The Carolina Panthers were the best team in the 2015 regular season, good enough to make their celebrations notorious. The Denver Broncos were the best team in the playoffs, beating Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady and Cam newton in succession without allowing any of them to produce more than 18 points.
Today, with Peyton Manning headed toward retirement, the Broncos will not be considered the team to beat in 2016.
So, once Manning retires, who in the NFL will be clearly better than the Minnesota Vikings?
The Minnesota Vikings biggest opponents will be ................The Minnesota Vikings! If the Vikings learn to stop shooting themselves in the foot, they'll be alright next year.
Off the top of my head here are the teams that could be as good, better than, or far better than the Vikings with MINOR adjustments; New England, Kansas City, Seahawks, Packers, Steelers, Bengals, Panthers, Rams, Detroit, Chicago.
Better at what?
They have yet to score an offensive TD against Seattle in two tries and have beaten GB once since Zimmer was hired.
Any given sunday....
I think there is a solid handful of teams capable of winning it all. Getting there is the hardest part. Winning that one game is just like any other game in terms of what needs to happen.
I think the Vikes are as good as any team on their best day, but their bad days are probably a bit worse than some of the more experienced playoff teams in general.
Sea, Pitt, Den, NE etc.
I expect them to take a big step next season....hopefully some good fortune and fortunate bounces along the way.
It's mental masturbation at this point. I remember when the 2010 Vikings were "all in" because the 2009 version had lost the Championship game by a hair. We saw how that turned out.
Let's see what happens in the off season. Then we'll know more about the team's progress.
Wow, already an established team? I think there are a half dozen teams you can rely on to stay about the same, barring injuries to their franchise QBs. I'm not sure the Vikings are reliable enough to pencil them in for a playoff spot. This doesn't strike me as a team that's guaranteed a wild card spot. The offense could continue to struggle, the QB could continue to struggle...or possibly even take a step back. The defense played lights out, and should continue to. But they could have issues too if some holes aren't plugged up, with teams having two years of tape on Zimmer and the personnel.
This team has pulled this trick too many times to buy in now...a couple times we were on the rise, one of the youngest teams, only to come back the next season and fall on their face.
Demi wrote:Wow, already an established team? I think there are a half dozen teams you can rely on to stay about the same, barring injuries to their franchise QBs. I'm not sure the Vikings are reliable enough to pencil them in for a playoff spot. This doesn't strike me as a team that's guaranteed a wild card spot. The offense could continue to struggle, the QB could continue to struggle...or possibly even take a step back. The defense played lights out, and should continue to. But they could have issues too if some holes aren't plugged up, with teams having two years of tape on Zimmer and the personnel.
This team has pulled this trick too many times to buy in now...a couple times we were on the rise, one of the youngest teams, only to come back the next season and fall on their face.
That's how I feel about it too. Their success seems precarious right now and they could easily take a step back. There might be a dozen or more teams better than the Vikes next year or they might be the best and win it all but at this point, they still ahve some big question marks and a lot to prove.
Demi wrote:This team has pulled this trick too many times to buy in now...a couple times we were on the rise, one of the youngest teams, only to come back the next season and fall on their face.
Well said. Let's not forget we're all Vikings fans and we've seen wishful thinking scenarios turn into clunkers in a hurry.
I think there are some big fixes still needed on the team. Can they do it all in one year? They haven't been able to do it in the past.
Delusions of glory here lately. We have No OL, we have a very questionable QB, a middling receiver corp. A RB who wants to be the center of the team but has a knack of fumbling away the play-off hopes, and an OC who may not know how to utilize the odd mix of players he is dealt. The one seemingly strong point is the defense. Special teams may also be reworked a bit given their contribution to the seasons end.
I'm not ready to knock the receiving corp just yet, with or without Wallace. A trio of Cotchery, Ginn and a guy named Brown just started in the SB on the league's best offense. Meanwhile the ability of their TE opened up a lot of opportunity for them.
IMO, there is no real way to even properly diagnose the offense until the line can hold up better. No way can I get too high on this group yet, other than to say the D is top tier and the return game the same.
The offense could be much more functional on a whole or there could be undeniable need for serious changes.
Either way, I think the running and kicking game will still keep them afloat and relevant while the other stuff plays out.
lets see here, to win 11 games and win the division, and to come a FG kick away to advancing. We have a great coaching staff. a good young core and good depth. We have cap space and a GM known to making solid moves in the NFL draft and yall think we going to take a step back. this is a negative Vikings message board. I saw one guy mention Detroit. LOL calvin Johnson just retired.
luckily the rest of our division is floundering. Detroit is, well, Detroit...doomed to failure. THeir window for success is closing. Green Bay has some serious rebuilding to do. The Bears have more holes then Obama's foreign policy program. So, the Vikes should have a great chance of taking the division. But, I dont buy that we have a great yourg core on Offense. Defense, sure...not Offense. The O has holes to fill and some young guys that still have a bunch to prove.
chicagopurple wrote:luckily the rest of our division is floundering. Detroit is, well, Detroit...doomed to failure. THeir window for success is closing. Green Bay has some serious rebuilding to do. The Bears have more holes then Obama's foreign policy program. So, the Vikes should have a great chance of taking the division. But, I dont buy that we have a great yourg core on Offense. Defense, sure...not Offense. The O has holes to fill and some young guys that still have a bunch to prove.
I guess I just don't see the rebuilding issues in our division. Our entire division is essentially an Oline short of creaming each other. Could you imagine The Packers, Lions, Or Bears with the oline we are hoping to have next year. I get it that the bottom lines are wins but we were a bad bounce away from losing to St. Louis (LA?) chicago the first time and KC. That would have meant 8-8. I certainly think we are a team on the rise but I think that we are essentially a barely top 15 team that got some lucky bounces.
Injuries is going to be a big factor in that question. What would the panthers have been with Newton injured or the Packers with Rodgers injured?
Look how injuries hampered our OL this year.
I like a lot of teams for next year.