We can still win
by PurpleEaters on Aug 2, 2009 4:21 PM CDT
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without Favre. I know that this news is behind us but everyone was talking about what Favre could do. I think without a doubt the biggest addition to this team is Percy Harvin. So now, we have very capable WR's in the league catching balls. We have the best running game in the league. Which alleviates 8 men in the box and keeps defenders from double covering Berrian or any one receiver. We are also introducing the wild cat, which mixes up the play calling a little more and keeps it interesting instead of just 2 yard shovel passes to the FB on 3rd down that didn't get the job done last year. We still have no idea what Booty is capable of. We have reports that Jaymar Johnson is stepping it up, of course I won't believe it til I see it, cause last year Jackson had apparently stepped up during the offseason, and showed tiny flashes of a capable quarterback in the preseason before getting injured and leading the Vikes to a 0-2 start. Hopefully that doesn't happen this year, with EJ back. I'd say the biggest thing I'm worried about right now would be the offensive line. Loadholt seems an upgrade from Cook, but there are still two players starting on the O-line who have never played a snap in the NFL. So leaving Brett in the dust, and focusing on more important things. With one of the best defenses in the league, possibly the leagues best player, and one that doesn't seem he will dissapoint. What do you think? Can the Vikes still get it done without him?
This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.
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I am not too worried about the offensive line, but I would be much more secure in saying that had Birk not left us for Baltimore.
To be honest, with or without Favre, we have an excellent chance of winning the division again. The talent we have on the field is good enough to go to the super bowl and if we can’t improve on last year, we will at least have the pleasure of a new head coach.
So for me, the season is almost a win-win situation. The only problem is that one of those “wins” involves the team not making the playoffs.
All facets of our team have improved in the offseason.
Our line has two young guys who we can build upon for years to come, and we have arguably the best Tackle-Guard combination in the league. Plus we have Jimmy K to shore up any weaknesses on the right side of the line. I mean, the guy is an offensive lineman who can catch the ball.
Our passing game is going to be much improved. The addition of Percy and the assumed emergence of Jaymar and Sidney is going to give Tsage some good targets at which to throw.
Even though it is hard to improve on our running game, I like the looks of Ian Johnson and feel he will be a solid contributor, though not this year.
Our defensive line, while not improved specifically, will benefit greatly from EJ’s return to the field. Obviously, that will make our linebackers that much better as well.
Tyrell is in his second season and should be a solid replacement for Sharper, though I am expecting him to still need some improvement. Ced and Antoine are playing better than I have expected and Asher Allen is a legitimate backup and eventual replacement for Winfield.
Our special teams are where we will likely improve the most. Having Heath back, the signing of Paymah and Erin Henderson coming into his second year will give us a much needed bump for our kick coverage. Harvin should be a beast in the return game, and even if he is not we still have Jaymar and Aundrae.
I am not worried at all about the talent. Though I am worried about the coach.
Special Teams
Don’t forget about Jasper Brinkley. He should be a beast on special teams. He has already laid down some pretty big hits this training camp. Apparently drawing some “OOOO’s” from the crowd.
by PurplePeopleEaters09 on Aug 2, 2009 7:35 PM CDT up reply actions
+1
I’m really liking what I hear about Brinkley. It sounds like he’ll be a great guy to have on the team and I love the “baby elephant” nickname, especially for a backer
I like Brinkley as well, but I don’t think he is going to be a huge addition to our special teams.
Personally, I like guys who are faster and more agile on special teams. Brinkley is a bit slower than I would like, and I feel he would be more of a liability than an asset. But that is just my opinion, he could prove me wrong.
I just don't see a loss in Birk
He botched 2 snaps in a season. That is for pee wee football not the pros. He was slipping that much on the simple part of his job and wasn’t much more effective at blocking.
http://vikingsmashfootball.wordpress.com/
True
But I would be willing to bet that you are more likely to see a young Center botch 2 snaps in a season than Birk to botch two.
I would rather have him going into the postseason than Sullivan, but that is only because I have not seen much of Sully.
Sage should start. He is a better passer, and smarter QB. He gives you guys a better chance of winning. Even if Jackson does start I don’t think he’ll be able to get you any further then 2 games into the playoffs, probably only one.
by packallday555 on Aug 3, 2009 2:43 AM CDT up reply actions
I have not seen enough of Sage to decide either way.
Do we know that Sage has the ability to go more than 2 games into the postseason?
He would probably be in the same boat as Tjack considering his lack of playoff experience.
I’ve seen a far amount of his game, and ya I think he would give you guys a better chance to win. He is just a better QB in every aspect of the game besides running.
by packallday555 on Aug 4, 2009 1:04 PM CDT up reply actions
I worry too
Childress is a joke…Play calling too conservative… Hopefully he will losen up some and I also hope Sage is starter.. Jaworski, NFL analyst and former Eagles QB, gave examples last yr how Jackson is making wrong reads and with being in league 3 yrs, should be reading defenses alot better than he does.. We dont have time to try and see if Jackson is going to develope.. I agree, he has great arm and great physical talents, just does not have the mental part of the game.. Sage is basic drop back NFL passer. I think he will be able to manage the game and keep 8 out of box, to allow Peterson more room to run…
Childress
I really think the play calling has been so boring because Childress has yet to have a QB he can rely on. You’re totally right that Tarvaris can’t read a defense (certainly not quickly) and Gus had never played in a WC offense so you know he wasn’t using the whole playbook out there. Sounds like Sage is picking it up a little bit so I hope he can be our improvement over Frerotte. He’s not the long term answer but if he’s better than Frerotte we could push to the Superbowl.
Chilly
Are you serious? He never had a QB he could rely on have you forgotten about Brad Johnson. He did win a superbowl before he played for Chilly.
by midnightwonder on Aug 3, 2009 10:23 AM CDT up reply actions
Just because he won a Super Bowl in the past, does not mean he could do it with the Vikes.
But then again, if you look at his stats under Tice, and then under Chilly, some frightening information comes to light.
2005, under Tice: 9 games started, 62.6% completion 12 TD’s 4 INT’s
2006, under Chilly: 14 games started, 61.5 Completion 9 TD’s 15 INT’s.
in 06 he was throwing to troy williamson. it was also the first year of new offense.
by iseepurplepeople on Aug 3, 2009 4:22 PM CDT up reply actions
I've said it before....
And I’ll say it again – Childress has improved this team from what it was. I realize my opinion is unpopular, but he’s taking us in the right direction. I just don’t understand why people are so critical of him? He has made some bad decisions and mistakes, but everyone does. Is he some sort of super-human that is not allowed to do that? The Vikings record has consistently had more wins than the previous year with him running the team. Not to mention he won the division last year – and all this without a great quarterback….. the most important position on the field!
this is true
you are correct. the vikings have moved in a good direction since chili joined us and he is partly responsible for this resurgence. however, making good personnel moves and putting quality talent on the field is one thing. coaching an actual game in another. this is where chili lacks. i could get behind him if here just ultraconservative but he’s made a lot of mistakes. poor clock management, lacking the ability to adjust the gameplan. and just some plain bonehead decisions. i think chili is the second coming of shottenheimer. with him we will consistently make the playoffs. we will also consistently lose in the playoffs.
by iseepurplepeople on Aug 3, 2009 1:20 PM CDT up reply actions
He came in his first year, and brought a 9-7 team to 6-10.
Ok, that is fine. Sometimes it takes a year or two for the team to adjust to a new system.
After his first year in, we go from 6-10 to 8-8.
Improvement because of Chilly? or improvement because we drafted the best RB in the NFL?
I would lean more toward AP being the cause of those two wins. I mean, we could have easily lost the Bears game and the Chargers game had it not been for AP running wild.
In Chilly’s third year, we improve from 8-8 to 10-6.
Improvement because of Chilly? Or improvement because we signed one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, a solid starter at free safety in Madieu Williams and getting rid of Troy Williamson and replacing him with Bernard Berrian?
Not to mention the fact that we really only won 9 games last year because the Giants gave us our last win by playing their backups for half the game and we still almost lost.
I do not believe that Chilly is the reason for our improvement, even though he is indirectly responsible for building the team that we have. I think our improvement has been solely due to the marked increase in overall talent on both sides of the ball.
+1
wilf has more to do with our success than chili
by iseepurplepeople on Aug 3, 2009 4:24 PM CDT up reply actions
Indirectly responsible?
He’s the head coach for goodness sakes! How can you say that a head coach is indirectly responsible for success or lack thereof of a team? Also, and I wasn’t following this when it happened, but I would have to assume that Childress, not just Wilf, was at least somewhat responsible for getting both AP and Jared Allen. Same is true for Percy Harvin.
Of course
We can win without Favre, there was no doubt about that. And I dont care what has been said, at his age, coming off an injury requiring surgery, our chances were not any better then they are now. And say all that people want to say, he was in no way a Super Bowl lock and I think it was 99% he would not have had anything left to get us there at all. If he was 10 years younger, I would have been all over that, at 29 going on 30, not 39 going on 40. We will do just fine, and I seriously think by the start of the season it will be Sage’s ship to lose. What he does with it, we will see, if T.J. gets it back or starts out this season as the starter and loses it again by week 4, who knows. I don’t think the ship has sunk and we are still in the thick of the NFC North race.
"If you're gonna shoot, shoot, don't talk"
Dont just want the NFC North race
Been Vikings fan for over 49 yrs and this is closest we have had a team to compete for Superbowl since 1998 and that team was offense dominated. We have had really good
DEF for last 3 yrs. And shld be really good this yr, but that window will be closing soon, time is running out and we need a QB to manage the game, not be a savior..Jackson has proven he can not do that.. I was one of those, the last couple yrs that sd, give him time..well, enuff is enuff.. Let’s see what Sage can do and I think he will be able to manage the game to keep 8 out of box, give Peterson more room to run and let offense stay on field a little longer. That in turn, will allow DEF to be fresher than past yrs, and even more dominate
And to answer prior question...Did he analyze Sage ??
Jaworski was doing a piece on Vikings and Jackson last yr…Sage was not a QB of Vikings last yr, so the answer would have been no……….But, Jaws did show different game footage of Jackson, showing diff reads and Jackson throwing to wrong places and dump offs with others open. Again Jaws sd with being in league his 3rd yr, Jakson should be making those reads…We, (my friends laugh at me saying WE, talking abt Vikings..LOL), but we, can not continue to wait for Jackson to develope with the talent we have on this team…Do I dare say it ?? Yes I will !!!..SUPERBOWL BABY !!!! LOL
Areas of Concern
I think the biggest concern the Vikings have is the defensive secondary. Winfield and Madieu will anchor it, but that’s only 50% and we have a lot rotation in the other half. Tyrell is looking fairly solid and he got a lot of playtime last year, but there’s no sparks showing there yet.
The Vikes ranked 18th against the pass last year, and 24th in interceptions (the Ravens had more than twice as many!). To shore things up we brought in Allen, Sanford, and Paymah, but so far none of them have exactly demonstrated the ability to shut things down. The return of EJ, and the addition of Brinkley, should bring the Vikes tackle count up and out of 26th place in the NFL.
The next biggest area of concern is Special Teams. Farwell is back and healthy, but part of his contract contingency was with the understanding that he’d start getting some LB play on the regular D, so he’ll be replaced some of the time, with someone else. Probably Brinkley. Bottom line here is that Chris Kluwe needs to get off the Nintendo and step up his game, and discover what “hang-time” means, or we’ll get burned again, repeatedly, this year. Even if Farwell can stop the TD returns, we’re still giving up too much yardage. On the other side of the Special Teams, Harvin will probably shine and could become a Reggie Bush-like threat on returns. Which is good, because the Vikings have sucked wind when it comes to return yardage, too. Jaymar could also make an impact here, too, with his new-found speed.
I’m a lot more worried about those areas, than I am about which of two competent (if not great) QBs will win in competition.
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
SKOL!
Vikes can win and will be in the hunt for the NFC north again
but, in my opinion, even if they make the playoffs (50/50 chance (which is actually pretty god when you consider only 12 of 32 teams make the post season) Vikings will be one and done without Farve. Sorry, guys, I wish I could say otherwise, but I just don’t see it with any of the QB’s on the team.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Aug 4, 2009 12:10 PM CDT reply actions
thanks drullin
i almost wasted the entire nfl season watching games and rooting for me team all to be disappointed in the end. you saved me a lot of time my friend.
by iseepurplepeople on Aug 4, 2009 2:17 PM CDT up reply actions
If you only list one exception
you have pretty much made my point. It’s real unlikely, but not impossible.
That Raven’s team was also geared toward defense and the defense it revolved around was also more complete than Minnesota’s current one.
by Drullin'OverDaCards on Aug 4, 2009 1:37 PM CDT reply actions
You Want More?
How about Eli Manning, Ken Stabler, Jeff Hosteler, Brad Johnson
Also, how can you say the 2000 Raven’s D was more complete than the current Vikings D? We haven’t played a single game this season. Make that kind of a statement after actually seeing us play a single game…or better yet after the season is over.
by Loki The Viking God on Aug 4, 2009 2:33 PM CDT up reply actions
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