MSP Sports | MSP Sports | Vikings 2007: A Look Ahead

The 2007 Vikings season kicks off today. After a severely disappointing season where new coach Brad Childress took “the best situation” among coaching vacancies and turned it into a 6-10 season, the Vikes look to turn the page and find more success in 2007. They will do so with Tavaris Jackson at the helm at quarterback. Jackson is green, raw, and gets no respect in the media or on the other sideline. Pundits are already predicting that recently acquired Kelly Holcomb will take over by midseason, predicting Jackson will find himself in over his head and unable to adjust to the NFL tempo.

Meanwhile, the ground game will become the focus of opposing defenses as first round selection Adrian Peterson teams with Chester Taylor, who had a successful first season as a starter last year, to form a potent 1-2 punch running the football. Both backs also catch the ball well, creating short options in the passing game for Jackson. Will they be enough to lead the Vikes offense to points?

Here’s what MSPSports.com predicts will happen in the 2007 season for the Vikes:

Tavaris Jackson will be okay. He won’t go to the Pro Bowl just yet, but he will continue to learn and grow on the job. Early on, he will be unimpressive, but won’t hurt the team with poor decisions. As the season progresses, he will become more comfortable with the offense and with various situations, and will actually look like a decent quarterback who the fans will start to like. By the end of the season, all thoughts of Kelly Holcomb or Brooks Bollinger taking over will be ancient history, as the team looks ahead to many happy years with Jackson at QB.

Bobby Wade will be the Vikes best WR. The guy makes plays. So often we’ve heard that Bobby Wade is nothing more than a #3 WR. This is true, and in a wide-open vertical passing offense, Wade likely wouldn’t be much help. But in Brad Childress’s short passing west coast offense, Wade is actually the perfect fit as a goto receiver. Wade’s best season was 2004, when he had 42 receptions. He won’t be a huge red zone target, but will help get the Vikes in scoring position and will set new career highs in every category. Look for Sidney Rice to become Jackson’s favorite red zone target.

Shiancoe will struggle at TE. Childress loves taking backups and giving them a shot. He did it last year with Chester Taylor and Ben Leber, with great success. He is trying it with Wade. And he is trying it with Visanthe Shiancoe, the backup tight end from the Giants who was paid starter money despite having just 35 catches in four seasons. Taylor and Leber worked out great, and Wade looks pretty good too. But Shiancoe is not the answer at tight end. Look for Jimmy Kleinsasser to stay involved, as well as Jeff Dugan.

The offense will be adequate. People expect the Vikes to be anemic on offense. Look no further than the inability to sellout the opener today as proof….chicks dig the long ball, fans dig offense, and they don’t expect much of either this season. But fear not purple faithful! The Vikings defense will put the offense in great situations this season. Much as they did last year, they will get turnovers and create scoring opportunities. This year, the offense will be good enough to take advantage of some of them. Gone is Brad Johnson, who took great opportunities from the defense last season and threw them away….literally. He had the worst QB rating of his starting career, threw 9 TDs and 15 interceptions, averaged just 6.26 yards per passing attempt, also a career low since becoming a starter. Add in nine fumbles, four of which he lost and the other five which seemed to come at critical times, and Johnson was a momentum killer. Jackson may not march down for quick strike touchdowns, but he will keep the momentum going and at least get them close. Which means….

Ryan Longwell will have a career year. Yes, Longwell missed a couple kicks during the preseason. Suddenly people are freaking out, saying he is losing his leg. Not the case. Longwell was perfect inside 40 last season, He also went 4 for 6 from 40-49, though he did go 0-2 on 50+ attempts. But the year before he went 4 for 5 from 50+, but only 3 for 5 from 40-49, so that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. What is clear is that he will have plenty of opportunities. The coaching staff took it easy on him in the preseason, cutting down on the number of kicks he took to help keep him fresh. This likely contributed to the preseason misses, but will pay off late in the season. What we saw in the preseason was that the offense can move the ball, but struggles to actually put it in the endzone. The results will be a new career high in field goal attempts for Longwell. In fact, he could be a sleeper at kicker this year in fantasy leagues. He is available still in many leagues….snatch him up before everyone else catches on!

The Vikings defense will be better than last year. The rush defense was outstanding last year, but the inability to generate a pass rush still allowed teams to move the ball against Minnesota. Even so, Minnesota was in the top 10 in scoring defense. With Erasmus James back healthy, and added depth at DE, the Vikes will put more pressure on opposing quarterbacks, which will lead to fewer points allowed and more turnovers. The perfect combination for a team with a developing offense that hasn’t hit its stride yet.

Overall, Minnesota will be okay. People are predicting doom and gloom for the purple. Don’t buy it. They may not be quite ready for the playoffs, a season of experience is needed for Jackson to take that step, but the defense is solid and the offense is good enough for the Vikes to finish a respectable 8-8, with much higher expectations for next season. It’s really not a rebuilding year. The rebuilding is done. It’s a development year. One which will have some frustrating moments to be sure, but will also show flashes of potential that will finally get Vikings fans excited