Pondering the Future

It is pretty hard to believe that only two years ago, the Minnesota Vikings were one play away from the Super Bowl. Since then its been a comedy of errors only comparable to Shane Falco's epic collapse in the '98 Sugar Bowl. The only way to look to the future, is to understand how we got here.




The biggest misconception about why the Vikings have dropped off so steeply, is that they were an old team. In my estimation, they had three players who were, "old." Brett Favre, Pat Williams, and Antoine Winfield. But the loss of two of these players, and the steady decline of one went a long way to why this team is the laughing stock of the NFC North.  Favre's loss hurts more than any other change to this team. Of course, change is inevitable when you sign a 40 year old quarterback. Up until 2009, these had been the Vikings Starters in only the previous FOUR years: Daunte Culpepper, Brad Johnson, Tarvaris Jackson, Kelly Holcolmb, Brooks Bollinger, Gus Frerotte.  The crazier thing, is that the Vikings actually won the NFC North in 2008 under the leadership of someone who knocked himself out of a game for bashing his head into a wall, and someone who knocked himself out of a game because he didn't wear a mouthguard, because he didn't think it was "cool." When the Vikes added Favre, the offense finally clicked. Although Adrian Peterson didn't have his best year statistically, but the threat of him in the backfield forced defenses to routinely bring an eight man in the box, which allowed Favre to go to work.

The loss and decline of Pat Williams was devastating. It is not often that a loss of a defensive lineman would go as far to cripple a defense like the loss of Pat Williams has done to the Vikings. In 2009, the Vikings had a stout defense, but it was by no means shutdown. They relied on the best defensive line in football to make up for a mediocre secondary. The law firm that was, "Williams, Edwards, and Allen" would stop the run so well, that teams would usually ditch it all together by the end of the first quarter. Even though the secondary was average at best, rendering a team one dimensional was a huge advantage to the defense. This also allowed one of the best pass rushers in the league Jared Allen to pin his ears back and go at the quarterback without worrying about run support.

Antoine Winfield, although still on the team, is a shell of his former self. In 2009 he was the glue that held the secondary together. He was the clear leader of the unit, one of the best cover two corners in the game, and was also an enormous help in run support.

Free agency hasn't been devastating to the Vikings like many predicted. The loss of Sidney Rice hurts, but he has done nothing in Seattle and is constantly injured. Brian Robison has slid right into Ray Edwards' very well. The move that hurt the Vikings the most was releasing Bryant McKinnie. At the time, I thought it was the right thing to do. But he has been back to his 2009 form with the Ravens, and the Vikes' o-line has been a civ. He was also the last remaining Viking to take a ride on the Love Boat.

Where to go now: There are three main areas of concern for the Vikings going forward. Offensive Line, a deep threat, and secondary. Our first round pick should address the wide receiver position. I still believe Percy Harvin is one of the best playmakers in the league, but he is most successful out of the slot, when he has a true number one receiver playing outside of him. When teams are able to put bracket coverage on him, he is pretty much rendered useless, especially when your next best option is Molasses Michael Jenkins. The Vikings should use their first pick on either Justin Blackmon or Alshon Jeffery. Not only would it help make the offense dynamic once again, but it would help the development of Christian Ponder exponentially.

The Vikings secondary is a bunch of blundering fools. I'm not convinced a single one of them could start on any other NFL team, or a CFL team. If they aren't getting burned on straight go routes, they are either injured or in jail. The offensive line isn't much better. That is why I would use all remaining picks in the 2012 draft on secondary and O-line. Recent d-backs and o-linemen have been busts, and it is easier to get value in later rounds at those positions.

The jury is clearly still out on Christian Ponder, but I still have high hopes for him. He may be 1-5 as a starter, but keep in mind that two of those losses were against the Packers, and the other three Adrian Peterson was hurt. And one of those was against Tebow, who can't be beatHe has demonstrated the arm strength necessary to be a successful NFL quarterback. His interceptions, for the most part, have been rookie mistakes. They seem excusable, unlike Tarvaris' INTs, when he looked like a chicken with its head cut off attempting to play quarterback. If Ponder can learn from these, there is no doubt he can be a franchise quarterback.

This team has enough young talent to rebuild quickly. Minnesota still has the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson, a great playmaker in Percy Harvin, arguably the best defensive end in the league, and an up and coming linebacker in Chad Greenway. Now, if Christian can just answer the question were all pondering, and they can get the secondary and offensive line up to a competitive level. They still have the core talent to be competitive for years.