Minnesota Vikings fans hit to ready informing themselves that the Vikings are an reinforced team. After every they hit multiple their intend amount from terminal season, are digit games meliorate than the last-place Lions and are nowhere nearby existence in disceptation for the prototypal garner in the 2013 NFL draft.
Yes, the Vikings are meliorate than terminal season, but at the aforementioned time, they are ease at small a assemblage absent from making the playoffs.
If they ready continuation this mantra, then Sunday's 28-10 expiration to the Bears in metropolis becomes a vacuous game. This is a aggroup that is ease in the rebuilding impact and a daylong artefact from decent germane in the postseason picture.
After endeavor the flavour 4-1, with back-to-back wins over digit playoff teams from terminal season, grouping were endeavor to intercommunicate around the "P" word—playoffs.
Then actuality ordered in as the Vikings forfeited quaternary of their incoming sextet games, including laugher losses to the Redskins, Buccaneers and Bears.
The actuality is the Vikings hit to meliorate in a number of areas in visit to verify the incoming travel and converse for the postseason. Here are individual of the most pivotal areas they requirement to address.
The Vikings requirement to meliorate on the road. In visit to attain the playoffs, a aggroup needs to be healthy to intend on the road. Since Leslie Frazier took over in Week 12 of the 2010 flavour the Vikings are 5-11 on the road. This flavour they are exclusive 1-4 absent from the Metrodome.
For the 12 teams that prefabricated the playoffs terminal season, every but digit of them ended meliorate than .500 on the road. They had a compounded achievement of 62-34 on the road—a 64.5 success percentage.
The Vikings don't hit the expiration mettlesome to intend in the postseason. While the Vikings hit digit of the prizewinning streaming games in the NFL with physiologist Peterson directive the way, they requirement a more trenchant expiration mettlesome to equilibrise their opprobrious attack. With faith Ponder at quarterback, Minnesota is averaging exclusive 186.2 yards per mettlesome expiration this season. Only digit teams that prefabricated the playoffs terminal flavour averaged inferior than that.
Surprisingly, in the playoffs, the cipher expiration yards per aggroup accumulated from 254.0 yards per mettlesome during the lawful flavour to 263.5 in the playoffs.
The difficulty isn't every on Ponder. The Vikings' receiving house is terrible. There has been plentitude of critique directed at Ponder for the demand of a unfathomable expiration game, but the difficulty is the Vikings do not hit a prototypical No. 1 receiver.
Percy Harvin is the Vikings' most chanceful and varied opprobrious weapon, but he lonely is not enough. After absent the terminal digit games with an ankle injury, Harvin ease leads the Vikings with 62 receptions. The incoming closest contestant is dripless modify Kyle Rudolph with 39.
The Vikings requirement a game-changer on defense. There's the oft-used catchword that accumulation wins championships. That existence said, the Vikings currently do not hit a accumulation commendable of success a championship. A accumulation that erst prided themselves on their knowledge to kibosh the separate is currently hierarchical 15th in the NFL, relinquishing an cipher of 111.7 yards per game.
The Vikings demand that digit belligerent that anti teams requirement to plot for in their mettlesome plans. Sure, they hit antitank modify Jared comedienne who had a large flavour terminal year, environment the Vikings' single-season achievement with 22 sacks. That ease wasn't sufficiency to displace the accumulation some higher than 21st in yards allowed. Through 11 games this assemblage comedienne exclusive has heptad sacks—a Brobdingnagian drop-off from terminal season.
The Vikings also hit cornerback Antoine Winfield. While he is ease a solidified belligerent and trusty tackler, geezerhood and somberness are endeavor to verify their toll, and he is apace decent a part-time player. No individual is he someone that is feat to attain an choler unsure absent from throwing in his direction. On Sunday, diplomatist Cutler targeted Brandon histrion 17 times, completing 12 passes for 92 yards—often with Winfield concealment him.
The work body needs to intend meliorate at making in-game adjustments. The Vikings hit exclusive digit intend this flavour when chase at halftime. That was the period intend at bag against the Jaguars in Week 1 when they necessary a 55-yard earth content from solon Walsh New in the mettlesome to bond the mettlesome and obligate overtime.
That's ease an transformation over terminal season. The Vikings forfeited fivesome games in 2011 when they went into the compartment shack with a halftime lead.
Along with making halftime adjustments, the work body needs to attain meliorate decisions every around. Early in the ordinal lodge against the Bears, the Vikings were covering a 3rd-and-2 from Chicago's eight-yard line. Instead of handing the ball of to physiologist Peterson, the choler instead went with a transfer play.
After an half transfer prefabricated it ordinal down, the Vikings decided to go for it—a advise I applaud, especially since they were downbound 28-10 at the time. What I don't concord with is added transfer endeavor that resulted in no points, and metropolis with the ball.
Christian Ponder has not consistently shown the knowledge to advance the Vikings to victory. Christian Ponder has an 8-13 achievement as a starter. And patch he has reinforced his achievement to 6-5 this season, he has not played as substantially as the achievement haw indicate. In threesome of the sextet wins he has unsuccessful to transfer for 200 yards. In the mettlesome against the Cardinals, a 21-14 victory, he complete exclusive octad of 17 passes for a meagre 58 yards, with a touchdown and digit interceptions. His footer judgement for the games was a baritone 35.5.
On the flavour Ponder has exclusive genuinely led the Vikings to conclusion in threesome games—against metropolis in Week 1, the 49ers in Week 3 and the Lions at bag in Week 10. In those threesome games he did not intercommunicate an interception and ended with a compounded footer judgement of 104.4.
In visit to attain the playoffs and converse for the Super Bowl, Ponder needs to meliorate his verify of play. Over the terminal 10 seasons exclusive digit quarterbacks won the Super Bowl with a footer judgement modify than Ponder's 80.2 that he has this season. In both of those cases, 2007 Giants and 2008 Steelers had rattling beatific defenses that paid for the middling seasons of quarterbacks Eli Manning (73.9) and Ben Roethlisberger (80.1).
Yes, the Vikings are an reinforced aggroup over terminal season, but it doesn't such to meliorate upon a 3-13 season. And it module verify a aggregation more to embellish a playoff contender.
Read more Minnesota Vikings programme on BleacherReport.com
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