Vikings Land Eight On Pro Football Focus' All-NFC North Team
by Christopher Gates on Jan 29, 2012 12:14 PM CST
in Minnesota Vikings 2011 Season
Email
PrintThe folks from Pro Football Focus have been doing their "All-Division" teams for the past couple of weeks, and they got around to their All-NFC North Team a few days ago. Surprisingly, the Minnesota Vikings. . .despite their 3-13 record. . .managed to lead the way with eight players getting spots on the team.
The eight players that were named to the All-NFC North Team by Pro Football Focus were running back Adrian Peterson (despite injury issues), tight end Jim Kleinsasser (who made it as a fullback, but hey. . .he's the People's Champion, so we're not arguing), wide receiver Percy Harvin, guard Steve Hutchinson, center John Sullivan (who PFF praised all season long), defensive end Jared Allen, defensive tackle Kevin Williams, and outside linebacker Erin Henderson.
In something that's sort of weird, the Vikings managed to get the most players on the team despite having the division's worst record. The Chicago Bears, who had the second-worst record in the division at 8-8, got the second-most players with seven (and nearly swept the special teams categories). The Detroit Lions, who went 10-6, had the fewest players with five, and the Green Bay Packers put six players on the squad.
That goes to show the discrepancy between the top part of the Vikings' roster and what they have as far as depth is concerned. Yes, the Vikings still have some superstars that continue to go out and produce at a high level, but the gulf between those players and the rest of the roster got huge in 2011. The 2012 NFL Draft and free agency periods will serve as a chance for the Vikings to correct that issue as they rebuild this team and get back to their normal status as contenders.
16 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Hate to be the pesimistic one
But this just confims why I question anything PFF has to say. I’m surprised that Donovan McNabb didn’t make the team.
"At this point, what we got to lose, right? So we might as well throw caution to the wind and hit people in the face."
--Vikings DE Jared Allen
I agree [to a degree]
Certain positions are more easily evaluated than others. Other positions, it’s more difficult to evaluate, which is why every grade given out by PFF should be taken with a grain of salt.
15-1 [One and done... *SIGH*]
Back on track to Super Bowl XLVII!
MattFlynn4StartingQB
PFF is a joke.
I think the problem is that they try to cover too much. If they’d just pick their poison and focus on that, I think they’d have a decent shot of getting it right. Instead they’ve clearly gone for quantity of analysis and opinion over quality.
"Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
no disrespect to erin henderson
i find it difficult to believe erin henderson and not the 3rd leading tackler in the nfl chad greenway
MGR4FUN
Will position
Chad plays the strong, so he has to fight against Clay Matthews.. Erin Henderson plays the Will linebakcer spot and will not have as hard competition as Chad Greenway has.
- But I think you can argue Matt Forte should be above Peterson, due to his injury.
really?
ap is 19x the RB that forte is. that shouldnt even be a discussion. forte only had good stats because every play went through him first. vikes atleast had harvin and jenkins to give the ball to a few times a game unlike chicago
by statue_left on Jan 29, 2012 2:34 PM CST via iPhone app up reply actions
Kinda crazy that he made it over Briggs. I don’t think people recognize just how good Briggs is.
Fire Slocum
by packallday555 on Jan 29, 2012 4:34 PM CST up reply actions
I've said it before
and I’ll say it again. The Vikings lost nine games last season by seven points or less. We could easily have ended up 12-4 if the gods of football had been on our sideline. Ah, well, we’ll show ’em this coming season. Skol, Vikes!
"Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction." - Old Cowboy proverb.
perfect post
I agree,,,,,,, The Vikings are not far from being very competitive. This next year we will not lose our lead in the second half.
SKOL
I think if you look at the positions with less than average talent...
…the Vikings record starts to make sense. If we get good QB play in 2012, it will make a big difference, but there are still a lot of needs across the entirety of the team. And a crucial part of the team, the O-line, is a mess.
"Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
Another reason to address the offensive line.
As bad as the offensive line was in 2011, in 2012 the Vikings will be without Jimmy Kleinsasser and possibly Steve Hutchinson.
Wow, I question most of this...
When teams play totally different schemes on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, how do you pick players? If you’re arguing between Chad Greenway and Clay Mathews, the point is moot…they play the same position in two completely different schemes, with vastly different responsibilities. It appears PFF went with a 3-4 scheme in selecting defensive players, even though 3 of the 4 teams in the North play a 4-3.
Likewise, Kleinsasser as a FB? WTF? He’s a blocking TE, and sure he’s versatile, but if you’re going to pick a FB, why not go with GB’s John Kuhn? And after that, they didn’t even SELECT a TE. They easily could have gone with two. Somebody needs to write-up a fanpost and correct this one…
Ponder. Peterson. Percy. Purple Perfection.
Somebody needs to write-up a fanpost and correct this one…
I agree. And I’m ready to give you a “rec” when you do. :-)
"Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain." - Lily Tomlin
We had one of the worst lines in the NFL
and two of our linemen made it on this team. I’m having a real hard time with the reasoning on that one. K-sauce as a FB makes sense he’s a great blocker but only so so on the possession side of the ball. I think KWill made it on past pedigree as I wasn’t to impressed with him this year. Allen was obvious, as was AD and Harvin though. I am suprised Erin made it though, Detroit has some solid LB’s as do the Bears while other than Clay I don’t really see the Pack stepping up there.
Hell with the horrible play of the Packers secondary (along with ours) I really would be interested in how they picked that position. More of making it by subtraction that on any level of skill I would think.
The Vikes aren't in a remodeling or reconstruction they are in a burn the place down and start praying they don't mimic the Lions rebuilding process.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Daily Norseman
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- Former high-school star Brian Banks does serious time on trumped-up charge, now hopes for an NFL shot
- Former ‘idiot kicker’ Mike Vanderjagt in trouble after accosting junior-high heckler
- Adrian Peterson blows teammates away in footraces; appears to be on the mend
- UPDATE: Charlie Sheen didn’t buy Lawrence Taylor’s Super Bowl ring
- Alex Smith gets blown up by Jon Beason over Cam Newton comments
