FanPost

Minnesota Vikings Training Camp/Season Preview

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Hey Minnesota I have an idea, let's talk about something other than Chris Kluwe considering training camp starts tomorrow and we don’t need to make an enormous distraction of the situation...

So as I was sitting at my desk at work I began to dream about a perfect fantasy football season, the Vikings winning a Super Bowl, Bridgewater developing into an elite quarterback, and the Vikes becoming something besides "well, they have Adrian Peterson". Somewhere I signed an imaginary contract and in the terms of service agreement it said I would share with Vikings fans my opinion on the team heading into training camp, along with the rest of the teams in the NFL and I'd call it "32 Teams In 32 Days" (Sounded catchy, even if it takes more than 32 days. But I'll try my best). You aren’t required to read this article, but you’ve already read this much so you might as well continue to read the rest of it. Share/comment on my article whether you enjoyed it or if you think it’s awful.

Remember, a lot of this is just my opinion so there is no need to get fired up if you disagree with me!

With the NFL season almost here, my entire focus has altered towards the gridiron (nothing different than usual). The Vikings are LOADED with young talent and it looks like this season could become a "learning" year for the purple to benefit our future… or could it?

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2013 Woes - Minnesota absolutely STUMBLED out of the gate last season, going 1-7 in their first eight games.

Most of the team’s struggles came from a secondary that got exposed each week, a floundering head coach that never found his footing as an NFL head coach, and a gruesome quarterback venture. Their offense lost Kyle Rudolph after he broke his foot vs the Dallas Cowboys.Adrian Peterson also battled injuries which resulted in his worst statistical season of his career (not including 2011 because AP missed 4 games due to ACL injury). Harrison Smith, the leader of the secondary, battled some injuries of his own last season as well. The lack of defensive leadership really showed when the nasty striker was out of the starting lineup.

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Silver Lining to 2013 - Outside of all the terrible things Minnesota did last season, there was a few positives that ‘Sota can take away.

Cordarrelle Patterson emerged as one of the premier big-play threats in the entire NFL during his first year. Patterson looks to add to his impressive rookie campaign by being a superstar offensive threat, along with maintaining his role as the best return man in football. The man known as "Flash" turned out to be a second half of the season breakout star. Mostly because Coach Frazier and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave weren’t really sure how to implement somebody with Patterson’s skill set into their offense. That statement seems kind of weird for coaches that were in the organization when Percy Harvin was still wearing purple and gold, right?

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Along with Patterson’s success, rookie corner back Xavier Rhodes gained miles of knowledge and experience in just one season. Rhodes was Minnesota’s primary guy on opposing team’s best wide receiver (sadly). Last season Rhodes made his first NFL start against the league’s best wide out, Calvin Johnson. The first snap of Rhode's NFL career ended with him staring at Megatron, from the ground. Can you imagine hearing that from your coach as a rookie??? Hey, by the way you have to stop Megatron today. First off, if your coach is calling an opposing player MEGATRON there is no way you're going to go out and play good. It might have been tough for Rhodes, but he kept getting up after he was pushed down and ended up with a pretty decent game.

Rhodes’ rookie season was the best thing that could’ve happened to him. Xavier went up against WR’s with the names of Calvin Johnson (twice), Brandon Marshall/Alshon Jeffery (twice), Josh Gordon, Jordy Nelson/Randall Cobb (twice), Antonio Brown, Dez Bryant, Pierre Gacon, Desean Jackson, AJ Green, and Torrey Smith.

The stats and film won’t look pretty to viewers, but Xavier Rhodes has improved immensely and the 2014 season should showcase every single way that the 2nd year cornerback improved. Rhodes ended up being worth the first round pick he was because he played his best late in the year. New Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has done wonders with cornerbacks far less talented than Rhodes, and Zimmer's preference for press man cornerbacks perfectly suits Rhodes' playing style. Vikings fans should be excited; Xavier Rhodes might turn out to be a gem.

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Let's not forget that a poor 2013 season helped Minnesota get a top 10 pick in the draft, which lead to OLB Anthony Barr. He has excellent measureables, above-average athleticism and a quick first step as pass-rusher. This was truly a great pick for a defense that really gets little production from its linebackers (not named Chad Greenway). The Vikings need to figure out how to manufacture a better pass rush to protect a pass defense that was 31st in coverage a year ago. He can play strongside or weakside linebacker in this 4-3 scheme

Not What It Seems – Five times last season… FIVE TIMES the Vikings were leading in the final minute of the game, but ended up losing 4 of those games and tied the other. Playing on the quarterback carrousel last season, along with a poor head coach is a recipe for disaster. This season will be much different. The season obviously didn’t go the way Minnesota hoped it would, but it only leaves room for improvement this time around. With new assets in place, the Vikings should be able to make some noise in the very competitive NFC North.

Training Camp – Any football fan loves this time of season. The weather is still hot so it feels like summer, but when you see football, hear football, and talk football you can’t help that it starts to feel like fall. Everybody sort of reenergizes when you talk football. Basketball, baseball, hockey, golf, soccer, tennis, etc. are great and all, but when you say football it’s different. Everybody watches football.

With the Vikings getting ready to start training camp tomorrow, everybody has a few different questions heading into our mini-season before the real deal starts, but there are two big questions everybody wants the answer to.

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How good of a Coach is Mike Zimmer?

Minnesota has gotten a little taste of Zimmer (via OTA’S, minicamps, and interviews). Outside of that, when you search "Mike Zimmer" on the internet the results you get are his highlights on HBO’s "Hard Knocks" cursing out the Cincinnati Bengals defense.

Linebacker Jasper Brinkley has seen the Hard Knocks film and commented, "I remember seeing those competition drills that (Zimmer) had, It was just one-on-one to see who was the toughest. It was a man whooping a man."

It’s not like Zimmer has nothing to work with either. Zimmer has inherited a roster containing 10 former first-round picks, seven of whom were drafted in 2012 or later, and the Vikings went 10-6 just two seasons ago. He is a pretty lucky coach getting to start fresh with raw talent, new coaching staff, and the best running back in the game.

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Brian Robison, who has emerged as the leader for the Vikings on the front four, described Coach Zimmer’s attitude by saying, ''Coach Zimmer will tell you straight up: ‘we’re not trying to make the playoffs.' Your goal has to be, we will make the playoffs. We will be the best defense in the league. We will go to the Super Bowl."

"I assume it's going to be a pretty physical camp, just because of the reputation (Zimmer) has around the league," said fullback Jerome Felton. "He's kind of an old-school, no-nonsense guy and he wants to have a physical team. I would expect him to carry that into training camp, but that personally fits my game."

Zimmer will transform Minnesota into a competitive team that believes they’re capable of winning their division, making the playoffs, and winning a Super Bowl someday. My favorite thing about Zimmer is that he has a defensive mentality and it will transform the Vikings defensive mentality completely. In other words the defense will talk the talk, but now will walk the walk.

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What does Norv Turner bring to the table?

2014 will be Turner’s 30th consecutive season in the National Football League and during that time the offensive guru has seen it all at the quarterback position. That being said, Turner will be able to make the correct decision that needs to be made in regards to Minnesota’s quarterback cluster _____. Norv and Zimmer have each said Matt Cassel will be the team’s #1 quarterback going into training camp. Now obviously that doesn’t necessarily mean he will be the starter coming out, but if you’re a Vikes fan than you have to live your season by this motto – "In Norv We Trust".

There is no question that Norv Turner will be able to work his magic to give the Vikings one of the most dynamic offenses in football. If he can make a successful offense in CLEVELAND he should have an explosion of success with the Vikes.

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Cordarrelle Patterson, Greg Jennings, Jerome Simpson, Jarius Wright (watch for a HUGE break out year), and Kyle Rudolph is an excellent receiving core for Turner to work with. Norv likes to stretch the field vertically and air it out. Typically Turner’s tight ends have always had a lot of success in the past (Antonio Gates, Jordan Cameron, Vernon Davis) so don’t be surprised if Kyle Rudolph has the best year of his career in 2014.

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To go along with the receiving core, Minnesota also has a solid offensive line, Adrian Peterson, and a new toy named Jerick McKinnon. Peterson is OBVIOULSY the guy on this offense, but Turner also likes to use his back up running back as a pass catcher or 3rd down back. Traditionally that back has also had a lot of success with Turner as his OC (think Darren Sproles, Michael Turner, and Danny Woodhead).

The Vikings head into training camp with the quarterback as their biggest question mark, go figure. For the ninth consecutive camp, since Daunte Culpepper's last year, the QB situation is up for grabs. Turner has his choice between a veteran in Matt Cassel that can get the job done; or Christian Ponder, a 12th overall pick that has yet to do… anything. Ponder’s best season ended when he suffered an injury the week before playoffs, thus making Joe Webb the guy who ended up getting murdered by Green Bay after they throttled the Pack the week before. Oh yeah, Teddy Bridgewater is also on the roster this season. After trading up in this year’s draft it has become obvious that is who Zimmer wants to lead his team in the future, but the question is when?

Turner has his choice of who he wants as a quarterback, well actually his son Scott Turner will because he is the Vikes new QB coach.

Key Losses – DE Jared Allen; DTs Kevin Williams and Letroy Guion; RB Toby Gerhart; LB Erin Henderson; CB Chris Cook.

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Minnesota lost a few familiar faces this offseason. They will be tough to replace, but thankfully the organization did a great job in the draft and free agency to make some important additions.

Key Additions - Coach Mike Zimmer; QB Teddy Bridgewater; LBs Anthony Barr and Jasper Brinkley; CB Captain Munnerlyn; DT Linval Joseph; DE Corey Wootton; SS Kurt Coleman; RB Jerick McKinnon.

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Drafting and adding some young talent to this already young Vikings team will help them a lot. The defense will make strides compared to their statistics from last season and they have some fresh legs on offense. I believe they're just stock piling, similar to what Seattle did with their core of players and look where it got them...

My 3 Bold Predictions – My "3 Bold Predictions" will be based off of my personal opinion. When I make these predictions I honestly believe it is possible for them to happen, but remember it’s just a prediction.

1.) Vikings take 2nd in division (9-7)

The Vikes have a tough early stretch of games (Patriots, Saints, Falcons, Packers, and Lions), but also have a weak stretch of opponents immediately following (Bills, Buccaneers, Redskins, Bears). By the time Minnesota hits that stretch they should know who their quarterback will be for the season and will gain some momentum against those weaker opponents. At the tail end of that weaker stretch the Vikings should be playing good football and might be able to steal a couple wins against some talented Packers, Panthers, and Bears teams. On the other hand I might be optimistic because I’m just being a giant homer, oh well… SKOL!

2.) Cordarrelle Patterson will have 70 + receptions, 900 + receiving yards, 13 + total touchdowns (receiving, rushing, and returns) -

Before you start calling Flash the second Moss, Purple Jesus 2.0, or some other nickname that’ll jinx the talent CP has let me remind you of something - Patterson is learning his second offense in two years, and receiver is the hardest position to transition in the NFL. Destined for a new quarterback the story is much the same and Patterson will have to learn on the fly.

Wait a second, all I did was give you reasons to think Patterson won’t reach those numbers…? Yes, it is true, but Patterson has already improved from last year a lot. Offensive coordinator, Norv Turner, said that "He’s reacted to this opportunity like a guy on a mission. He’s really done well".

Cordarrelle showed he really started to understand the game during the second half of the 2013 season. In his final 6 games Patterson had - 24 receptions on 41 targets (remember, awful QB situation), 273 yards receiving, 156 rushing yards, and 6 total touchdowns. In his first 10 games CP had 21 receptions, 196 receiving yards, and one touchdown. Patterson also has the big play ability as a return man averaging over 30 yards per return with two scores!

In a recent interview with NFL Fan Pass Cordarrelle said, "I'm going to be a top-five playmaker. I'm a playmaker, I like to make plays. Like I tell them, just get the ball in my hands I feel like I'm special with it. I just like to do special things with the ball."

The Minnesota Vikings plan to use the dynamic receiver all over the field and Greg Jennings said last month Patterson would be "showcased" in the team's offense.

3.) Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t start until week 5 against Green Bay, wins, and finishes season with rookie record of 7-4

I believe it is very likely that Matt Cassel will start week one against St. Louis. Cassel will likely play well vs. the Rams and get the nod against his former team, New England for week two. In order Cassel will play: New England, Saints, and Atlanta. Minnesota can hopefully win one of those games (hopefully more). With a young and learning defense it’ll be tough to slow down those powerhouse offensive teams, but it’s even tougher if your offense can’t match the opposing team’s level of play. Starting out 1-3 doesn’t sound appealing to anybody, but sometimes that’s the way it goes.

A stagnant 1-3 start can be the appropriate time to give a rookie the nod. By bringing in a young star such as Teddy, it could provide some sort of spark that the Vikes will probably need by week 5. Bridgewater has already impressed Zimmer and Turner at minicamps and OTA’s. Turner told the media, "I think he probably should’ve gone in the first 10 picks".

I think it would be a mistake to force Bridgewater into a starting role immediately, especially against premier teams such as New England and New Orleans. Bridgewater will be ready by week 5 after watching what Cassel does well, and when he does badly. Besides what’s better than Bridgewater excelling in his first start against Green Bay? Oh yeah… week 5 is a Thursday night game at Lambeau Field. SKOL!

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.