Wednesday, August 13, 2008

32 Teams in 30-Some Days - Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings



Horrible indeed. Wow.

But I tell you what's not going to horrible, the Minnesota Vikings. I'm going on the record right now as saying that I am hitching my wagon to Tarvaris Jackson's star. He looked pretty darn good in the Viking's preseason opener and he is not going to be the catastrophe everyone thinks he'll be. I'm not saying he's going to the Pro Bowl but he's not going to be killing his team either.

Just remember where you heard it first.

Luckily for Jackson, he doesn't have to carry to the offence. Minnesota still has this guy, in case you forgot:



I'm in no way a Vikings fan but there is nobody in the league I love to watch run more than Peterson. I would probably marry him, if he'd have me.

Two things worry me about him this season though. First, he slowed down at the end of last season and might be prone to the odd injury here and there this season. He just runs so hard that it's bound to happen eventually. If he suffers a major injury, the Vikings are pretty much done.

The second thing that worries me is the departure of fullback Tony Richardson to the Jets. I might be making too big a deal out of this, but I think losing Richardson could have a significant effect on Peterson. Remember how good Kansas City's running game used to be? Richardson was the fullback there too. Now how good is that running game (yes, there were other factors - like the whole offensive line retired).

I'm almost positive that Peterson is good enough to dominate regardless of who is blocking for him. However, I've still got a small, lingering doubt.

The Verdict
If Peterson stays healthy, the offence is going to be fine. But did I mention that Minnesota is going to be pretty dang good on defence too? They were almost impossible to run on last year, with the Williams sisters in the middle. Now they've also added drunk driving aficionado and last years sack leader, Jared Allen. The days of the Purple People Eaters have returned.

That defence might put up more zeros than Canada's Olympic medal count - seriously, the only country without a medal so far? Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Tajikstan, and Togo all have at least one medal. When Mongolia is beating you at something, it's officially gotten embarrassing.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

How does Mongolia have a medal? I thought the Chinese put up some sort of wall to keep there ass out.

Anonymous said...

Isn't one of the williams sisters hurt. I'm sure I saw a williams on an injury report that had him out for 6 weeks.

Offense yeah peterson is good, but I attribute some of it to the line and possibly fb. Chester taylor stepped in for AP and the running game didn't falter at all. He is good but the system helps as well.
Javaris ?? he'll have to show teams he's capable cause until he does the box will be stacked. Quick name the receivers on the vikings ??? If you got 1 good on you, 2 i tip my hat to you sir.

Luke said...

Bernard Berrian and Sydney Rice.

Bam!

It's Madieau Williams that's hurt - their new corner/safety.

And apparently goat herding is a new Olympic sport - cause that's the only way Mongolia should have a medal.

Anonymous said...

so williams is to minny like johnson is to detroit..or cincy.

berrian he played for the bears last year right??? is he better now? Rice becuase of his height and speed will be like a top 20 receiver...

just thought of something... weren't you a big fan of john david booty, you don't think he will take over starting role??? or no love for him anymore.

I thought today you would have done a preview of the Toronto oops I mean buffalo bills

Luke said...

Well, I never said either of those two guys was any good - you just said to name them.

I'm not a fan of John David at all - other than calling him John David Booty Shorts. That will never stop being funny to me.

And here's your Mongolia Medal Update - because I know everyone's waiting: Mongolia now has 2 medals - including 1 gold! Apparently there's a 5000m and 10,000m goat-herd.