The Sports Guru

 

Projected Record

5-11, 3rd Place NFC North

Projected Schedule W/L
@Washington(L)
Carolina        (L)
Chicago         (L)
@Buffalo       (L)
Detroit          (W)
@Seattle       (L)
New England (L)
@San Francisco(W)
Green Bay     (W)
@Miami        (L)
Arizona         (L)
@Chicago     (L)
@Detroit      (L)
NY Jets        (W)
@Green Bay(L)
@St. Louis  (W)

Four Words epitomize what I think of the Minnesota Vikings in 2006:  Brad Johnson, Starting Quarterback.  the Vikings finally parted ways with Daunte Culpepper in the wake of the “Love Boat” scandel meaning that the team has kicked  it’s best two players to the curb the last two off-seasons.  Add to that a new head coach in Brad Childress and it is safe to say we can call the current version of the Vikings a team in “transition”.  The defense being built in Minnesota is intriguing to say the least, but there are too many holes on offense for this team to make any serious run.  The NFC North is the weakest division in football, which could help the Vikings steal a couple, but like the Detroit Lions the important thing for the Vikings is to show progress as the year goes on and to figure out exactly what they are going to do at Quarterback.

Team Strengths – Defense.  The Vikings have done a great job the last couple of years to bolster what was traditionally a weakness.  Unfortunitely it came at the expense of what was one of the most explposive offenses in football just a couple years ago.  They focused on defense in the draft by grabbing Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway in the 1st Round and Texas DB Curtis Griffin in the 2nd.  Add to that the signing of S Dwight Smith who was released by the Saints on July 25 and you’ve got some talent on the defensive side of the ball.  Napoleon Harris and E.J. Henderson join Greenway to form a formidable LB corp and Darren Sharper returns to anchor the secondary.  This D looks good on paper and will need to be to make up for the deficencies on offense.

Team Weaknesses – I look at the offensive roster for the Vikings and I just don’t know where they are going to get any sort of production.  Brad Johnson did a decent job last season after the injury to Daunte Culpepper, but to be honest it was a lost season and he didn’t play particularly well against any of the good teams he faced.  After Johnson the QB situation gets even worse with names like Mike McMahon, J.T. O’Sullivan and Tavarious Jackson.  Wrap it all up with Johnson reportedly unhappy about his contract and it all equals a big problem.  It looks no better at Running Back, where Mewelde Moore will battle with Chester Taylor for carries.  Five years ago it was Randy Moss and Cris Carter at wide-out, in 2006 it will be Koren Robinson and Dez White, yikes.  New Head Coach Brad Childress has an offensive background so it will be interesting to see what falls in the Twin-Cities.

Best Case Scenario – They actually win the 5 games I think they will win.  Unlike some of the teams I have talked about, I really don’t see any way the Vikings compete in the division or for a wild-card spot.  That said, if the Vikings can find out if they have a player behind Johnson at QB, and if the Defense plays as well they should it could be a successful season.
 

Worst Case Scenario – The Vikings find ouot that they don’t have a solution at QB and the Defense underachieves.  Of all the first-time head coaches in the league I am least excited about Brad Childress.  If he turns out to be a bad fit things could get ugly very quickly.  If Brad Johnson lets his contract woes carry over to the field the Vikes are in for a long haul.  A total collapse isn’t out of the question, but the team played hard last season through all the turmoil and I have no reason to think they won’t this season.

My Opinion – In the past few years the Vikings have cleaned house from the top down.  A new owner, new GM, new coach, new QB, new receivers, new attitude.  Like any house cleaning things are likely to get worse before they get better.  Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss were the face of the franchise and now both are gone.  Someone else is going to have to step and take on that role.  By the looks of things the Vikings would like that to be a defensive player, and instead of the circus of past years, the Vikings are trying to create an atmosphere of hard work and stability.  Minnesota is a proud football region and things are going to be tough for the loyal fans in purple.  If my feelings towards Brad Childress are right, it may not get any better any time soon.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 1st, 2006 at 9:26 am and is filed under Broncos/NFL, 2006 NFL Preview. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.