Five Simple Steps to Success

Despite a mediocre 2007 season and "expert predictions" sending the Vikings once again to the NFC North cellar, I believe that the purple uniforms from Minnesota have a bright future ahead of them.

If they don't screw it up.

For the record, I am one of the few Tarvaris Jackson supporters left out there. I believe that he is the quarterback for 2008 and beyond. Because of my support, I will not address the so-called "quarterback need" of the Vikings.

Just in case Vikings owner Zygi Wilf forgets everything at the start of the free agency period, I have taken the liberty of creating a five-step guide to success for his, and your benefit.

1. Draft safety Kenny Phillips...by whatever means necessary

They need Phillips. They need Phillips badly. The Vikings were dead last in 2007 defending the pass. They allowed the opposing quarterback to throw an average of 264.1 yards a game. Pathetic! Dwight Smith is high on methamphetamines on every other down, and Darren Sharper is 32 years old and has lost a step.

While cornerback may also be a situation to be addressed in the future, Cedric Griffin and Antoine Winfield aren't bad right now.

I know there are bigger needs than the secondary (namely: wide receiver), but the 2008 NFL Free Agent class is surprisingly weak in the secondary department.

I realize that we will most likely have to trade up in the first round if we expect to draft Phillips, but they need to do whatever they need to in order to have a shot at the young safety.

I wouldn't be totally devastated if Minnesota drafted someone like wide receiver DeSean Jackson. I like Jackson, he's a good kid that shows promise in the NFL. (Even though at 166 lbs he looks more like a model...an extremely fast model...)I think the better plan is covering the wide receiver need via free agency, rather than through the draft. There are better wide receiver options in free agency, such as Bryant Johnson, Bernard Berrian, Devery Henderson, Drew Carter, and possibly Randy Moss.

If the Vikings choose to address the secondary on draft day, they will not have to worry about lack of options when dealing with wide receivers later.

2. Sign wide receiver Bryant Johnson to a cheap three-year deal

Johnson has gone almost unnoticed during his five years in Arizona. Amidst hot shots Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, Johnson has quietly been putting up solid numbers. He has scored at least once every year since he was drafted in 2003, including four scores in 2006.

Johnson probably won't re-sign with the Cardinals, as he will be looking for a different offensive system. He hopes for a team where he can be at least the No. 2 option. If Wilf has any sense at all, he should at least start negotiating with Johnson.

Johnson would be the perfect compliment to Sidney Rice. They will both produce right away, but imagine them two or three years from now. Could we be looking at a future Harrison-Wayne combination?

Minnesota has given the speedy yet clumsy Troy Williamson the green light to talk to teams where he might like to be traded. The Vikings might even be able to salvage a top draft pick out of the lackadaisical receiver.

3. Sign an offensive lineman

There are plenty of offensive line free agents available this year, and the Vikings would be idiotic not to pick somebody up.

Viking's personal chief Rick Spielman is on the record saying that Minnesota may be more aggressive this offseason.

"We may be more aggressive if we feel there is a blue-chip guy out there that we go out and take a swing at. We were pretty aggressive trying to go after some guys last year. But also I think there comes a point where you have to [say] enough ... a breaking point."

I don't know how aggressive they plan on being, but almost anything would be better than the annual hibernation Minnesota goes through.

I would like to see a player like Flozell Adams, Jake Scott, Max Starks, David Steward, or Ruben Brown with Minnesota next year. Any of these players would solve our problem, as it isn't crucial whether or not we sign a veteran or rookie.

We can always draft somebody else in the coming years when the Vikings are a superpower...right?

4. Sign a defensive end...or tackle

With the recent news of Kenechi Udeze's leukemia, Minnesota's already average defensive ends only got worse. With almost nobody left in the depths of the Vikings' roster, they need to find somebody to play along side Ray Edwards.

There aren't many good options available through free agency. Tommy Kelly is probably the best option, along with Justin Smith and veteran Mike Rucker. While one of these guys might help, the team may be better off securing this need in the draft.

Quentin Groves or Lawrence Jackson might make good second-round picks. If Calais Campbell, Derrick Harvey, Philip Merling, or Kentwan Balmer dropped to our slot in the second round, they would all be great options.

5. Don't touch either Adrian Peterson or Chester Taylor

Just leave them alone. Don't even offer Taylor the option of being traded if he wanted. I think he likes the "backup" role he has been given, but even if he doesn't, he is not moving.

I don't like the term "backup" at all. Taylor is not Minnesota's backup running back. He might be the second starter, but not the backup. Most of the time he has just as many carries as Peterson, with maybe a few yards and scores less than his rookie counterpart.

As long as both Peterson and Taylor are somehow in the backfield in 2008, they almost guarantee the Vikings at least seven wins by themselves.

Do I really believe that Minnesota can reach the Super Bowl in 2008? Probably not. I do believe that they can go fairly deep into the playoffs, though.

That is, of course, unless Minnesota suffers through another devastatingly quiet offseason.

Progress Update

With a fourth of the 2007 season in the books, and the Viking's sitting in last place in the NFC North at 1-3, it's time to review. (Thanks go to Nick & Nick for the idea)

Passing - Offense

Kelly Holcomb
35-67, 427 yards, 52.2% CMP %, 1 TD, 1 INT, 70.9 Rating

Tarvaris Jackson
30-56, 329 yards, 53.6% CMP %, 1 TD, 5 INT, 40.0 Rating

I realize that some people are backing Holcomb in the fight for the starting job, but my vote goes with Jackson. As I said in my last post, I've given up on this season. With my sights set towards 2008, I think that the best thing for the Viking's would be to let Jackson have as much experience as possible. In '08, he needs to see more teams and just see more action in general.

Now to the actual progress on our offensive passing game. Jackson gets a D, mostly because of his 5 picks, but also because of his pathetic rating, 40.0. Mewelde Moore has a quarterback rating of 39.6, for throwing one incomplete pass. Kelly Holcomb gets a C, his rating is not pretty, 70.9, but his completion rate is decent, 52.2%. Holcomb could be better, but he's not the one screwing up the statistics...however he has been throwing key interceptions at crucial times. This has been what gives the low grade. Our quarterbacks need help, and I was very surprised in the fact that the Viking's didn't land Leftwich. Oh well, it's all about '08 after all...(that's what I said last year, but I'm no ledger keeper...)

Rushing - Offense

Adrian Peterson
76 Att., 383 yards, 5.0 avg., 1 TD, 1 Fumble

Mewelde Moore
10 Att., 71 yards, 7.1 avg.

Chester Taylor
11 Att., 58 yards, 5.3 avg.

When Taylor got injured in week one I could feel the weight dropped on Peterson's shoulders. I didn't think he could deliver, but boy was I surprised. Peterson, I give him an A, has accounted for about 50% of the Viking's total offense. He has scored 12 of the Viking's 67 total points, and has 65 more caries than the next most, 11 with Taylor, who I'm giving a C, only because I haven't seen him all that much, but that long run against the Pack was impressive. I'm not sure if Peterson will be able to continue to carry half the offensive load, but Taylor is back and ready to help. Moore, who probably would be a starter on other teams, gets an A, because he's only ran the ball 10 times it's hard to really judge him, but he's averaging 7.1 ypc. Amazing.

Receiving - Offense

Bobby Wade
15 rec, 173 yards, 11.5 avg, 1 fumble

Adrian Peterson
9 rec, 166 yards, 18.4 avg, 1 TD

Visanthe Shiancoe
9 rec, 107 yards, 11.9 avg

Sidney Rice
10 rec, 106 yards, 10.6 avg, 1 TD

Troy Williamson
6 rec, 65 yards, 10.8 avg

Once again, Peterson, A, is shouldering the load here, with the help of a surprise; Bobby Wade. I'll give Wade an A, only because both of our QB's seem a little 'out of it' sometimes. Wade not only has been our punt return man, but our 'stud' receiver. Shaincoe, B, who I'd thought wouldn't be given much of a chance has 9 catches. High for a team who relies on the run as much as we do. For Wade to have 15 in pretty darn impressive. Sidney Rice, C, hasn't really lived up to the hype I've heard about him, but I'm sure he'll improve. Williamson, C, seems to have improved his slippery hands habit and is doing not a great job, but an okay job. The thing is, he and everyone else needs to step up big time if the Viking's want a shot at...well, anything. (Except a good draft pick in '08)


Defense

Antoine Winfield
28 tak, 1 tloss, 1 inc, 1 TD

E.J. Henderson
21 tak, 1.5 sacks, 5 tloss, 1 ff

Chad Greenway
21 tak, 1 ff

All-in-all our defense is doing splendid. Winfield, Sharper, Smith, and K. Williams, A, are leading the way with picks, with 5 total. Our run stopping Supermen in the Williams', A+, are doing a great job, holding opponents to 62.2 rushing yards a game. The only fault with the defense, if any, is the pass rushing. We are averaging only 3 sacks a game, which seems low (and is) after the Giants-Eagles Sunday night game. Henderson and Udeze, B, need to step it up and become play makers.

However, our pass defense has been pathetic. That's all that needs to be said. The main reason we're losing games is because of our passing defense, it's just that simple. Instead of ranking every individual player, I'll just give the pass defense unit a team score of a D. It's becoming a cliche, but they need to step it up if we want to contend.

Special Teams

Ryan Longwell
6/7 FG, 7/7 PAT, 25 points

Chris Kluwe
20 punts, 889 yards, 44.5 average, 70 yd avg, 2 TB, 12 inside 20

Longwell, A, has been lights-out, almost. He missed one FG in overtime in Detroit. One that would've put the Viking's at 2-1, not 1-2. It was over 50 yards, and Longwell isn't getting any younger, so I'll give him that one. He has 25 points on the year, 37% of our total; 67. Kluwe, C, hasn't been lights-out. The only reason he has 12 punts inside the 20 yard line is because so often the Viking's get going on a drive to about the opponents 45 yard line, then give it to Kluwe to punt it away. 44.5 avg yards/punt isn't bad, but it certainly isn't good, either. The Viking's rank 11th in average punt length in the NFL right now. The good spot is the touch backs, or lack of. With him punting the ball at about mid-field, I'd rather have him get it inside the 20 than inside the end zone.


Most NFL Power Rankings have the Viking's on the bottom of their lists. At 1-3, I can't argue. I'll accept that the refs lost the Green Bay game, but we didn't play as good as they played, and they deserved the win. If Longwell could've made that FG in overtime in Detroit as well, needless to say we'd be 3-1 on the year, and people would pay us more attention. But, being the pessimist that I am, I'll just start saying now, "There's always next year."

2008 Draft Here We Come!

Sorry I haven't been around in a while, something personal came up. But now I'm back!

Another day, another Viking loss. Anyone else see a trend here? I don't expect anything different from the Purple People in two weeks in Chicago.

Seriously, though, I really can't see how we can win a game with the way we've been playing. Holcomb overthrowing Williamson on a sure-fire TD, Peterson getting banged up in the middle, Holcomb attempting to stand in the pocket for as long as possible before he has to shuffle pass to no one in particular. I just don 't see us winning under Childress or Holcomb. Wolf will have to seriously look at the management of this team and consider his options this off-season (when he's not contemplating who to draft with his top 5 draft pick).

On a good note, though, is the fact that we're almost given a good player next year, no matter who we draft. There are still lots of teams worse than us record-wise, but none with more problems than the Purple People Eaters.

About next years draft; people are saying Brian Brohm will be the way to go for us, now that our Tarvaris experiment failed. Well, it hasn't, yet, so we can get somebody else. Not McFadden, or any other RB or QB. Other than that, we have needs at every other position. The Viking's will get much needed help from the college world.

I don't know about you, but I've already discounted this season, and am looking forward to the next when we have new rookies, hopefully new management, and a clean slate.

Jackson will probably start our next game at Chicago, which is after our Week 5 bye. This is a great thing, it'll let Jackson get more accustomed to massive blitzes (though maybe not in Chicago), something he will need to get a handle on if he even wants to dream about starting in the NFL.

So, for now, go Viking's, but don't screw our prime chance at a good draft pick!

Offense Needs to Step Up Against Lions

Well, the Viking's are in Detroit and ready to rumble. The Lions looked awesome offensively last week, as did the Viking's defense. However, the Lion's defense was shaky, as was the Minnesota offense.

What a match-up this should be!

The Viking's should be able to contain the Lion's to three scores, and maybe produce one or two of their own. This leaves the game in the air for the Minnesota offense. The game is up in the air for them to win or lose. If they can muster up even two touchdowns they should be able to come back home with a win. What do we need for that to happen, though?

Firstly, we need Peterson to follow up the great performance he had last week. He had over 100 yards, (including that fumble recovery, which I think was the highlight of the night for him.) Also, we need someone else to step up and make some plays. My preference would be Williamson, but Wade or Rice would do nicely. This shouldn't be all that hard to do, as the Lion's gave up over 300 passing yards to the Raider's last week, proving that their secondary is in shambles.

Our defense should be able to contain the mighty Lion offense. Tatum Bell averaged 5.8 yards per carry last week, which may force the Viking's to put more people in the box, thus leaving us more vulnerable to the long ball. With both DT'sWilliams basically taking on the run game themselves, this leaves DE's Udezi and Edwards free to make Kitna's life miserable, (and to force outside runners back inside to the black hole. Greenway needs to inprove this week, and I hope he lost all of his jitters in week 1. He needs to live up to the hype that is real NFL football. Look for Sharper, Griffith, and Winfield to play their hearts out.

Once again, this game is up in the air. It's all up to the Viking's, as this game could go either way. If the offense shows up, we should bag Detroit often and early. If the offense struggles, so struggle the Vikings.

Looking ahead to '08

Not discounting this season at all, (we still got a shot at 16-0, baby!), yet, but with the recent extension of Williams, I started looking to the future. Obviously our needs lie almost entirely in offensive line, wide receivers, and defensive backs. Let's start with the offensive line.

Max Starks, OL, Steelers
A top tackle with great size. He's listed at 6'7'' and 337, and he's only 25 years old. He'll be at the very top of the free agent class, and many teams will be interested, but if the Viking's could sign him to a long contract he could anchor the Viking's line for many years to come.

Alan Faneca, OL, Steelers
Another Steeler leaving Pittsburgh, Faneca is very unhappy about his contract. If he doesn't sign an extention soon, he may be the most coveted player in the free agent pool.

Reuben Brown, OL, Bears
Another great option, Brown has experience, but is rather old.

Defensive Backs

Domonique Foxworth, DB, Broncos
With the recent signing of corner back Bly, the Broncos really have no need for Foxworth except in the occational nickel formation. He's very skilled, fast, and young. He's only 24, so if the Viking's could pick him up, it would greatly boost a devastatingly average pass defense.

Mike Doss, DB, Vikings
Depending on how he does, the Viking's should try to resign him.

Wide Receivers

L.J. Smith, TE, Eagles
Very young with great skill, Smith will be deeply pursued this offseason, but with no real reliable

Viking's D beats out Falcons 14-3

Final score; 14-3, Vikings. (Oh, yeah, the Vike's offense added another 10 points to make it 24-3, but who's looking at that?)

Well, it happened. Joey Harrington was just plain old Joey Harrington. The Viking's sacked him six times, and got two interceptions returned for touchdowns. This game was a battle of field position, and for the five times Atlanta got the ball they had to start behind their 20-yard line. Once, they started at the three, but got to field goal range. (Their rookie kicker missed a 44 yarder - his first NFL kick) Atlanta got their only score on an easy field goal in the fourth quarter.

On the Viking side of the ball, things weren't as bright. Jackson had a decent fantasy day (if anyone actually drafted him) - going 13-23 with 163 yards and one touchdown, a gift from AD on a simple screen pass turned 60 yard TD run. Most of Jackson's completions were on basic flat outs, and the like. (Even though he sometimes threw the ball at some wideouts feet) When he did throw the ball down field he usually overthrew by 2 or 3 yards. Jackson will improve, and so will Chad Greenway.

When I attended the game I was wearing a Greenway jersey. I almost got booed...he was that rusty. He got frozen when decided whether to rush on a run play, or hang back on a pass play. He didn't read plays very well, and missed a few key tackles. I don't blame him (or my new jersery), as it's his first NFL regular season game. Look for him to improve.

Chester Taylor left the game in the first quarter with a bruised hip, now a strained oblique, but is expected to return in Detroit next Sunday.

I'll be back later this week with another update regarding the Lions game. Stay tuned!

Vikings Ready to Start Season Against Falcons

It's finally here. Thursday marks the beginning of the 2007-'08 season. The game between the Colts and the Saints should be a great game to watch not only because of the great teams, but also because of the fantasy inpact it has on basically everybody. But the game I'm more worried about is between the Minnesota Vikings and the Atlanta Falcons.

Both of these teams have serious QB issues. The Falcons, as you know, lost the face of their team when Vick was suspended for the season by Goodell. He will be replaced by Joey Harrington, a career backup. The Vikings, however, have a different scenario entirely. After Culpepper left for Miami, we put our trust and hope in the 'ol vet, Brad Johnson. Now that he's gone, we put our trust and hope in the rookie with good college stats, Tarvaris Jackson.

The Viking's QB situation is in pretty good shape because Jackson is strong and athletic, but just doesn't know how to play at the NFL to the best of his ability yet. The Viking's will try to hide it with their double-wammy backfield. In Taylor and Peterson the Vike's should succeed in that department fairly well...but you can't just run the ball the whole game. Jackson will be faced with third and long situations where his team is counting on him to deliver.

When the Falcon's have possession of the pigskin, seriously look for a Viking score. The Vike's had the number one rush defense last year with a blitz-tenative defensive coordinator in Mike Tomlin. Well, Tomlin's gone, and Leslie Frazier is ready to unleash his powerful defense. This should put tons of pressure on Joey Harrington to pass the ball, something he might not be all that comfortable doing yet. However, when he does throw, look for Atlanta's veteran recevers to make some highlight plays on Minnesota's average secondary.

When the Viking's have possession of the football, look for Bevell, (who is taking over playcalling this year), to attempt to establish the run game early. With both Taylor and Peterson and Minnesota's stacked offensive line, both RB's should have no problem running between tackles or making the turn upfield on the perimeter. However, Atlanta defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer knows of Minnesota's QB struggles and will throw all kinds of blitzs and pressure on Tarvaris, forcing him to throw the ball. Viking recievers are young but fast, so look for them to stretch the field and look for Jackson to make some deep throws early in the game. If there's nothing downfield for Jackson look for him to dump something to Taylor or Peterson underneath.

This game should be electrifying. It will receive national attention, as this is the 'Vickless' Falcons first regular season game. I will be attending this game, and can't wait. Go Vike's!