Eli wrote:I have a feeling last year's 10-6 record is going to end up being a mixed blessing. To many fans it indicates a significant improvement, but it could just as easily have been the results of some luck and a bit of overachieving. Where it may hurt the most is in what fans expect from the team this season. If the Vikings don't make the playoffs, there's going to be a lot of squawking.
I would tend to agree. I think there were many breaks that went well for the Vikes last year. I want to say I read a stat where the Vikes recovered the lion's share of fumbles in their games last year, Walsh played lights out, Peterson had a monster year....all things that are not all attributable to luck but have some stars aligning kind of factor.
I actually do think they will play relatively well this year but there are many factors that will come into play. How well will the passing game progress? Specifically will Ponder progress, how fast will Patterson catch on and adjust to the NFL, will Simpson prove to be more productive without an injury hampering him, will Jarius Wright become more of an impact player and how will Jennings fit in to it? Also, how the defensive backfield is going to look without Winfield? How will the changes at Linebacker turn out as well? Another smaller question, will Locke prove to be as good as Priefer thinks he will be and will he and Walsh be able to duplicate Walsh's record breaking year last year with field goal chemistry.
I think there are a lot of interesting questions facing the team this year and I'm really excited to see how things play out and to see the development of younger players. Definitely a cautious optimism at this point tempered with the possibility and reality that with a team with a number of questions there are lots of ways this season can go.
