Minnesota Vikings
Offense
The Vikings are set on trotting out Matt Cassel under center Week 1, putting the Teddy Bridgewater Era in the Twin Cities on hold … for now. Cassel proved to be the best quarterback on the roster last year over former first-round picks Josh Freeman and Christian Ponder, and was re-signed in the offseason to be that bridge quarterback until Bridgewater is ready.
How long before Bridgewater is ready? That remains to be seen. Much of the offseason hype has revolved around second-year wideout Cordarrelle Patterson, who came on very strong down the stretch in 2013. Adrian Peterson is back, entering his age-29 season, again looking to defy the odds of nature. New offensive coordinator Norv Turner has hyped up Kyle Rudolph. Turner has made tight ends major parts of his passing games; just see Antonio Gates and Jordan Cameron for references.
Defense
Now that Mike Zimmer is the Vikings’ new coach, expect him to have a tremendous impact on his defense. He did it with Cincinnati, and he has a lot of talent to work with in this group.
Jared Allen is gone. Now newly paid Everson Griffen will be the team’s premier edge-rusher. Anthony Barr was drafted in the first round to do the same. Captain Munnerlyn and Linval Joseph came over via free agency, while two youngsters, Sharrif Floyd and Xavier Rhodes, are players on the rise.
Outlook
The Vikings are a long shot in a very competitive NFC North, especially with their quarterback position unsettled beyond Week 1. The pressure is on Cassel to perform, because if he doesn’t the fans will call for the quarterback who was drafted in the first round to take over as the starter.
With Chicago and Green Bay jawing for the division crown, and the Lions on the rise as well, Minnesota is likely to find themselves on the outside looking in. However, with so much talent up and down the roster, it shouldn’t be long before the team again is competing for the postseason.
