The Minnesota Vikings are winless so far during the 2011 regular season, much to the chagrin of their fans. Adrian Peterson has been the one constant so far for the club. On Sunday, he gained one hundred twenty yards on the ground in just twenty-five carries. That is the extent of the good news that is transpiring up in the great North.
Perhaps the players were suffering from partying too hard during this Mexican Independence Day weekend. It was a memorable collapse considering Minnesota outgained Tampa Bay by 284 to 62 total yards in the first half.
The team should be very concerned because Green Bay and Detroit took care of business once again on the field. If things don’t improve drastically, the Vikings could be an afterthought by the middle of next month. Then the only reason that people would pay attention to them would be for fantasy football information or wagering point spread numbers.
McNabb and Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman put up similar numbers, but the latter had a much better game. It is not only evidenced by his team’s victory, but also because he didn’t have the run support that Adrian Peterson provided for Minnesota. Freeman is a fiery character with tremendous size. With these attributes, he reminds one of San Diego’s Philip Rivers.
It’s very possible that the Vikings could go winless this month because Detroit will come into town next week on a roll and virtually injury free. The organization’s insistence on ignoring areas of concern is hurting the club on the field. The secondary is subpar and the club let its big play receiver go to Seattle without replacing him. Somehow the team thought that having a plethora of tight ends would make up for it.
Head coach Leslie Frazier is a good man who has stepped into a mess. Unlike his colleague in Minneapolis at the college level, expectations aren’t perennially for the cellar. Realistic or not, fans are hungry for a winner. This is especially true due to the lack of success recently in all of the other professional sports in the Twin Cities. I just hope that Frazier’s name doesn’t start to appear in hot seat rumors. He hasn’t even had a chance to put his stamp on the team yet.
It’s not too early to start thinking about trades to address deficiencies before
it’s too late. Everyone has followed the quarterback frenzy for the Denver Broncos starting job. With three capable signal callers, maybe they would be willing to part ways with one of them. Taking Tiki Barber off the free agent market might also be in the cards. His contract is not guaranteed after opening day and his presence would come at a bargain price, considering the numbers that he has put out throughout his career.
Adrian Peterson runs as hard as anyone in history and it would be nice to give him some much deserved rest when the team is either ahead or behind by a lot in games. It looks like the second option is much more likely in the foreseeable future.