Comparing 2009 to 1998

QB – I knew when we traded Johnson, we were in trouble. Cunningham seemed to be the type of QB that would have a great year, a good one, then decent then gone. And that became the fact with him. I would rather have Favre due to is longer and much more consistent play over the years.

RB – A tough call as I always loved Smith and love A.P., so I will base this down to injuries. Smith had alot of them and I may be off a little, I think he had one healthy year, the year he set the then rushing record for the Vikings. Between Taylor and Hoard, pure toss up. I don’t think you could go wrong with either one backing up A.P. now or Smith of back then. I would give the edge to Tahi for 3rd.

WR – Rice has finally matched Carter at that point in his career. Harvin, not yet, but I think in a few years as well could match Moss too. I liked Glover then, but definitely love Shiancoe now. Yeah, I know he isnt much of a blocker, but has that really hurt our O any? Carter/Rice (toss up), Moss and Shiancoe

O-line – Wow, which way to argue here? This one is a definate hard one to call and IMO you could not go wrong either way. Yes, there is a lack of experience on our right at the moment, but to this point, other then a few gaff’s, they have been good. I would give a slight, and I mean slight nod to the ’98 crew for experience, but in a few years, I bet it would be a dead heat.

S.T. – You know, Anderson and Longwell are a sure bet either way. Yeah, Anderson missed THE field goal, but is it his fault the Vikings lost? No way. The whole team choked on that one. The whole team get’s the blame, not Anderson. I do get tired of hearing how it was Anderson’s fault and his only. B…..F’in…..S.! Stop making one guy the fall guy when the whole team should be chastisized. Berger hands down. Palmer was good, Harvin better so Harvin on this one.

Except with the Peterson Payton comparison. Payton didn’t dance as much as Sayers, but he wasn’t all that physical – not AD physical (think Jim Brown, and if you won’t buy that, E. Dickerson).

but 09 on the rest

Although I’d call the McDaniel/Hutch comparison a push.

And as for the running backs If the Vikings had used Hoard more to set up 3rd and shorts and for late game clock control think we might have been an even better team overall back then. But even then it’s hard to top Peterson, he’s like a Robert Smith/Leroy Hoard lovechild.

I think the rest of the guys weren’t in the league at that point.

Nice job comparison/analysis…

When you consider the strong points from both teams to those of (‘09/’98), you can see although small variances by position/O/D/ST, they actually at the end of the day are very close….Either team could take it all the way…

We already know about ‘98, let’s see what we find out about the current team…Swagger, skill, drive is there, and ability to come back/get their stuff together and make plays/get points…numerous pro-bowl caliber players, and a schedule that while not easy, is not too daunting/insurmountable….

I have to give the edge to the 98 O-Line. They were the sweetest to watch on run plays. The lanes would open up as if Moses parted them himself. It was the only year in which you watched a game and said "This is the best Team in the entire NFL. No ifs ands or butts.

Our present team still has youth issues on the O-Line and the run game is weaker because of this. Give this line 1-2 years together and I think we match 98. Now don’t get me wrong. This O-Line is great at pass protection. 98 line didn’t have to be as good as this one. Brett is a touch slower in the backfield.

Hear is the difference in these two teams. Everyone knew the Vikes would win the Superbowl with the "98 team. Everyone hopes the "09 team will win the Superbowl.

Good Post MilCard

Are you absolutely nuts? There is no way Rice is in the same league as Chris Carter. Do you remember some of the miracles he pulled down? One handed catch with two tippy toes in the field? He didn’t just do this once he did it ALL THE TIME! Heck I think Moss learned a lot from Chris Carter on how to keep his hands soft and snag balls out of the air.

Ok, sorry for the rant. Personally, I think Carter was one of the best of all time, and I don’t see Rice hitting that spot any time soon. Albiet he is a very good receiver now.

The line has to be 98 there were three perenial probowlers sitting on it and Cunningham had incredible amounts of time sitting behind them, plus Tice was a great line coach.

I would give the nod to running backs in 09 because Peterson is such a beast and Taylor is the man. Smith had rediculous speed, but didn’t have the ability of Peterson to make people regret tackling him. And Taylor is a better pass catcher than Hoard was.

Special Teams is a complete push to me. I think Longwell has a better leg than Anderson did at that stage of his career, we didn’t really make him push to many long FG’s in. Harvin is a beast of a return man and I agree Kluwe is not quite in the same league as Berger yet, but give him some more time.

Wasn’t Kliensauser the fullback in 98?

I think Bret is a LARGE improvement over Cunningham. Not because of arm strength, or completion percentage but because he’ll manage the game better. I truly beleive the 98 team would have been better off if they had laid off the quick score routine and pounded the ball a bit to let the defense rest. Didn’t matter much in the regular season but I think it killed them in the post season.

I personally don’t think any WR tandem will ever be better than Carter/Moss, and I believe that if we had today’s D in ‘98 we would have taken the Lombardi. We now have a legit championship defense, a QB that won’t choke (like Randall did in the 2nd half of that "98 NFC Championship), and we have as much raw talent as any roster in the league in the last 10 years. We just need to truly show up when it matters.

And if their seasons end in a similar way, this site is going to be down one co-writer. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to contribute to the site after shaving my body with a push mower.