Monday, August 6, 2012

32 in 32: Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings
Read the introduction here
Read the Rams preview here

2011 Record: 3-13

Key Acquisitions: John Carlson, Lex Hilliard, Jerome Simpson, Devin Aromashodu
Key Departures: Ryan Longwell

The offense is terrible, the defense is okay, but not very good. This team is terrible. It's going to hurt just talking about them. Say hello to the future Los Angeles Vikings!

Offense
Christian Ponder is bad. When he was drafted, I felt it was a gigantic reach, and he sure showed that last season. He throws a lot of interceptions and he absorbs a lot of hits. Usually, that's a product of the offensive line, but for him, it's because he holds the ball way too long. The weirdest part of this is that his backup, Joe Webb has showed that he's actually pretty good. The bits and pieces that I've seen of him show that he is most likely better than Ponder. This is a lost cause, good luck with that Minnesota.

Adrian Peterson is coming off of an injury, and while I expect him to recover, there's a possibility that he will be a diminished version of himself. If he's anything less than purely amazing, this team's offense is going to be unwatchable.

The wide receivers aren't very good either. Percy Harvin is not a #1 receiver. He's best out of the slot, and he's going to get the defensive attention of a #1 target. He's going to be rendered ineffective by the double teams. Behind him, they have Michael Jenkins, Jerome Simpson, and Devin Aromashodu. Jenkins is decent, and Simpson can flip over guys. That's going to be cringe-worthy.

GM Rick Spielman decided to give John Carlson a 5 year/$25 million contract. That's just stupid. He was considered average, on the Seahawks. If anyone is less than great on the Seahawks, they're not worth a contract. The Vikings lost Visanthe Shiancoe to free agency, and Carlson is their starting TE this year. Yeah.

Phil Loadholt and Matt Kalil are very good offensive tackles. Other than that, nothing of note of this offensive line.

Defense
The defensive line is still really good because of Jared Allen and Kevin Williams. Williams is a space eater and attracts attention from opposing lines. Allen will get after the QB like he always has. He's still overrated, but he's very good. If he gets double teamed, and Williams is getting double teamed, then the rest of these guys have free lanes to attack, and that's going to be a killer in the pass rush or whenever the ball is run right up the middle. Expect opposing offenses to try quick passes and a lot of outside runs against this team.

Chad Greenway is the only good linebacker here. Let's just move on.

Chris Carr and Antoine Winfield are both okay cornerbacks. Blah.

Special Teams
Good punter in Chris Kluwe. No Ryan Longwell this year so get ready for Blair Walsh. Chris Carr is a really fast guy, so he could be a dangerous returner.

1-15, 4th in AFC North

*NOTE* I've never in my life predicted a team to be this bad. They could go 0-16 and it wouldn't at all surprise me.




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