Vikings Off-Season

As the people of Minnesota now look to survive another brutal winter in which they are left to look forward to Twins baseball in the summer, let me examine how the Vikings should approach their off-season

My philosophy: SCRAP EVERYTHING

This team needs to get back to basics...run the football, something they were not able to throughout a lot of the season because the offensive line was made of swiss cheese. The Vikes have the games most punishing back, Adrian Peterson, who is capable of taking it to the endzone every time he touches the ball and has seemingly taken care of his case of the fumbles. With a weapon like that an offensive line that can actually move a D-line off the ball would be extremely helpful.

The simplest way to rebuild the offensive line is through the draft, and there are several strong prospects this year. I realize that new head coach Leslie Frazier has already said he's looking for the next Matt Ryan but there are options at quarterback in free agency that could benefit the Vikings without the team needing to spend another year in mediocrity. Recent examples of Joe Flacco, Matt Ryan and Sam Bradford show that college quarterbacks are capable of having an immediate improvement and playoff berths. But with the Vikings picking 12th and Andrew Luck not coming out, any quarterback in this year's draft would be a project with no one for the potential rookie to learn under. This means another year of .500 at best. Cam Newton is an athlete, lots of potential but needs to learn the pro game. Ryan Mallet has a huge arm but by all accounts could be the next Ryan Leaf (he's also rumored to score single digits on the wonderlich test). Jake Locker's stock has dropped big from last year, and Blaine Gabbert is the best prospect but played in the spread offense at Mizzou, coming from a pro-style offense would be a great help to him. Due to this I think the Vikings should grab an offensive tackle.

Obviously the Vikings need an upgrade at Quarterback but they can do it through free agency. Washington looks like their going to part ways with Donovan McNabb and Tennessee has already declared that Vince Young will not be back next season. McNabb is a proven pro who given the right weapons can flourish...no offense to the Redskins but Ryan Torrain and Santana Moss are not Adrian Peterson and Sidney Rice. As far as Young, yes he's by no means a proven passer, but he's a proven winner. Young is 30-17 in NFL starts and he did much of that managing an offense that already had a strong running game with Chris Johnson and Lendale White with mediocre receivers. Young's receivers were Justin Gage, Nate Washington and Bo Sciafe...who? And both of these guys can still move a little bit, and with a patchwork and potentially young offensive line, mobility would be a plus for the veteran signal caller the Vikes desperately need.

Of course the defensive backfield also needs work, but the defense ranked in the top 10 this season so the offense needs the most work now. Viking fans are in for an eventful off-season, and thats without considering the fact that they may be leaving Minnesota...