Its time to put on your purple and yellow colored glasses and have some optimism over a team that hasn't given much reason for optimism lately. The Vikings have a couple of feel good trends going on lately that might give the fan faithful some reason to hope that this year could be somewhat entertaining. Troy Williamson - 13 balls dropped last season. The bad news about this is that he dropped the ball (obviously) - the good news is that many of these drops came when he was well behind the defense with only the football between him and the endzone (the football usually won). Evidently Williamson has worked his *ss off this offseason to fix the problems. He has been diagnosed as having a weak right eye when he looks over his shoulder - something that he is fixing through physical therapy. He claims that he can see the ball better these days, but the picture below still frightens me: Still, during the offseason he has caught 14,000 balls in practice and has only taken a few weeks off since the end of last season. Tarvarius Jackson - The no name QB from a no name school last year admitted that he was not ready to play in the league last year. Like Williamson, however, Jackson has only taken two weeks off since the end of last season. The rest of the time he has been throwing to his new receivers, studying the playbooks, and getting extra work in with coaches when possible. He also attended several extra coaching sessions to help learn the intricacies of the game. There's no doubt he has the physical skills for the game, and his attitude and work ethic remind me of Jerry Rice. The real question is this: will all the studying and extra work pay off when he is in a live game situation and has hundreds of thousands of Vikings fans ready to call for his head? Two First Rounders This Year? - Well, sort of. Not only did we get Adrian Peterson - who, btw does not need shoulder surgery and will be playing in training camp - but Chad Greenway is finally healthy and will be playing this year again. Greenway was chosen last year by the Vikings to become the new strong side linebacker for the team. He has a ton of potential, a great work ethic, and should provide further stability to a position that has been getting better each year for the past several years. With Adrian Peterson sharing the backfield with Chestor Taylor - a 1200 yard back last season, and with an offensive line returning for a 2nd year, the Vikings will start using the pro set and also move things around a bit to throw defenses off. Overall it should be a fun year to be a Vikings fan. Now I still contend that 5-11 is a realistic look at how things will go. A rookie QB, still no faith in the coaching staff, and a lack of proven receivers gives its share of reasons to not be optimistic. But I enjoy watching the potential grow just about as much as I enjoy watching the team go 15-1 (ala 1998).
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Troy Williamson - 13 balls dropped last season. The bad news about this is that he dropped the ball (obviously) -</div> No, the bad news about this is that he was on my fantasy football team last year.
8-8 is the best they can hope for IMO. A three way battle for second in the NFC North is possible. The running tandem with Taylor and Peterson will do some damage to defenses in the north (other than the Bears) and will take some load off Jackson. The recievers may need to step up since they are really inexperienced. BTW, who is slated to start at #1 WR? Travis Taylor left to Oakland and I doubt Williamson can take on the #1 role. The defense is a different story. They were pretty solid on defense (according to the fantasy numbers they put up) and having Greenway back is a definite upgrade at the LB position.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MKIV_Supra)</div><div class='quotemain'>8-8 is the best they can hope for IMO. A three way battle for second in the NFC North is possible. The running tandem with Taylor and Peterson will do some damage to defenses in the north (other than the Bears) and will take some load off Jackson. The recievers may need to step up since they are really inexperienced. BTW, who is slated to start at #1 WR? Travis Taylor left to Oakland and I doubt Williamson can take on the #1 role. The defense is a different story. They were pretty solid on defense (according to the fantasy numbers they put up) and having Greenway back is a definite upgrade at the LB position.</div> Having Greenway back will have a big Impact IMO. Peterson being able to catch the ball has been a pleasant surprise as I comprehend. If T Jackson & the WR's step up then Minny may finish above .500 Lets not forget the curse that usually befalls the Super Bowl loser... this division could come right down to the wire.
Right now the #1 WR is Bobby Wade. Nothing really to talk about, but he should be pretty steady. If Williamson can get some confidence in himself and get some help from people like Sidney Rice (our 2nd round draft pick), the WR corps might do OK. Again, this is all optimism. I fully expect a 5-11 record, but I'll be happy if I see signs that Peterson turns out to be a star and if Rice shows glimpses of being a marquee receiver. Most of all, if T-Jack shows the intelligence to be an NFL QB then I'll be very excited. He's got the right attitude, a great work ethic, and the physical skills - the question is whether he can catch up mentally.
My optimistic prediction would have to be 8-8 I m sorry to say. Other than drafting AP, I didn't really see too much improvement from last year. Hopefully T Jackson and T Will can develop a chemistry. By the way did anyone see Childress' quote about Williamson a month or two ago? "Troy has great hands"</p>
The team is going to live and die with Tavaris Jackson. If he can play up to par they have a shot at the playoffs. If not then I think they could even finish last in the division. I think they really should've signed David Carr but that's just my opinion. I'm not to "high" on Jackson as a Quarterback and the Vikings didn't really do much to help him the off season excpet landing Peterson in the Draft.
