Five Reasons the Vikings Need to Win the Super Bowl in 2010
The Vikings have never won the big one in their 50 seasons. They have been there four times, been close a few times but never took the Lombardi home. With as much talent as this team has this year and the success they had last year, there seems to be no better time than the present. But there is more at stake than just pride. Here are five reasons it has to happen this year.
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Minnesota Vikings WR Depth: 3 Reasons To Trade For Vincent Jackson
The Minnesota Vikings are currently facing a big question mark at the wide receiver position. What appeared to be an offensive strength, now looks like a couple of average guys supported by journey men.
Anyone familiar with Brett Favre's career knows that he has been able to turn water into wine with average WR. A perfect example is Javon Walker. Walker is the WR the Vikings have signed hoping to replace some of what will be missing with Sidney Rice out for at least six games after hip surgery.
The Vikings also traded for Greg Camarillo from the Miami Dolphins. I think its safe to say that neither of these guys are bringing the kind of talent and play making ability to the offense that Rice was.
The second year standout Percy Harvin is still battling migraine headaches and for all anyone knows is on a week-to-week basis.
The one healthy WR Bernard Berrian, has never even had a 1,000 yard receiving season. That is not No. 1 guy quality.
Which leads me to wonder, who is going to be the guy?
The San Diego Chargers are having contract issues with their best WR Vincent Jackson. Chargers GM AJ Smith is most likely not going to give Jackson the money he wants and Jackson has already said he is prepared to sit out the entire 2010 NFL season.
Jackson is asking for a four year, 40 million dollar deal, which to me and you is huge money, but not to an NFL franchise.
Creating Depth
Jackson will serve a three game suspension for driving under the influence for the second time. So, he might not be the smartest guy, but I'm not asking him to drive a Minneapolis school bus.
Jackson would miss the Saints, Dolphins, and Lions games - second two are at home. Then the Vikings have the bye week, followed by the brutal four game stretch of @ Jets, Dallas, @ Green Bay, and @ New England.
Those are four games in which they are going to need to score a lot of points to be in the game. They would enter that gauntlet with a fresh 6'5, 230 pound Jackson leading the receiving core.
The major reason they need to add depth is because no one knows how Rice will respond from hip surgery - its not like he got a haircut.
Wilf Needs to go all In
Ziggy Wilf wanted Favre to return so badly that he is offering him a potential extra 7 million dollars for this season. Favre could earn a total of 20 million for this season.
Wilf didn't bring back a grandfather to have fun or even just a good season, he wants to hoist the Lombardi trophy. He got close enough to taste it last year and thinks Favre is the QB who can lead them to the title.
This wouldn't even be a thought for Wilf had this unfortunate injury not happened to Rice, but the reality is that the offense will struggle if your counting on Camarillo and Walker to equate to what Rice did last season.
The Future
If you get Jackson before the season starts, lets set up the worse case scenario. Rice doesn't heal all season and can't come back till next year, at least now you have one go-to guy.
Next year the Vikings likely won't have Favre and will need as many offensive play-makers for Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels as possible.
If Rice does come back this season you would have 6'4(Rice) on one side and 6'5(Jackson) on the other, with Harvin free to wonder the middle.
The Vikings could lock up a 24 year old Rice and 27 year old Jackson for the next four years and have the best one-two punch in all of football at the WR position.
Final Thoughts
I believe the Vikings will still make the playoffs without pursing Jackson, but this season isn't about just making the playoffs for anyone involved with the Vikings organization from ownership to the fans.
If the Chargers played in a tougher division I believe they would have already signed Jackson and given him the 10 million a season he is asking for. The Chargers aren't in the business of competing for a championship they are in this to field a competitive product and make money.
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Minnesota Vikings: Five Reasons Why 2010 Will Not Be a Repeat Of 2009
There's a buzz in the Twin Cities. It has all the fervor of a playoff atmosphere.
No, it's not the excitement of the impending baseball playoffs—it's the sweet anticipation of the upcoming Vikings season.
After coming so close last season, the expectations for the 2010 Minnesota Vikings are as high as ever.
It's the second coming of Brett Favre to Minnesota (not that he ever really left), and the hope for that elusive Super Bowl Championship.
But alas, all is not rosy in Vikings land.
There is concern that Minnesota's best chance has passed.
Looking over the current landscape of the Vikings here are five reasons why 2010 will not be a repeat of 2009:
No. 5—The NFC North will be tougher.
The Vikings went 5-1 within the division last season. Their only hiccup was a Monday night overtime loss to the Bears in Chicago.
Don't expect the same divisional record.
The NFC North boasted two of the top four quarterbacks in Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
Both Chicago and Detroit should be improved as Jay Cutler and Matthew Stafford start their second season with their teams.
I don't see the Vikings sweeping the Packers again this year.
Going 4-2 in divisional games will be very tough; expect the Vikings to go 3-3.
No. 4—Changes, or lack thereof, within the roster.
The Vikings roster looks to be very close to that of last year. The only key loss to the team is Chester Taylor.
Taylor continued to see less action each year, and in 2009 had only 338 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Yet, he was an experienced backup for the team.
Minnesota drafted Toby Gerhart, the Heisman runner-up from Stanford, to replace him, but don't expect Gerhart to be as effective as Taylor this year.
In 2009 the Vikings' defense led the league in sacks, and had the second best run defense.
But their passing defense had the worst opponent quarterback rating allowed of all six playoff teams.
They allowed a 92.5 rating against, compared to that of 68.6 for the New Orleans Saints.
The safety tandem of Madieu Williams and Tyrell Johnson only had one interception last year.
Antoine Winfield is coming off a season in which he missed six games due to injury, and at 33 years old, is on the downside of his career.
The Vikings drafted corner back Chris Cook in the second round, but look for him to make his mark on special teams in 2010.
No. 3—Strength of Schedule.
In 2009 the Vikings had the second easiest schedule in the NFL.
The opposition carried a .420 winning percentage from the previous season. They only faced four play-off teams, going 2-2.
Their schedule will be significantly more difficult in 2010.
With the 14th toughest schedule, they kick off the season against the Super Bowl Champion, New Orleans Saints.
They will face a total of seven playoff teams in eight games. A .500 record in such games will make another 12-4 record nearly impossible.
No. 2—Injuries have the Vikings depleted.
The Vikings are not starting off on the right foot (or ankle).
Favre's ankle is not yet completely healed, and will have a huge impact on his mobility and effectiveness.
One of Favre's favorite targets, Sidney Rice, is now contemplating hip surgery that will keep him out until mid-season.
E.J. Henderson, Winfield and Cedric Griffin are all coming back from injuries; depending on how effective they are, the defense could keep the team from starting out fast.
The wild card to all of this is Percy Harvin. Due to the unpredictable nature of migraines, the returning Offensive Rookie of the Year has not been able to fully participate in training camp or preseason play yet this year.
Adrian Peterson has also been slow to get going in 2010. He will need to be more effective in order to take some of the pressure off Favre.
No, 1—Brett Favre's effectiveness.
In October Favre will turn 41.
2009 was Favre's best season in his career. His quarterback rating of 107.2 was 20 points higher than his career average.
He only threw seven interceptions in the regular season—nearly half as many as his previous lowest full season total.
Favre has been extremely consistent throughout his career. But coming off the ankle surgery, and with a depleted receiving corps, the only direction to expect his play to go is down.
Expect his interceptions to be closer to his average of 17 per season, while his touchdowns to drop from the 33 he threw in 2009.
Teams saw the success New Orleans had in their attempt to take Favre out of the game.
The Saints will be aiming low on opening weekend, hoping to re-injure that ankle.
The Vikings will have a tough time replicating their 12 win season from 2009.
They will even find it difficult to repeat as NFC North Champions.
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Five Reasons Brett Favre Is Still Must-See TV
If you tune in to watch Brett Favre take his 10 snaps vs the 49ers you might have that deja vu feeling. It seems every year we all gather around our televisions to see what Favre will look like to start the season.
However, this year comes with a whole new set of interesting storylines. Here I give you five reasons to go through the drama of Brett Favre's debut one last time.
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Vikings Insider: Favre needs motivation but keeps finding reasons to return
The Vikings quarterback claims this is his last season, but can we really believe that's true?
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Brett Favre Vs. Brad Childress: 10 Reasons the QB Is Hating on The Coach
Today in an article by Yahoo! Sports writer Jason Cole, a Vikings’ player was quoted as saying, “Brett thinks Childress has no clue about offense,” and that it was Childress' presence serving at the biggest deterrent to returning; not Favre's ankle injury.
Another member of the Vikings went on to say that, “Brett just doesn't trust him.” But why? Last year the Vikings won 12 games and made it to overtime in the NFC Championship game.
Childress was hired by the Vikings in 2006, and since then, has improved every season including back to back playoff appearances.
With that in mind, let's examine ten reasons why Brett Favre may be none too fond of Coach Childress.
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Brett Favre: 10 Reasons This Isn’t the Quarterbacks Last Season
Brett Favre is officially returning for yet another football season. For awhile it looked as though this might be the year Favre finally hangs them up, but now that he is back again, I'm giving you ten reasons why he will play for at least two more seasons.
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Brett Favre: 10 Reasons His Return Will Spell Doom for Minnesota Vikings
Brett Favre may or may not be playing in the NFL this season. Only time will tell.
The addition of Favre to the Minnesota Vikings has people thinking Super Bowl. Here's a few reasons for Vikings fans not to get their hopes up.
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Brett Favre: 10 Reasons Why His Inevitable Return Is Bad for the NFL
The good news is that this article is not about whether or not Brett Favre returns to the game of football.
I'd pretty much bet the Favre farm, that if he is able to play, he will.
Favre doesn't appear to be interested in a life outside of football, which is somewhat confusing since he has a wife, two daughters, and a grandson that would probably love to spend more time with him.
Then again, its not like he is away for more than a few months during the year at this point, especially without going through training camp.
Furthermore, he appears to be one of those players that just can't get the game out of his system
Instead, the following commentary will stress why Favre's inevitable return is bad news for the NFL and the majority of its fans.
Don't get me wrong. Favre has every right to play. It's just that the negatives of a Favre comeback now far outweigh the positives.
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Three Reasons Why Brett Favre is Not Retiring
There has been much discussion over the “retirement announcement” of Vikings QB Brett Favre. ESPN and NFL Network interrupted their regular program to get the take of various experts on Favre’s retirement proclamation. The problem is no one has actually heard Brett Favre state that he is retiring.
By the start of the season, Favre will be back under center for the Vikings and these rumors will be long forgotten.
Here are three reasons why Favre is not retiring.
1. Favre does not want the last play of his career to be an interception thrown against the Saints in the NFC Championship Game. He wants his last play to be a memorable highlight that he can look back on with glory. It’s the same reason why he came back after the pick against the Giants during the 2007 playoffs.
2. Favre has 13 million reasons to play next season. Favre is not going to leave million on the table. Favre wants a raise. It is more likely that he leaked retirement rumors to increase his bargaining position with the Vikings. The Vikings will scurry to over him more money and Favre will magically appear to rescue the Vikings.
3. The 2011 season is in jeopardy because of a lockout. Favre will play this year and can walk off into the sunset if there is no season in 2011. A shortened season in 2011 works out even better for Favre. His dream would be to play a 10-game season and then have the playoffs begin. He would be healthier and his body would take less of a beating.
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