The 2007 Minnesota Vikings Thread

[FSUViking]

I'm shocked that an ex-Eagle would find their way unto this team. Shocked I tell you.

[NFL_WIZARD]

The Lions have a weak secondary....is Tavarius able to exploit it , or will the Vikes run 40 times?
Honest answers please.....AND, do you think the awesome Vikings D can stop the explosive Lions O?

[JCD]

Originally Posted by NFL_WIZARD

The Lions have a weak secondary....is Tavarius able to exploit it , or will the Vikes run 40 times?
Honest answers please.....AND, do you think the awesome Vikings D can stop the explosive Lions O?

You always have to consider the competition.

The Vikings defense wasn't as good as they looked last week, they played the inept Falcons. The Lions offense wasn't as good as it looked last week, they played the inept Raiders.

Lions actually really match up well against the Vikes. Vikes are near impossible to beat on the ground now-days. But the Lions don't even bother to run most weeks. The Vikes pass defense is suspect. While they made efforts to improve the pass-rush, it still remains to be seen if those have paid off.

What we do know is that the Vkes offense looked wretched. Even against a marginal Falcons unit. Peterson showed the only life they had, so I suspect we will see more of the same. Or at least should. We thought that last year heading into Buffalo, but Childress decided to pass 45+ times instead.

If the Vikes slow the game down, run 40+ times and keep Jackson's attempts at passing to a minimum, they can win. If the Lions get 3 scores on the board, they have the game locked up.

[NFL_WIZARD]

Ok JCD, my money is on the Lions. ($2 league, wins $50)....the Lions will score 20+....

[bletchley]

Is Chestor expected to miss this weekend's game?

[JCD]

Mid-season update:

Coaching- Ug. Who thought it could get worse? Childress is proving an unmitigated disaster. Year One, he had the excuse of being a 1st time head coach. Now he has none. More so, this is now almost entirely his team. There are only a handful of starters remaining from the Tice era (with almost all of them on the defense). From inexcusably starting Taylor over Peterson, to benching Peterson the 2nd half of games after notching >100 yards by halftime to deactivating Moore (by far our best kick returner) to the Williamson fiasco, it is clear that Childress is in way over his head and showing no signs of improvement.

Bevell at Offensive Coordinator has been bad. Write this down: run off left tackel, run off left tackle, 5-yard dump off to an underneath WR. Once in a while, mist up the dump-off with a draw play and replace the second off-tackle run with a fly route (typically incomplete). Congrats, you have now mastered the Vikings offesive gameplan. Tecmo Bowl had more complex play scripting. Vikes need to compensate with their lack of talent with creative play calling. Has Bevell ever hear off a screen pass? An end around once in a while? How about a quick hit to the TE now and then? Vikes are painfulyl predictable in their play calling.

Frazier has been marginal to poor. For the most part, he plays very vanilla schemes. He mixes things up with an occasional blitz from Henderson (or on rare occasions Leber), but that is about it. We run an odd mix of both Cover-2 and man-up coverages while effectively executing neither. The Williams Wall with Henderson behind them makes running almost impossible, but the passing defense has gotten considerably worse this year. For some bizarre reason, Frazier experimented with Zone Blitzing (dropping Pat/Kevin Williams back in coverage; occasionally just rushing 3) to disasterous results.

Hey, at least special teams has been decent. Then again, it better when you devote 8 game day spots to special teams players.

Overall: F A mess. And that is about the nicest thing you can say about it.

QB- Worst in the league. Easily. Jackson has shown no progress and is injury prone to boot. He is project at best, not a QB of the future. Holcomb showed why the Eagles and Bills were fine with letting him go, he looks done in the NFL. Bollinger has been the best. That is a pathetic statement when an NFL Bubble player who would struggle to stick as a 3rd stringer for most teams appears to give you your best chance at winning.

Overall- F This putrid pile of QB is, by far, the worst in franchise history.

RB- Hey! Something positive to talk about. Peterson is an all-world runner. The rare combination of speed, power, vision and anger that you rarely see. He is a franchise-maker and already warrenting comparisons to the best in the league. Taylor has been solid behind him, but has again gotten nicked up. Moore, when he isn't deactivated, is a good kick returner and scat back. At FB, Richardson has lost a step, but remains competent. Dugan is the #2. He makes for a decent lead blocker, but marginal as a pass blocker and receiver.

Overall- A Only spot on the offense not in need of a total overhaul. Taylor may warrent a trade to help speed the rebuilding effort. Vikes are set here for the long haul.

WR- Bad. Wade is a slot guy with marginal speed, but could make for a poor-man's Bobby Engram. Rice is a very gifted athlete, he just needs to show that he is more than a jump ball and go route. Ferguson couldn't catch a cold. Williamson makes Ferguson look like Art Monk by comparison, his NFL career is in doubt. Allison has hardly played, time to at least see what he can do. All in all, this group lacks a single player that merits starter status. Half of them may not be in the NFL next year.

All that said, even when they could get open, the QB couldn't get them the ball. Either Bollinger would hang a rainbow in the air and let the defender catch up or Jackson would rifle the ball 3 yards behind the receiver.

Overall- D Rice is a prospect worth developing and Allison may have some potential while Wade is a serviable role player. The rest are just taking up space.

TE- Kleinsasser remains a mauling blocker. On a few occasions, he has buckled the denfender back onto their knees. He is a Bruener/Brady type now though and doesn't add much in the passing game. Shiancoe shows occasional flashes, but doesn't seem to have much of a feel for coverage. He can run routes and has speed at least. Competent blocker too.

Overall- C+ No go-to option here. Or reliable dump-off option should we dump the WCO. But great blocking and servicable.

OL- Lets focus on the positive, the left side has gelled into a great trio. Birk can't be left 1-on-1 with top DTs any more and McKinnie still can't handle the top-end edge rushers, but as a whole they are excellent. But the right side is horrific. Cook is a solid run blocker, but a liability in every other aspect. Penality prone and a turnstyle in the passing game. He also seems to get worse as the game wears on. He is the best of the right side (aka the Garbage Collection). Hicks lost his job. Herrera shows a mauling attitude, but not the talent. He gets overpowered and forced backwards. He is a bubble player. Johnson has barely stepped foot on the field, but probably should get a chance. Heck, he can't be any worse.

Overall- C+ The passive fan will see the gaudy rushing numbers and left side and think what a great line this is. Those who see the games know just how great Peterson has played and how many of those yards he has had to make on his own because the team can only run to one side. Combine an "A" left side with an "F" right side and a "B" center and you get a slightly above average unit.

DL- DT starters rock. Best tandem in the league. Depth is horrible. Pat and Williams have to play virtually every snap because their is nobody on the roster to spell them. A high-energy rotational guy to rest them and play on passing downs would go a long way.

D End blows. Udeze has one sack in 24 games... and that was a meaningless coverage sack on Harrington at the end of the game. He should be a 3-4 base end or a back-up. James is hurt. Still. Unless he plays lights out to finish the season, time to write him off as a bust as well. Edwards would make for a decent back-up, but that is it. Robison is high-effort, low results.

There are a couple other warm bodies taking up space, but who really cares.

Overall- C- Getting A- play from the DTs (they need somebody to rotate with), but next-to-nothing from the Ends. Ends avoid failing entirely by being solid against the run.

LB- Henderson has emerged as an animal inside. Back to the position that suites him best (and hides his marginal speed), he has blossomed into a Trotter-esque monster inside. Instinctive and a potent hitter. Leber is reliable and unspectacular while Greenway hasn't shown much of anything in his defacto rookie season. Depth is poor. Thomas, Ciurro (sp?) and Farwell are nothing more than Special Teams players.

[i]Overall[i]- C- They are carrying their weight, but screwed if somebody goes down. Especially Henderson.

DB- Bad. Winfield is hurt and looks like he is losing a step. Sharper has looks slow and isn't making plays any more. McCauley and Griffen take turns getting scorched. Smith has played the best all year. With Winfield out, this is a secondary that begs to be thrown on and doesn't have a pass rush to hide behind.

Overall- D+ Smith and the return of a healthy Winfield keeps every receiver getting open. Too back Sharper, McCauley and Griffen ensure that at least one will.

Special Teams- Longwell as been solid while Kluwe has been outstanding. Kick returns have struggled as Childress experiments with everybody on the roster other than Moore handling them.

Overall- C+ Respectable, but nothing special.

Overall- D. This is a bottom-5 to bottom-10 team right now. Talent-wise, they should be middle of the pack, but glarring deficiencies and inept coaching make them worse than they should be. The offense needs at least 5 new starters while the defense needs a DE and CB for this team to be good.

[JCD]

(rant)It appears as though Ziggy won his "SuperBowl".

With the whuppin of the Giants, Childress has all but guarenteed his return. It seems Ziggy doesnt' care about the direction of the team, the growing resentment from fans or the sagging attendence (yet), the team he owns beat the bullies in his backyard.

The biggest joke in the NFL is that Jackson has a 5-2 record. On the surface, that looks good. A quick look behind that will show that he stunk in 3 of those games and was marginal in the other team. 2 games were due to Peterson going over 200 yards, a third was because of Taylor going over 160 while last week was because of the defense notching THREE TDs (Jackson attempted only 11 passes... after the 70-yard opening TD he was 7 of 10 for <70 yards).

But all that is irrelevent. Ziggy saw the Giants lose. As a result, we are stuck with Childress and doomed to yet another losing season in 2008.

Dark Days for Viking Fans everywhere. We can only hope that the aging core players of the team (Winfield, Pat, Sharper, Birk) are willing to stick it out (or hold up) for 2009-2010 when we might again be competitive. Or we will be firing Childress just in time to gut-and-rebuild the team in hopes of being able to compete in 3 years.

In other news, Herrera has been locked up to a 5-year extension. While he has been starting the last several weeks, and been a far cry better than Hicks, he is a marginal starter. A lower case Chris Liwiensky that should keep the spot warm until a quality player can be found.

If there is a silver lining, whomever takes over for Childress will have 2 good offensive linemen, an elite RB and an elite DT to start with.

(/rant)

[katzenboyer]

Originally Posted by JCD

(rant)It appears as though Ziggy won his "SuperBowl".

With the whuppin of the Giants, Childress has all but guarenteed his return. It seems Ziggy doesnt' care about the direction of the team, the growing resentment from fans or the sagging attendence (yet), the team he owns beat the bullies in his backyard.

The biggest joke in the NFL is that Jackson has a 5-2 record. On the surface, that looks good. A quick look behind that will show that he stunk in 3 of those games and was marginal in the other team. 2 games were due to Peterson going over 200 yards, a third was because of Taylor going over 160 while last week was because of the defense notching THREE TDs (Jackson attempted only 11 passes... after the 70-yard opening TD he was 7 of 10 for <70 yards).

But all that is irrelevent. Ziggy saw the Giants lose. As a result, we are stuck with Childress and doomed to yet another losing season in 2008.

Dark Days for Viking Fans everywhere. We can only hope that the aging core players of the team (Winfield, Pat, Sharper, Birk) are willing to stick it out (or hold up) for 2009-2010 when we might again be competitive. Or we will be firing Childress just in time to gut-and-rebuild the team in hopes of being able to compete in 3 years.

In other news, Herrera has been locked up to a 5-year extension. While he has been starting the last several weeks, and been a far cry better than Hicks, he is a marginal starter. A lower case Chris Liwiensky that should keep the spot warm until a quality player can be found.

If there is a silver lining, whomever takes over for Childress will have 2 good offensive linemen, an elite RB and an elite DT to start with.

(/rant)

u r correct sir!! i am so happy as a packer fan right now! i hope they end the season at like 8-8, and zigi extends him for 8 yrslol!! ( i know it won't happen, being that he has a 5 yr contract, just wishful thinkin'.)

also, i am sooooooo gald he never made it to GB for his interview. thanx ZIGI!!!

[Transplanted Caper]

San Fran, Chicago, Washington, Denver....

Could Peterson actually carry this team to a WC Berth?

[Ecrivain]

Originally Posted by Transplanted Caper

San Fran, Chicago, Washington, Denver....

Could Peterson actually carry this team to a WC Berth?

The Vikes could lose all of those games, well, except San Fran. Who loses to them anymore? Especially with the atrocity that is Trent Dilfer and that god-awful thing he calls a goatee.

Chicago's D is finally playing like it wants to win but it is still giving up the big plays. Seriously, how did they lose to the Giants this weekend? How?

Washington is a team fighting with passion. All they want is a win for #21. I think it could happen against the Vikings. Then again, they did lose to the Bills who are about as inconsistent as you can get in this league. Denver? Denver all depends on who shows up that week. Can Tarvaris really beat the two best corners in the league, I doubt it. And does Denver have a good run defense, again, I doubt it.

AP might drag the Vikings into the playoffs but I'm not sure they'll make it out of the second round, much less the first.

[Transplanted Caper]

Originally Posted by Ecrivain

The Vikes could lose all of those games, well, except San Fran. Who loses to them anymore? Especially with the atrocity that is Trent Dilfer and that god-awful thing he calls a goatee.

Chicago's D is finally playing like it wants to win but it is still giving up the big plays. Seriously, how did they lose to the Giants this weekend? How?

Washington is a team fighting with passion. All they want is a win for #21. I think it could happen against the Vikings. Then again, they did lose to the Bills who are about as inconsistent as you can get in this league. Denver? Denver all depends on who shows up that week. Can Tarvaris really beat the two best corners in the league, I doubt it. And does Denver have a good run defense, again, I doubt it.

AP might drag the Vikings into the playoffs but I'm not sure they'll make it out of the second round, much less the first.

Presumably they'd get filled every week without AP and would get killed in the playoffs. Poor JCD, he loves his Vikes, but a playoff berth and the coach probably gets a contract extension.

[Ecrivain]

I love the Vikings too. I've been a fan since I was a little kid.

The only problem is that since Dennis Green left, not that he left in good standing, the Vikings have become one of those teams with the potential to be great but they keep stepping over themselves.

It's too bad really. They've got the pieces but they're not moving right. Hopefully we'll get another 98 some time soon. That was a great year for a Vikings fan.

[JCD]

Originally Posted by Transplanted Caper

Presumably they'd get filled every week without AP and would get killed in the playoffs. Poor JCD, he loves his Vikes, but a playoff berth and the coach probably gets a contract extension.

Wilf already publically stated that Childress is in no danger to be fired. While this may be the dreaded "vote of confidence", it doesn't seem likely.

That the Vikes may make the post-season is a sad statement about the NFC. We are a speedbump to any half decent team. Packers or Cowboys will throttle us by 10+ easily.

What really sucks is that if your team stinks, you can at least be optimistic for change and what they might do to improve. We don't get to even have that. We have to look forward to 2009 at the earliest, because Childress will be back next year. With Jackson at QB (who has yet to have a 200 yard game, lead a comeback or win a game with his arm). "The System" is apperently more important than actual talent.

[LooseChange25]

I just hope that if in fact the Vikings do end up making the playoffs this year, that Wilf doesn't jump the gun to offer Childress a contract extension.

[Transplanted Caper]

Originally Posted by JCD

Wilf already publically stated that Childress is in no danger to be fired. While this may be the dreaded "vote of confidence", it doesn't seem likely.

That the Vikes may make the post-season is a sad statement about the NFC. We are a speedbump to any half decent team. Packers or Cowboys will throttle us by 10+ easily.

What really sucks is that if your team stinks, you can at least be optimistic for change and what they might do to improve. We don't get to even have that. We have to look forward to 2009 at the earliest, because Childress will be back next year. With Jackson at QB (who has yet to have a 200 yard game, lead a comeback or win a game with his arm). "The System" is apperently more important than actual talent.

The NFC is essentially Dallas, Green Bay and a lot of average teams whose one star player or aspect can win them more games then the overall talent level of the team suggests.