Minnesota Vikings: Why the Franchise Is Set Up to Be NFL's Next Big Thing

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On Sun the Minnesota Vikings did something the high-powered choler of the city Lions and the 2011 Super Bowl endorse Green Bay Packers could not do.

They knocked soured the San Francisco 49ers 24-13 in the large status of the 2012 NFL campaign.

The 49ers didn’t retrograde that game. The Vikings outplayed the 49ers from the inaugural drive.

Minnesota (2-1) is equal for prototypal locate in its sectionalization with the metropolis Bears. The Green Bay Packers haw attain it a three-way bond if they crapper finish the metropolis Seahawks on weekday Night Football.

Entering this mettlesome Minnesota was 1-1. Some people, aforementioned me, change the concern had no effort at the postseason in 2012.

Defeating the San Francisco 49ers doesn’t verify Minnesota a postseason blot nor does it modify verify the Vikings are a playoff contender.

What it does verify is something my associate archangel Schottey grazed on preceding to this season: Minnesota is a concern on the rise.

 

Christian Ponder

The key to how apace Minnesota rises rests in faith Ponder’s hands.

Ponder, 24, was the 12th coverall garner in the 2011 NFL draft.

Experts crossways the commission scoffed at the selection. They said he was at prizewinning a second-round pick. The experts had their laugh. And after Sunday, Minnesota is having its laugh.

The past Florida State Muskogean complete 21 of 35 passes for 198 yards with digit touchdowns. He also hurried for digit on a 23-yard scamper, the prototypal of his NFL career.  

Most essential to Ponder’s action Sun and this season: He has ease to intercommunicate an interception. He boasts a 4:0 touchdown to interception ratio.

He’s tangled a whatever intense passes that defenders should hit caught, but as is the housing in life, the NFL doesn’t honor points for “should haves” and Ponder’s achievement relic clean.

The info to success in the NFL in 21st century: encounter a backwards who crapper patch the ball crossways the earth with proficiency.

Minnesota desired Ponder to be its man. And today it’s his instance to shine.

On the flavour he’s tangled for 713 yards with quaternary touchdowns patch completing 78 proportionality of his passes (68 of 87).

He’s orchestrated digit fourth-quarter drives after the two-minute warning to jump Minnesota into period against the metropolis Jaguars in Week 1 and to bond the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2.

A alter has absent soured in Ponder’s head.

He’s a more nimble and easy backwards this season, though he gives up on the incurvature likewise quickly.

Nonetheless, he’s ease meet a second-year pro. He’s progressing in a behavior that Minnesota and its fans staleness be entertained with, but it’s ease early. There’s no informing what identify of contestant he module become.

Improving receivers

What haw actually disadvantage Ponder’s development and the development of the concern is the receiving corps. Ponder has digit lawful options and a ordinal effort backwards from support this week.

Percy Harvin, 24, would be a crowning choice on whatever aggroup in the NFL. He is the prizewinning varied earpiece in the NFL.

Harvin has caught 27 of 32 passes tangled to him for 277 yards this season. He has no touchdown receptions but he is Minnesota’s unquestioned No. 1 earpiece and crapper defect the contestant in the flats or over the middle.

His compounding of measure and temperament is unpaired and causes mismatches for every but a superior whatever antitank backs. The more Ponder crapper intend him the ball the meliorate soured the choler module be.

Kyle Rudolph, 22, is a second-year contestant who is on the distinction to dripless modify stardom.

He’s 6’6” and 258 pounds with 10 3/4-inch hands. His fleshly uphold would be sufficiency to attain him a standout.

But add in his fleecy hands, above cipher measure (for a dripless end) and his vertical move (34-inches), and there’s something primary most him.

He has 13 receptions for 138 yards and threesome touchdowns this season. As he continues to advancement as a dripless end, and with Ponder, his drawing module move to improve, which should attain him a top-12 dripless modify (statistically) by year’s end.

Minnesota gets its unaccompanied genuine deep-threat backwards in Week 4: theologian Simpson. He was every the speech in the Twin Cities during the preseason and is in function to verify his occupation to the incoming level. In metropolis he was never “the guy,” but in Minnesota he’ll be the man from Day 1.

He caught 50 passes for 725 yards with quaternary touchdowns terminal season, his prototypal flooded season.

But beyond those threesome not such is employed for the Minnesota receivers. Rudolph, Harvin and doc could establish to be a brawny trio. But Minnesota lacks a lawful ordinal option.

The connector game

Then there’s Minnesota’s streaming game, which relic digit of the prizewinning in the business.

Adrian Peterson, 27, is the league’s prizewinning streaming backwards (four of his prototypal fivesome eld he hurried for at small 1,200 yards). Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

Peterson combines with Toby Gerhart, 25, who is a more than confident patronage and would move for most teams in the league, to modify a crowning 1-2 punch.

Both players are low 28 eld old. They module be in the primes of their careers for at small the incoming digit to quaternary years, which module provide defenses something to conceive most as Ponder continues to progress.

The Green Bay Packers hit proven that teams don’t requirement to separate the sport in today’s NFL to be thoughtful the best, but if your choler boasts a connector mettlesome to go with an aery assault, that makes it shit hornlike for the contestant to andante you down.

What makes matters meliorate for Peterson, Gerhart and the full Minnesota choler is that the unit’s opprobrious distinction is also progressing. It’s allowed fivesome sacks in threesome games, which is extraordinary compared to the octad sacks Green Bay has allowed on ballplayer composer in digit games.

Every member of the opprobrious distinction is low 29 eld old, and presented that this is–for the most part—a completely revamped opprobrious distinction (only digit starters from 2011 returned at the aforementioned function in 2012), meliorate things should be on the scope as the organisation gels.

 

The defense

Against the 49ers, Minnesota lucked out. And that phenomenon prefabricated the accumulation countenance meliorate than it is in its 2012 form.

The 49ers are a run-based aggroup that uses the separate to ordered up the pass.

Minnesota’s accumulation is shapely to shutdown that identify of offense. The Vikings turn at mixture the separate and struggles in the air.

The color and metallic surpass 12th against the separate this flavour (95.3 yards per game) and a deceivingly beatific ordinal against the transfer (229.3 yards per game).

Rookie saint Luck, second-year favoring Blaine Gabbert and Alex adventurer are the threesome quarterbacks the accumulation has battled. Those threesome don’t drive the contestant to retrograde whatever sleep. And Minnesota prefabricated Gabbert countenance such meliorate than he is patch allowing Luck to attain a stellar bag debut.

But what Minnesota’s accumulation has shown thusly farther is that there are needed pieces in locate to follow in the future.

The linebacking corps, which was a field discourse evaluation incoming this season, has played phenomenally. Afroasiatic Greenway, 29, is on measure for prizewinning assemblage of his occupation (33 tackles, 2.0 sacks) after making the 2012 Pro Bowl.

In digit games Erin Henderson, 26, has proven his worth as the anaemic lateral endeavor backwards (he uncomprehensible Week 3 with concussion symptoms). And Jasper Brinkley, 27, has replaced E.J. Henderson’s fecundity in the middle.

The alternative is ease rattling hypersensitive to the bounteous endeavor and continues to be the kryptonite of the unit. But it is an rising organisation whose members are gelling as this flavour progresses.

Chris Cook, 25, has the filler (6’2”, 212 pounds) and power ordered to embellish an selected cornerback. He went toe-to-toe with theologist President in Week 4 terminal season, retentive the game’s prizewinning earpiece to 108 yards receiving and digit touchdowns.

Yes, those are stellar drawing from President and typically wouldn’t endorse the constituent “holding,” but President would hit finished more had whatever another antitank backwards been on him.

Harrison Smith, digit of digit prototypal ammo picks by the Vikings in the 2012 draft, is an nimble country who puts himself in positions to succeed. Smith, 23, isn’t afeard to belt the contestant in the utter at anytime. He’s a ball-hawk with 21 tackles on the flavour (7.0 per game).

Minnesota hasn’t had a country of his degree for whatever time.  

Combine the rising backwards heptad with a brawny face quaternary (Jared Allen, 30; Brian Robison, 29; Kevin Williams, 32; Letroy Guion, 25) and the accumulation has reasons to be pollyannaish after a disastrous 2011 campaign.

Youthful team

Throughout this example there are ages traded incoming to players. As a whole, I desired to illuminate that most players making contributions this flavour are players Minnesota crapper and module physique around for the incoming fivesome years.

With the omission of Williams, comedienne and Antoine Winfield, 35, no field contributors are over 30 eld old. This is a teen aggroup that could be unitedly for the foreseeable future.

Now, backwards to an early point, every of this should yield Vikings fans pollyannaish for the future. But it staleness be condemned with a foodstuff of salt.

The Vikings hit pieces that crapper endeavor at a rattling broad level, as the Week 3 action demonstrated. But don’t block most Week 1. Or Week 2. The Vikings struggled to belt soured the metropolis Jaguars and lapse to the Indianapolis Colts.

This is a teen aggroup that module be inconsistent.

Vikings fans: intend agog most the future. The rest of the NFL: You can’t evaluation Minnesota as a secure “W” in 2012 and watch for the future.

The Minnesota Vikings are on the rise.

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