“I want tough, passionate, smart football players, and I want competition at every position.” Those were some of new head coach Mike Zimmer’s first words after he was unveiled to the media for the first time months ago, and that attitude and philosophy has been in full force as the Minnesota Vikings wrapped up mini-camp and OTAs, and now head into training camp.
Zimmer replaced Leslie Frazier as head coach after three unsuccessful seasons with the team. While universally liked by players, fans, and media, Frazier never lived up to the expectations that came from coaching in the “Dungy Tree”. Of course unlike Dungy, Frazier never got to coach a player like Peyton Manning, in fact his biggest downfall during his tenure was his inability to groom a successful and consistent player at the quarterback position.
After general manager Rick Spielman used the teams first-round pick on Christian Ponder, Frazier and the Vikings were committed to spending the time to develop him, for good and bad. That decision, while publicly was an agreement by everyone throughout the management and coaching staff, privately seemed to be largely influenced by Spielman, who had put his faith and job on the line for Ponder.
While Frazier took the axe for both himself and Spielman, ultimately losing his job, Rick received a “get out of jail” free card, and another opportunity to draft the Vikings future signal caller. After trading back up into the first-round for the third time in as many years, Spielman pulled the trigger in May’s NFL draft on Teddy Bridgewater, a prospect who had slipped from his No. 1 projection weeks prior to the draft.
Bridgewater was and still is considered to be the most NFL ready as he showed off uncanny poise, decision making, and ability to make all the throws when dissecting his college tape. However, after a horrendous pro-day and lingering red flags about his deep ball and smallish frame, quarterback needy teams became gun-shy over Bridgewater on draft day and steered clear.
On top of what the franchise hopes will be their new franchise quarterback, Spielman gave Zimmer plenty of new toys to play with on the defensive side of the ball as well, including standout pass rushing linebacker Anthony Barr, and a high-motored defensive lineman from Oregon State in Scott Crichton.
Good value and depth were nabbed in the later rounds in guard David Yankey and safety Antone Exum too giving Spielman another haul of competitive players to add to the young talented core Spielman has already assembled from years prior. In all, Spielman has attained seven, count em, seven first-round draft picks in the last three years, giving the team an optimistic outlook for their future.
An offseason with a new head coach (and offensive coordinator Norv Turner), two more first-round selections, and a quiet sprinkle of solid veteran free agents like cornerback Captain Munnerlyn and nose tackle Linval Joeseph, and it all adds up to big expectations for the Vikings who are coming off a disappointing 5-10-1 season. However, in one of the most talented and complete divisions in the league, the Vikings are at the bottom of the barrel looking up in what could be a long way to achieving their goals of division champions and eventual Super Bowl champions.
If the Vikings are going to make some noise this season it won’t be because of any off the field intangibles, as playing in the Minnesota Gopher’s outdoor stadium for the first time will take a lot of adjusting to, limiting any home field advantage. Secondly, their schedule is harder than the turf Brett Favre was slammed into ending his career (miss you Brett), to say the least.
Starting the season off versus the Oakland Raiders, Arizona Cardinals, Kansas City Chiefs, and Tennessee Titans doesn’t sound all that bad giving way to a ray of hope, that is until you realize thats their preseason schedule. Instead, the Vikings go through their first five games against the St. Louis Rams (on the road), New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints (on the road), Atlanta Falcons, and the Green Bay Packers (on the road). Ouch.
Four consistent powerhouses and a Rams team who is on the verge of breaking out after countless draft picks the past three seasons to start the season. To get out of that stretch with a record of 2-3, given the Vikings will likely be underdogs in every one of those games, would have to be a minor moral victory for fans, which speaks volumes of just how hard the first-quarter of the season will be for the purple and gold.
You won’t hear a coach like Zimmer or his players griping about their schedule though. They know anyone in this league can beat any opponent on any given week, and they will continue to prepare one game at a time, not as underdogs in a David verse Goliath match, but as a team that will give everything they have for a full 60 minutes.
The Vikings own a plethora of talent when assessing the roster up-and-down, and in all likelihood aren’t very far away from being the fourth and final player in the division. Two obvious aspects of the team need to take the next step in order for the team to compete week in and week out. Those are a defense that ranked dead last in almost every single passing category last season (under a “defensive minded” head coach), and of course, the quarterback position.
If you watched the defense closely last season it wasn’t hard to figure out the problem, and that was getting off the field on third downs. It almost became laughable how consistently the defense would successfully stop the opposing offense on the first two-plays, only to looked lost from outer space when it mattered most on third down. A Sunday night matchup versus the Packers sticks out in my head vividly relating to this topic when the Vikings would repeatedly put Rodgers in a third-and-long situation, only to have him slice-and-dice their secondary to shreds. By nights end the Packers converted an astounding 13-of-18 third downs and went 2-for-2 on fourth down as well.
No doubt Zimmer has had a friendly laugh or two with returning veterans mumbling “you did all the hard work, but now you need to finish the deal,” something the defensive unit couldn’t manage under Frazier on third-downs. The secondary was an easy blame as they got torched by a division with names of Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford, and Jay Cutler on a weekly basis, as well as being scorched by the injury bug. A lack of a consistent pass rush certainly didn’t help the back end of the defense though either, which is why the team took the best pass-rusher in the draft in Barr, and added more depth with Crichton. This was after the team had already locked up both defensive end veterans Brian Robison, and Everson Griffen in the offseason, after the departure of long time great Jared Allen.
The secondary started their offseason with addition by subtraction after the release of Chris Cook, who was a major bust as a second-round pick. Cook was so bad for the Vikings he gave up the best quarterback rating for all cornerbacks in the league with an almost perfect rating, meaning when teams threw his way not only was it a virtual lock to be a completion, but likely to be a touchdown as well. If laughter is the best medicine Vikings fans surly were rolling with the knee slappers Cook called “defense” throughout the 2013 season.
Afterwards the team dipped into free agency and landed one of the best young cornerbacks in the league in Munnerlyn. Munnerlyn has shown he can hold his own on the outside, but clearly excels inside at the slot position where he returned four interceptions for touchdowns last year. With first-round picks Xavier Rhodes and Harrison Smith playing with him, Munnerlyn helps form a great core of secondary players for the Vikings.
On offense the biggest aquisition may be coordinator Norv Turner, who has a long track record of successful offenses, while producing big seasons for star players (coughs loudly Adrian Peterson, coughs loudly Corderrelle Patterson). Turner said a main focal point that he has placed on himself will be getting Peterson out of eight and nine man looks in the box, and instead into open space where he can do more damage.
Turner also said he is excited about Patterson’s development from year-one to year-two, saying his route running is light years ahead from his rookie season. Of course, Greg Jennings will likely be the number one wide out still with his savvy route running and catching ability, and Kyle Rudolph is all set up for his breakout campaign with Turner’s emphasis on using the tight-end in his offensive game plan.
But, who’s throwing these big names the ball? What coaches are calling a three-man race at quarterback will surely be narrowed down to two quickly (if it hasn’t already behind closed doors) with Bridgewater and veteran Matt Cassel vying for the starting job. While Cassel seems to be the obvious choice from the outside looking in, as the media and fan base knows its not wise to throw any rookie into the fire too soon, risking shredding his confidence and mental psyche, Zimmer has been clear all along that it will be a wide open competition, letting the best man win.
Meaning, if Bridgewater can finish training camp with more good days than bad, and shows the type of quick decision making and ball security like he had in college, it may be safe to say the job is his to lose, knowing the team invested a first-round pick on the Louisville thrower.
Many changes will have taken place from last year when the Vikings hit Mankato for training camp next week. The team has a young and improved roster loaded with talent at virtually every position, and clearly looks ready to make the jump from pretender to contender, starting in the NFC North.
All eyes will be on training camp, as it will be a big indicator of how position battles and competitions are shaking out, as players fight for starting jobs and roster spots, while continuing to grow more cohesive as a team. The Vikings went through a much needed overhaul this offseason with the biggest changes coming at the coaching and quarterback position, by far the teams biggest areas that needed to be improved. With talent like Peterson, Patterson, Jennings, Smith, and Greenway already in place, a Vikings team that surprises the league with a dramatic improvement form last year, wouldn’t really be all the much of a surprise, would it?