Vikings season preview

AllDay · Post by **AllDay** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 10:10 am

I'm getting real excited for the season, and I've been reading all sorts of articles. I came across this season preview series and thought some of you would want to see the Vikings page.

Here it is: http://walterfootball.com/offseason2015min.php

What do you guys think? Would you be happy with 10-6? I think I would be happy with any sort of playoff berth.

PacificNorseWest · Post by **PacificNorseWest** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 11:58 am

Thanks for posting. It's definitely a good primer in gearing up for the upcoming season. Everything I read just gets me excited.

Wallace is a bum, but he has loads of talent as a deep threat.

My best friend is a Miami Dolphins fans and I found myself saying almost exactly this to him quite a bit.

I'm hoping the circumstances this time are better for Wallace and he shows out. I also think Zimmer is a better leader for him than Philbin as the article alludes to.

One player who has definitely lived up to his contract thus far is defensive end Everson Griffen, who was handed a 5-year, $42.5 million deal an offseason ago. It was a criticized move, given that Griffen had previously been unproven, but he made the front office look brilliant;

I'm a big fan of Griffen. He's done nothing but work hard to prove himself. I don't think he'll ever be recognized as great, but that's okay. He's a just a perfect fit, it seems, and a huge piece to this defense.

Blair Walsh took the league by storm as a rookie in 2012, drilling 35-of-38 tries, including a perfect 10-of-10 from 50-plus. However, he has regressed each season, and he was just 26-of-35 in 2014, though he did go 5-of-9 from 50-plus.

Jeff Locke is a mediocre punter. He finished in the middle of the pack in terms of net yardage in 2013, and he ranked 21st last season.

Both of these worry me. We talk about Locke's struggles often here, but not as much about Walsh. They really need these guys to be good to round out the progression we expect to see everywhere else. If the Vikings want to win the close games that they would have lost last year then these guys need to step up because the kicking game can often swing the pendulum of momentum to your favor or against you just like that.

Minnesota has a very balanced schedule. It seems like easy and difficult opponents rotate every week. For example, the year begins with: San Francisco (easy), Detroit (hard), San Diego at home (easy), Denver on the road (hard), Kansas City at home (easy), Detroit on the road (hard), and so on.

This doesn't really mean much to me at all right now. I wouldn't say KC at home will be easy, although it's very winnable. San Diego is a weird team. You never know if you get the lights out or the lights off version. Division opponents can and will always be tough here and there, but I'm not really sold on Detroit being a "hard" opponent. Losing Suh was killer and Stafford is prone to errant passes, which I think Minnesota will exploit to the fullest. At least, they should.

mosscarter · Post by **mosscarter** » Mon Jul 20, 2015 5:34 pm

i don't see any evidence to lead me to believe detroit will be a hard team to beat, other than our abysmal division record last year. we should sweep them i would think. if this team is going to live up to all this hype (and there is quite a bit) they need to win division games.

mansquatch · Post by **mansquatch** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 10:37 am

Detroit's Defense took a massive step back this year in losing Fairley and Suh. Ngata is no replacement for Suh. From a matchup standpoint, that was our biggest issue against the Lions, our interior OL last year just wasn't up the task of Suh and Fairley. With those two out of the picture, it should be a much more even competition in the trenches.

I'm cautious about our chances, I like where the team is going, but I do not like all this hype.

DK Sweets · Post by **DK Sweets** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 4:10 pm

I think people underestimate Ngata and Ansah, and I think they overestimate Fairley.

I don't think the Lions defense will be quite as good this year as last year, but in my mind that has more to do with their secondary being exposed than their front four.

Post by **Mothman** » Thu Aug 06, 2015 1:20 pm

USAToday writer Nate Davis' predictions for the season:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nf ... /30985171/

He has the Vikes finishing 10-6, beating the eagles on the Wildcard round and losing to the Seahawks in the divisional round.

NFC NORTH
Packers (12-4): They open on road against hated Bears before hosting Seahawks at home in NFC title game rematch. Two big games to wash bile from last season out of the collective palate while potentially mapping route to top seed.

Vikings (10-6): Highly motivated Adrian Peterson should take offense and second-year QB Teddy Bridgewater to new level, and potentially stacked defense looks ready to blossom. Schedule gets friendly after Week 5 bye.

Lions (7-9): Last year's No. 1 run defense sees Adrian Peterson (twice), Marshawn Lynch, Matt Forte, Jamaal Charles in first half minus Ndamukong Suh. We'll know then how badly franchise erred (or didn't) by letting all-pro walk.

Bears (3-13): Defense will look almost entirely different in terms of personnel and scheme. They can only hope QB Jay Cutler looks entirely different from 2014 version under new coaching staff.

His Super Bowl prediction? Packers defeat Colts.

DK Sweets · Post by **DK Sweets** » Thu Aug 06, 2015 2:28 pm

Mothman wrote:
His Super Bowl prediction? Packers defeat Colts.

I forbid this.

Post by **Mothman** » Thu Aug 06, 2015 2:31 pm

DK Sweets wrote:I forbid this.

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