnesota Vikings

Almost everything that could go wrong for the Vikings last year, did go wrong for them. Brett Favre didn't live up to the hype, the team had plenty of injuries, and their stadium collapsed. Now, they have the QB many thought they should have acquired before, and a new coach, plus a new roof. Can they compete for a playoff spot?

What's New: The QB situation is brand new. The rookie Christian Ponder will have to wait a bit for his time to start, as he is now behind Donovan McNabb. McNabb of course had his horrible season in Washington, and now he looks to rebound in a better offense for him, and a better environment for him too. The problem is though, that the Vikings lost a pretty big weapon in Sidney Rice. They will try to replace him with Michael Jenkins from Atlanta and Devin Aromashodu from Chicago. They will have to replace a lot in Sidney Rice, and no one knows how well these other 2 receivers will fit in. Percy Harvin will now have a bigger role to play as well. The offensive line got an uptick too with the addition of Charlie Johnson from Indianapolis.

Biggest Strength: They still have Adrian Peterson, who is one of the best running back's in the NFL. He wasn't fully up to speed last year, but this year he well should be. The group of receivers isn't as good as last year, but is still pretty good with the additions talked about before. The offensive line is also a good veteran group too, and they will need to be good to keep Donovan McNabb off his can. On defense, their linebacking corps is very impressive, with guys like Chad Greenway, E.J Henderson, and Jasper Brinkley.

Biggest Weakness: Their defensive line took a hit with the losses of Pat Williams, and especially Ray Edwards, and with only a few players that are still big impacts on the defensive line, they may not rush the passer as much as they are used to, or as well as they are used to. And, the secondary is also an issue, even though they have good players. The secondary unit overall is still going to cause some problems on the back end for that defense.

Outlook: They play in a very tough division, and they will also have a tough schedule to deal with as well. They have a good overall team, but they don't have the great group of talent to overcome teams like Green Bay, and others who they will be competing with for a wild card spot. They will be better than last year, but likely not good enough for a playoff spot.

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