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Minnesota Vikings: 5 Reasons Why Your Favorite Team Will Lose in Week 1
Minnesota Vikings: 5 Reasons Why Your Favorite Team Will Lose in Week 1
The Minnesota Vikings come into the 2013 season boasting the best running back in the game and the two most anemic passers in the league in 2012. In the offseason the Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman decided to ignore the woeful play of Christian Ponder and instead revamped and rebuilt the entire wide receiver corps.
In 2012 The Vikings' defense ranked 16th overall but was 24th against the pass. One of the Vikings' staggering first round picks was cornerback Xavier Rhodes. He’s the type of physical corner who could develop into a shutdown corner capable of singling up on the Detroit Lions' Calvin Johnson. However, as a rookie who’s missed a part of the preseason with a hamstring injury and still appears to be hobbled just a few days shy of game day. There probably isn’t a single bead of sweat on Megatron’s brow with his name on it.
Last year on opening day we all expected to see Adrian Peterson come out and put on moves that looked like RoboCop dancing the Cha-Cha. Instead he shocked the league by rushing for 84 yards and two scores. Can he pull the same kind of performance out against the stout defensive line of the Lions? Even if he can, is it even possible for a very banged up Vikings defense to keep them in the game against the Lions' high powered offense? If those two stars align it still requires Christian Ponder to not lose the game on his noodle arm and unintuitive style of play.
In my mind there are just too many questions without clear answers. Here is my breakdown of the top five reasons I think the Vikings will lose this Sunday.
Eric Beuning is a Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericbeuning or add him to your network on Google.
5. Erin Henderson
The Vikings went into the NFL Draft predicted to take Manti Te’o in the first round to fill the gaping hole they had at middle linebacker. Instead they skipped over him with all three of their first round draft picks. Then the front office scoffed at the idea of pursuing Brian Urlacher to shore up the middle of the front seven. Their only answer was to anoint the underwhelming Erin Henderson as the answer.
At the same time the Lions invested serious money in signing dynamic play maker Reggie Bush to lead their running game. Considering that Sharif Floyd and Kevin Williams are both nursing injuries that have them as listed as day-to-day for Sunday’s game, the Vikings have a massive hole in the middle of the defense that the Lions will be able to drive a bus through.
4. Cordarrelle Patterson is no Percy Harvin
Percy Harvin was a weapon all over the field. He ran out of the backfield, caught passes out of the backfield and played two different receiver positions while being one of the most dynamic kick and punt returners in the league. Cordarelle Patterson has one year of true college ball and shows flashes of raw talent. Still his only valuable contribution will be in the return game. In order to become a polished professional receiver he’s going to need years of development and work. A couple of good kick and punt returns won’t be able to keep pace with the power passing game the Lions will put up.
3. No Answer for Calvin Johnson
Last year Calvin Johnson racked up 1964 receiving yards. In the prime of his career with established chemistry between him and quarterback Mathew Stafford, there is no reason to believe he couldn’t do it again. The Vikings' best attempt to stop him from eating them alive all afternoon comes in the form of underperforming Chris Cook and Xavier Rhodes who is hobbled by a slow healing hamstring injury.
2. Adrian Peterson's supporting cast
Last year Adrian Peterson put on a show right out of the gate. He also had a full complement of lead blocking tight ends and a Pro Bowl fullback paving the way for him along with an offensive scheme designed to his strengths.
He goes into this game with Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley prepared to be unkind to him up the middle. Peterson will also be without the services of Pro Bowl fullback Jerome Felton. Instead his lead blockers will be a slew of Zach Line and Rhett Ellison. Peterson should expect a lot of company in the backfield all day long.
1. Christian Ponder's poor skill set
I know I probably harp on Christian Ponder a little too much. But even if he ate a can of spinach, formed Voltron and used the Sword of Omens to summon the Thundercats, he still wouldn’t have enough power in his arm for the Lions' defense to fear his deep ball. The Lions' defense will be stacking the box all day daring Ponder to beat them with dink and dunk passes.
Eric Beuning is a Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericbeuning or add him to your network on Google
