SKOL Vikings 2014!!!

Last year in my Skol Vikings post I listed 3 questions that needed to be answered for us to have a good season.  Needless to say they were all answered in a negative fashion.

1. AP didn't stay healthy.
2. Ponder wasn't the answer.
3. Our secondary was really really bad

At the end of last season I thought Frazier should have been given another year just like AP did. The way things have worked out with us getting Zimmer and Turner I am glad now that we didn't. I am really hopeful that Zimmer is going to turn things around.

Here are my 3 questions for this year for the Vikings to have a good year.

1.  Can Zimmer bring the defense back to respectability?  With the way our season starts with games against New England, Saints, Packers, and Atlanta we our going to need it and need it fast.  If we can force turnovers like we did this preseason then our D should be good to go.

2.  Can our O Line keep Cassel upright and give AP room to roam?  Last year O Line play was highly inconsistent.  We need Kalil to return to Pro Bowl form.

3. Can AP stay healthy and win another rushing title?  I know Norv wants to spread the ball around and get AP involved in the passing game, so maybe a rushing title is asking for a bit much;  But you can't put anything past what AP can do if he's healthy.   Whatever happens as long as AP is getting the rock a lot, I'm OK with it.

Prediction for the year:  I think we win at least 7 games minimum and possibly 11 if everything falls our way. If we can start 2-0 then everybody in our division better be on notice.

Vikes- What I think they should do now.

The Vikings made the decision to rush Josh Freeman out to see what he could do versus the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. If you didn't see the game, then you are lucky, because it was Uuuugly!!!  Josh was obviously not ready to play for us yet.  He needs more time to learn the system.  He needs to get his mechanics fixed. And he needs to get his head right.  If I were the Vikings Management and Coaches I would sit Freeman for our next three games minimum.  I would start Ponder verses Green Bay next week and put Cassel as back up.  That is what I think they should do now.

Josh Freeman Signing With The Vikes- My Thoughts

I paid a little bit of attention to the Josh Freeman saga over the past week, but I didn't think he would end up with the Vikings, so I didn't pay a ton of attention to it.  I was shocked when I heard he was going to sign with the Vikes last night.  So I have spent the past couple of hours reading peoples reactions and learning more about Freeman.

How Josh Freeman became Greg Schiano's enemy #1 by Bleacher Report pretty much sums up what Vikings fans need to know about how Freeman ended up leaving the Bucs.

As far as reading fan's reactions that is usually pretty worthless, but every once and a while you read something that makes reading through the crap worthwhile.  The comment I thought made the most sense came from the Minnesota Vikings Facebook Page.  This is what some guy named Skyler Geer wrote:

Listen uneducated fans, when Freeman is good he's better than every QB on our roster. That being said he doesnt know our system yet, Cassel is the hot hand.
I think a lot of this signing is to motivate Ponder/Cassel.
Start Cassel the next few games while Freeman learns the playbook see how he does. if it's not good we can throw ponder back in or if Leslie thinks Josh is ready he could be very scary he will throw it which opens up field for AP. Which we just saw Cassel do.
Don't expect to see freeman for 3-5 weeks if one of others plays bad. If we stick w/ Cassel & he plays well freeman may never get a shot here.

The thing that I think it important to realize is that Freeman chose to come to MN over apparently a few other teams.  I think that speaks well of both Frazier and Spielman.  It's pretty clear that Freeman has been seriously regressing and he and his agent believe MN is the best place to get his head straight and turn it around.  Both Ponder and Cassel are now on notice that the future of the MN quarterback position is up for grabs.

Updated 10/9:  The more I have read the past couple of days the more I am liking this deal. At worst if Freeman doesn't work out the Vikes will probably get a compensatory pick.  It seems that Freeman's stats were pretty good last year until the last few games where he threw a bunch of picks.  That apparently coincided with the Bucs not choosing to extend his contract.  That decline continued into this year.  It's pretty clear that the situation in Tampa under coach Psycho had turned toxic for Freeman.  This guy could easily turn into a Stafford like Franchise QB for us. 

My Thought On The Vikings Going Into The Bye

Well the 1st quarter of the season is in the books and the Vikes are lucky to not be 0-4 and unlucky to not be 3-1.  I will say this: the Browns were NOT who we thought they were.  Unfortunately we can't say the same thing about Ponder and our pass defense.  They are the two biggest reason's we are not 3-1.  Ponder has improved a little bit, but his turnovers have just killed us.   However, our porous Defense is the biggest reason we are not 3-1.  There is no way in heck we should have given up 31 points to the Browns at home.  There is little doubt at this point that we finish last in the North unless the Defense improves markedly.  I see no reason to be optimistic about that happening.

As far as Ponder versus Cassel, I think Ponder should ride the bench for a while.  Let him learn from Cassel.  I don't know that the Vikes have to give up on Ponder totally at this point.  He wasn't the only reason our Offense was struggled at times the first 3 weeks of the season.  There are times when Ponder flashes, but he is just too inconsistent. Our Offensive line really struggled against the Lions, Bears, and Browns.  Having Jerome Felton back makes a big difference in Peterson's play and no doubt the whole O line's play as well.  To me Felton's presence was as the big a factor in the win as Cassel.  I think had Felton been able to play the first three games we might have won both the Bears and Browns game.

I say let Cassel play and see where it takes us.  With our D, I don't think it will be very far.  If he can't take us beyond a .500 record over the next two quarters of the season then they should re-insert Ponder for the last 4 games of the season and see if he cleaned up his game.  If not it's time for a new QB plan next year.