The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Jim Rueda

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June 11, 2008

Vikings deserve more respect nationally

Minnesota Vikings mini-camp concluded Sunday where coaches and the media received their first extended looks at some of the team’s newest faces.

Defensive end Jared Allen, wide receiver Bernard Berrian and safety Madieu Williams were the team’s biggest acquisitions.

Safety Tyrell Johnson and quarterback John Booty were among the most notable draft choices.

It’s not hard to discern that optimism is rampant in Vikingland.

Many already foresee a team that will easily win the NFC North and go deep into the playoffs.

That optimism, however, appears to be confined to the state of Minnesota. On a national scale, the Vikings are not getting much respect.

According to ESPN’s power rankings for 2008, the Vikings are the 12th-best team in the NFL.

They are rated behind No. 9 Cleveland, No. 10 Green Bay and No. 11 New Orleans.

The fannation.com Website picks the Vikes to finish last in the NFC North. The associatedcontent.com Website has a 2008 NFL playoff bracket in which Minnesota is not even mentioned (Green Bay is the site’s projected winner of the NFC North).

Most everyone agrees, both within and outside of Minnesota, the Vikes have a strong offensive line, will be much improved on the defensive line, will have a better receiving corps than it did a year ago and should be significantly stronger in overall defense.

The reason some of the national media seems reluctant to embrace the 2008 Vikings can be traced directly to third-year quarterback Tarvaris Jackson. In short, many of the “NFL experts” don’t believe he will blossom into a quality starting quarterback in 2008.

There’s no doubt Jackson is still a major question mark. He made some strides in 2007 but he also took some steps backward toward the end of the season.

But here’s the deal. Jackson doesn’t have to be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or even Matt Hasselbeck for Minnesota to be considered a legitimate playoff contender. All he has to do is play OK. If he doesn’t make many major mistakes, the Vikings will be a pretty good football team.

With Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor running the ball, and Jared Allen and Kevin Williams harassing opposing quarterbacks, Minnesota will have plenty of firepower on both sides of the line.

Yes, Jackson has to get better. But he doesn’t have to get significantly better in order for the team to win the NFC North and knock some teams off in the playoffs.

Without the benefit of training camp or preseason games to analyze, it’s not difficult to predict an 11-5 or even a 12-4 season for the Purple.

The pieces are in place, the only real challenge is to get them all working together.



Jim Rueda is the Free Press sports editor. To contact him, call 344-6381 or e-mail him at jrueda@ mankato freepress.com.

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