With last years season behind us, what can we hope for in the future? Well there are a few factors that can determine this most common question. I'm thinking that our future looks bright but remember it will take a few years until the rebuilding of this franchise is over.
But to start out, the coaching is probably one of the bigger factors for this teams future. Head coach Brad Childress must not use the same style of play calling again this year if he wants to achieve his goals of making this a winning team. I know it was his rookie year at head coach but now he has had a taste of what happened to our play calling, so he must devise a new plan. He has to take advantage of Tarvaris Jacksons' powerful and accurate cannon of an arm and start throwing deep balls. Childress didn't have this luxury with Brad Johnson behind center. But with additional weapons from this years excellent draft in Sidney Rice, Aundrae Allison, and Chandler Williams, I believe our passing game will be effective and deadly. Also with the addition of Running Back Adrian Peterson, defenses will also be focusing on him while leaving a wide receiver open. One last note on Childress, he must take full of advantage of the Vikings depth at running back and a one-two punch with AP and Chester Taylor while Mewelde Moore and Ciatrick Fason focus on kick returning duties while Artose Pinner (who was just recently resigned) keeps returning punts. The running game, it will be deadly.
On the the right side of the offensive line they must find away to get Artis Hicks to earn his money. Too many times last year he was he run over and Johnson was sacked. I'm not worried about Ryan Cook because it was his rookie year and mistakes are expected of him. Time will tell how this kid will pan out but I believe he will do just fine. We still need to go out and sign a few more linemen to add depth. Even though we just signed guard Brian Daniels and tackles Josh Day and Chase Johnson, we need another veteran who can do his job well.
On onto the defensive side. I'm not too worried about this side of the ball as much because with the addition of defensive end Brian Robison and linebacker Rufus Alexander, and returning linebacker Chad Greenway, I think we will be stronger then before. Also players like Greg Blue and Mike Doss can bring it and get their jobs done. We also have defensive ends coming back from injury to help the much needed pass rush. The safety and cornerback situation is not of concern because we have the hard-hitting vet in Darren Sharper and the best tackling cornerback in football, Antoine Winfield. The Vikings have 6 cornerbacks so I dont worry about depth especially with players like Ronyell Whitaker, Antoine Winfield, Macrus McCualey, Cedric Griffin in the line up.
Now all in all, expect mistakes and a few bad plays because you guys have to remember, this is a young team and with the schedule, the way it is looking, be ready for a record around 8-8 or 9-7. Just pay attention to see if everyone works together and gets there jobs done properly. It's not whether if they win or lose, it's whether if they can handle themselves and play in the NFL.
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2 comments:
A nice first piece, its great to have you with us!
A bit of my critique.
I for one don't think the Vikings will be better this year as I can't point to any position with the exception of running back and say we've improved. Tarvaris Jackson certainly has a lot of upside as he's mobile and has a huge (and pretty accurate) arm. But who's to say if he'll ever learn to operate a pro-offense.
We also haven't done anything to keep opposing offenses from just dropping back and throwing all day long. Our starting defensive ends haven't changed and I'm still concerned we wont be able to apply any pressure.
While we certainly have added some fast players at the wide receiver position (and I love fast wide receivers) we still don't know if any of them will be better than "Mr. I Can't Catch a Ball To Save My Life" Troy Williamson. Actually all of our receivers remind me way too much of Williamson. And thats a bad thing.
I'm also not entirely sold on Adrian Peterson being a great running back already. A couple years ago there were a bunch of guys who were drafted who were all going to be the next Emmitt Smith. Ask fans in Tampa Bay, Miami, or Chicago how that worked out for them. Chances are they won't be as excited as they were when Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, or Cedric Benson were drafted.
Thats the thing with drafted players... so much promise but VERY VERY VERY few ever make it in the pros. Even most first round draft picks only play for less than 6 years in the NFL. Usually in a draft you get 5-6 guys who will make a couple pro-bowls, a 30 guys who will start 20 games in their career. And maybe 1 or 2 who will have long pro-bowl calibre careers. Sometimes those players are your first round draft picks but just as often they are the Marcus Colston, Brett Farve, and Tom Brady's of the world. And the truth is, there is no way to know until they are playing on Sundays.
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