Vikings Head Into The Offseason: Optimism Reigns For The Offense In 2015

by Brett Miller


If somebody would’ve told me the Vikings would have an injury ravaged offensive line, lose the game’s best running back to unforeseen circumstances after just one game, lose their starting quarterback in week three, watch our most anticipated player take a step back (Looking at you Cordarrelle), and finish 7-9, I would’ve said you’ve watched too many heroic underdog sports movies. Nonetheless that’s what the purple and gold did this year under first year Head Coach Mike Zimmer.


We’ll start with the offensive line where former first round pick Matt Kalil struggled mightily at times for the second straight year after a very impressive rookie campaign. After signing right guard Brandon Fusco to a 5-year, $24.25 million dollar contract, he was lost for the year after tearing a pectoral muscle in week 3 at New Orleans. Right tackle Phil Loadholt was lost for the season on the final drive of the game in week 12 against Green Bay, also with a torn pectoral. Right guard Charlie Johnson and replacement Vlad Ducasse were in and out with injuries of their own. Those injuries were only magnified when you consider the Vikings had a rookie behind center for all but three games this past year.

Segue to the most important position in sports, the quarterback. Matt Cassel was never thought to be our savior, just a hold over until Teddy Bridgewater was ready to take over…maybe late in a lost season, or even next year. Either way the thought of a young franchise quarterback with the help of AP in the backfield was exciting to all Vikings fans. Well that isn’t how it went down, Cassel broke his foot in week 3, and the Teddy era began whether we were ready or not….without Peterson, and with a depleted line protecting him.

 

AP's Return Remains Big Offseason Question

Then we have the Adrian Peterson story line. The game’s best running back played in the season opener before being shut down for the year due to the off the field issues that I don’t need to detail as any SPORTS fan, let alone a football fan knows all too well. Having a guy like AP in the backfield could alleviate some of those O-Line issues, but replace him with a rookie (McKinnon) and a goal line back (Asiata) and it becomes more apparent that there are problems up front. This is compounded even more when you consider our exciting return man/deep threat Cordarrelle Patterson had what we can only hope was the dreaded sophmore slump. Looking at the glass being half full, Patterson’s struggles have led to the emergence of wide receiver Charles Johnson, who has become Teddy’s favorite target.

It was rough at the beginning, but from week 4-17 we saw amazing strides out of Teddy…a guy who was once thought to be the number one overall pick in the 2014 draft. He looked uncomfortable at times and couldn't complete a deep ball to save his life. Then it started to click, his “arrival” moment came week 14 against the Jets. It was Teddy’s overtime audible on a quick hitter to speedy Jarius Wright who took it 87-yards to the house that won the game. From there on Teddy looked calm, collected, and confident. He didn't blow teams away, but he stood tall in the pocket and made key throws at key times. If I could put it in a nutshell, his 44-yard touchdown toss to Adam Thielen in the season finale against Chicago came at a time when both defenses were dominating a low scoring affair. It was enough for the Vikes to ride the defense the rest of the way and give Coach Mike Zimmer his first divisional win.

Expectations are usually higher than the team can deliver for most fan bases, same can be said for the Vikings. Struggles come from all over the field, but for the Vikings there has never been a position so perplexing as the Quarterback spot. We seemingly have FINALLY found a young QB who can bring us to new heights. The Adrian Peterson situation is yet to be resolved and there are a lot of angles to it. Nobody agrees with how he conducted himself, but most also don’t agree that the punishment he received was fair either. In Roger Goodell’s backwards way of policing the situation, Peterson may oddly enough end up looking like a victim of an unfair process.

If Peterson is back in purple and gold next year, he’ll be fresh and hungry as ever, which is a scary thought for opposing defenses. That along with the revitalization of a healthy offensive line could help Teddy avoid a sophmore slump, and in turn help Patterson get back on track alongside the continued growth of Charles Johnson. Once again our expectations will be high, who shoulders the brunt of those expectations is yet to be seen, Teddy? AP? Why not both.