Worst Team in the NFL: Minnesota Vikings?
Uncategorized July 20th. 2007, 6:48pm
Everybody has their own opinion of Peter King’s pre-preseason NFL rankings, and if we could ask you for a moment to push everything you think about the guy to the side and answer one question for us, that would be splendid: are the Minnesota Vikings the worst team in football?
Before you jump to a conclusion, kindly check out the depth chart. Once you are done laughing – the receivers are dreadful, the quarterbacks moreso – think about a healthy Cleveland team, Houston with a decent quarterback and Ahman Green trying not to fumble, and Arizona with a professional coaching staff. Yes, Oakland will be horrible, and Tampa probably won’t sniff .500, but really … did you really look at the Vikings depth chart?
55 Responses to “Worst Team in the NFL: Minnesota Vikings?”
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July 20th, 2007 at 6:52 PM
Are you smoking crack? Until the season starts, the Vikings are still better than the Lions. Just because you draft Calvin Johnson doesn’t make you a great team. Detroit has potential, but potential is usually associated with underachievers.
Minnesota will still finish with 7-8 wins. Tampa is far worse, Oakland is still far worse, Cleveland is still far worse.
What looks good on paper doesn’t always look good on the field. Who cares what big names are on the roster. Lets see how the season turns out.
July 20th, 2007 at 6:53 PM
Without looking at the schedules, Minny’s D is still good and if nothing else they will be effective running the ball left, so I wouldn’t be shocked if they did that 50 percent of the time. When you can stop the run and run the ball there will be worse teams.
I don’t see the raiders doing much myself and think Russell will struggle this year whenever he becomes the starting QB. Also, I don’t think Cleveland is going to be doing much either but they do have some good skilled guys.
July 20th, 2007 at 6:54 PM
Thats a ludicrous statement TBL. Their offense might be bad, but it isn’t nearly as bad as Oakland’s last year because they have AD and Chester Taylor. And their defense is one of the top-10 in the league. 5-8 wins, and if Tarvaris Jackson is even average (I’m talkin Charlie Frye, Grossman, Chris Simms average) they’ll be just fine and could challenge for a playoff spot.
July 20th, 2007 at 6:57 PM
I mean seriously, how are they not the second best team in that division. Is Green Bay really better? Have you seen their starting QB the last five years, their running game, their defense? And the Lions? Jon Kitna + bad defense = 3-4 wins. I don’t care how much talent they have on offense.
They might have the least number of viable FANTASY FOOTBALL players, but when it comes to real football, this is an ok team.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:00 PM
Their defense and running game automatically make them better than Oakland and Cleveland. They get Oakland, Detroit, Green Bay and Atlanta at home, but the rest of their schedule is pretty tough: I say five wins.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:01 PM
Minnesota has a better defense and running game than the Texans. And in the NFL, you win games with defense and a running game. Not *many* games, but more than the Texans will win…
July 20th, 2007 at 7:02 PM
GB is a joke. Chicago is gonna crash and burn coming off their SB loss. Detroit is not ready to contend. If Tavaris Jackson has a good year, like he should, Minny could win the division I think. But everything rests on Jackson.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:06 PM
I have been a Vikings fan for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories of life prominently include Tommy Kramer. I can honestly say one of the worst days of my life was when they lost that NFC championship game against Atlanta in January of 1999, and I ended up not leaving my house for nearly a week after that. The Mike Tice Regime nearly drove me completely insane, culminating with the last second, not-that-improbable-if-you’re-a-Vikings-fan loss to the Arizona Cardinals (the ARIZONA FREAKING CARDINALS!!) led by Josh McCown (JOSH FREAKING MCCOWN!!!!#@U*FHJhui), a loss that inexplicably also gave the Green Bay Packers a division title, caused me to drink heavily the next several days and use up nearly all of my sick-time at work, despite the new year just starting. This is how emotionally invested I became.
That said, I really have to hand it to the Vikes front office for doing an absolute BANG-UP job in filling me to the brim with nothing but total apathy for this team. I take very small solice in knowing how Daunte’s turned out, but good god. It got to the point at the end of last year where I was actively making plans to do random shit during games. And it’s more than just kind of players they have on offense. It’s the kind of life-sucking soul-destroying playcalling, like “Chester Taylor left off-tackle” 47 times a game, that really does it in for me. They are EASILY the most boring team to watch in the NFL, and maybe even all of sports.
But I still don’t believe they’re the WORST team. Their defense has something to say about that. They’re still better than Cleveland, Oakland and Tampa.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:06 PM
Poor Vikings have a developing QB. That’s child’s play- it’s hard to imagine the Falcons winning a game at this point. They’re going to play like zombies all year long.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:09 PM
I’m down, TBL. Possibly the worst team this year. People can pile on the Lions all they want, and trash Favre as being over the hill and ineffective, but seriously, Tarvaris Jackson? That’s the guy that’s getting this team past four wins? Not with those receivers, he isn’t. I realize sometimes you can win without throwing the ball, but come on, you have to have some semblance of a passing game. Good D or not, I say three wins most likely.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:11 PM
They may not be far and away the worst but they are def. pretty terrible. That offense will be horrendous; I could see A Peterson getting a VERY early look and decent amount of carries through the year. Could they possibly give Culpepper another try if no one else wants him?
July 20th, 2007 at 7:12 PM
One problem with the Vikings’ top-10 Defense: they lost their coordinator. In 2005, they had the 21st ranked D in the league, then in 2006, Mike Tomlin became the D-coordinator and turned them into that season’s 8th ranked unit. Now that Tomlin is in Pittsburgh, I see no reason that they wont return to their earlier uninpressive form.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:13 PM
Hey, I’m a Lions fan, and even I don’t believe the Vikes are that bad. Perhaps I feel that way because I’m used to the Vikes beating the Lions like a rented mule. Or like the Lions owe them money. Or like…..
What the hell? The Lions are just awful, and until they win a more than 3-4 games a year, my hope is about gone.
Thanks to Matt Millen for keepin’ the dream alive.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:13 PM
They ought to grips, any help they can get in the passing game, they should jump all over. I mean, if we’re talking receiver/quarterback tandems, they’re by far the worst in the NFL, right? They don’t have a receiver that would be a number three on any other team in their own damn division.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:15 PM
As a Cowboys fan i can’t stand the 49ers, but the 22nd best team? With their defense and Alex Smith coming on, this ranking just shows how smart King is.
ncaabasketballscores.blogspot.com
July 20th, 2007 at 7:16 PM
grips – As long as Childress is the coach, Culpepper will not be back.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:19 PM
I agree that the Vikings are not as pitiful as they might look…but Oakland had an incredible defense….seriously..if that Defense was on Cincinnati…that team could have rolled. With that being said they were awful…so to say that the Vikings could win any more than 4 games because they have “a good defense” doesn’t really fly. The Texans will be bad and so will Oakland…but Tampa Bay is going to be crap…at least the Vikes, Raidiers and Texans are instilling youth..Tampa Bay is a disaster
July 20th, 2007 at 7:19 PM
You guys are forgetting about the Vikings biggest weakness: Coaching. I wouldn’t trust Childress with Cretin-Derham Hall’s talent, let alone that of an NFL team. The man has the charisma of a rock, the creativity of an accountant, and the coaching ability equal to that of my 2-year old nephew. But at least my nephew has potential.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:26 PM
I actually like Childress but only as a behind the scenes type of guy. When he was with the Eagles he did a great job, but I do not believe he was ready to lead a team. On the other end, Minny has a great oline, and for the first half of the seaon Chester Taylorwas amazing…now you add Apete and they should be fine on offense, low scoring and ball controlling, but fine….theere defense I’m not sold on, but irregardless they are not the worst team in the league…and with the first pick in the 2008 NFL draft the Tampa Bay Bucs select Briam Bhrom, QB louisville
July 20th, 2007 at 7:30 PM
No. There are still the Lions, Packers, and the Raiders to be much, much worse, and don’t forget the Texans while you’re at it. The Vikings just have no offense outside of their running game. That and a defense will still get you about six wins or so.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:31 PM
No way I put Minnesota below Green Bay, Tampa Bay, Oakland, and probably Cleveland. Minnie has a very good defense, and when you combine a good defense with a decent OL and running game then you have a chance. Is Tavaris Jackson any worse than Josh McCown/Charlie Frye/Chris Simms? If he is, it isn’t by much.
And if Vick is out for the year, consider the Falcons to be bottom dwellers as well.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:32 PM
I am a loving, caring Giants fan. But I have to be honest, Giants at #21 is a gift. I think the Giants will be really bad. Not the worst but less successful than the Vikings.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:36 PM
Yeah TBL, I hope you don’t approach the NFL season like its all about fantasy football. If you only look at the QB and WRs for every team the Colts would be like 5 time champs at this point.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:42 PM
No way there the worst team in the NFL. If you look at their schedule, I’d say there’s a good chance of them winning seven games this year and – with a little luck – they could go 9-7 and sneak into the NFC playoffs.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:47 PM
If the Vikes don’t end up with the number one pick in next year’s draft, they’ll definitely have a top five pick. I don’t think there’s too many other teams, other than Oakland, whom you can really argue are as bad.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:03 PM
Whoever gave a plug to my old High school, Cretin Derham, gets a lot of respect from me.
The Vikings have the lowest ceiling in the league but they aren’t the worst team.
The Vikings defense is great and the offensive line and runningbacks are also very good. The QB’s and WR’s are god awful but teams can win games without those. I can’t see them being below 5 or above 7.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:08 PM
I second the “Childress can’t coach his way out of a wet sack” sentiment. The guy was a total knee-jerk hire; the team needed a guy to instill discipline for good PR. Most locals were just thrilled to have somebody other than Tice, and now we all know how Steelers fans felt after they dumped Kordell Stewart for Tommy Maddox: brief honeymoon period (“Thank GOD we’re through with Kordell, ANYONE is better than him”), followed by the actual circumstances sinking in (“Wait a second, Tommy Maddox is our quarterback?? How did this happen?!?”).
July 20th, 2007 at 8:20 PM
GO BEARS
July 20th, 2007 at 8:29 PM
This post is ludicrous. The Vikings will win at least six-seven games. There will be at least six teams tied or worse than them. A good defense that should be stronger w/ the another year behind them and the healthiness of Chad Greenway (won’t contribute immediately but it helps) will win them four games by itself considering their divison. Yes Timlin left for the Steelers but they aren’t changing the system at all and EJ Henderson is getting better each year. Throw in AP and they will win 6-7 games. As far as Tarvaris, he only has to be decent enough to hand off the ball and do the occasional play action. C’mon, the bears went to the super bowl w/ Train Rex Grossman.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:31 PM
Tomlin, sorry.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:56 PM
Oh Yeah, Childress and his “Kick Ass Offense” do suck terribly.
I am still bitter that they didn’t fire his sorry butt and hire Tomlin before he could go to the Steelers. Echoes of the Denny Green-Tony Dungy screw up 10-15 years ago. Ugh.
July 20th, 2007 at 9:03 PM
TBL, it’s almost as if you said, “It’s Friday, what is the dumbest possible thing I can say going into the weekend?”
No, the Vikings are better than at least 6-8 other teams in the league.
July 20th, 2007 at 9:07 PM
A good defense, a really good O-line, two good running backs… the Vikings could reel off 6-8 wins for sure. They’re a quarterback and receiver away from being a playoff team. Though I think Brad Childress is highly overrated.
July 20th, 2007 at 9:09 PM
Warrants mentioning: They went from the best uniforms in football to the worst.
July 20th, 2007 at 9:47 PM
completely off topic, but wtf is with people being dumb and calling adrian peterson “AD” (see ap’s post above). his initials are AP it really isnt that difficult.
July 20th, 2007 at 9:58 PM
Minny’s opening schedule:
ATLANTA: home against a new (college) coach, and a QB who, you might have heard, has other issues.
@DETROIT: Or as it’s called in the NFL, a bye.
KC: A toss-up, I’ll admit.
GREEN BAY: Farve may have retired by this time.
BYE: Even Childress can’t lose this game.
So, after 5 weeks the Vikes will be, at worst, 2-2 and rested heading into the Chicago game (Grossman will have been fragged by the point.) I’m thinking 6 wins total, which means a new Bucs coach will be drafting McFadden #1 come April.
July 20th, 2007 at 10:35 PM
I dunno, i think the Vikes are lucky to go 1-3 in those first four games, but will probably go oh-fer.
July 20th, 2007 at 10:54 PM
The nickname “AD” stands for “All Day”. I think his grandma or some family member gave it to him cuz he could run around “All Day”…..or somethin like that.
July 20th, 2007 at 11:08 PM
The Vikes don’t have a good O-line.
McKinnie is easily the most overrated/overpaid player in the league and is below average. Worst run blocking tackle in the NFL.
Hutchinson is a beast
Birk is over-the-hill and will play about 5 games
we have no RG worth playing
Cook is okay in the running game but couldn’t stop Aaron Kampman from getting 3 sacks when getting help from the running backs. HUGE bust as a # 2 pick
July 21st, 2007 at 1:49 AM
While at first glance, it appears as if the Vikings could be the worst team, I don’t think so. Their defense ought to be just as good as last year’s (hopefully better if the d-line finally gels). Their running game will be explosive with both Chester Taylor and Adrian Peterson. It will all come down to Tavaris Jackson and how capably he can QB a passing attack that has become anemic in the past few years.
Given their talent and the way the NFC North is not stacked, I’d think they have as good a shot at being that sought-after sleeper team to rise out of nowhere that everyone’s always dying to pinpoint.
As for which is the worst team, I’d point instead at two teams: Cleveland and Tampa Bay. Both are in tough divisions. Cleveland is pinning a ton of its hopes on rookies who are holding out and won’t be in camp. Tampa has a QB-by-committee situation and their defense has gotten on the older side of old.
July 21st, 2007 at 4:55 AM
TBL
Probably one of your most idiotic headlines in quite sometime. The Vikings will finish 8-8 or 7-9 it is one of those things that are guaranteed in Viking land year after year.
July 21st, 2007 at 7:53 AM
Maybe this thread is dead…I don’t know…I’m not a doctor…
BUT…….for all of you poo-pooing the Lions this year…..think about this:
Those receivers, ….and…a revitalized Daunte Culpepper that knows his way around that division, has something to prove, and Mike Martz calling his shots? This doesn’t sound promising?
If I were Matt Millen, I’d jump on Culpepper. He can’t cost that much, and there’s too much upside for both the Lions and Culpepper’s POV.
Am I nuts, or does this make loads of sense.
And no….I am no Lions fan. Believe me there.
July 21st, 2007 at 5:28 PM
Culpepper wouldn’t be able to comprehend Martz’s system until 2008.
Plus, Culpepper, Millen and Martz in the same dome would cause Lions fans’ heads to explode.
July 21st, 2007 at 7:09 PM
2008 is being very generous, JoeSportsFan
July 22nd, 2007 at 7:34 PM
Worst team in the NFL? That’s crazy in my opinion. They have the best left side of the offensive line in the league and if James is healthy when the season starts their front 4 will be pretty good. I’d still go with the Raiders or Browns as the worst teams right now. Tampa has the parts to be a good team, They need the o-line and qb to play better
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:30 PM
WOW!!!
They got a black quarterblack?
I’ll be cheering.
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:48 PM
Even though I neither like nor dislike the Vikings, one of the funniest NFL moments ever was at the end of that game against the Vikings when the Vikings’ radio announcer was just screaming “NO! NO! NO!” as the Cardinals scored. A friend of mine made a sound bite of it and now it’s my error message on my work computer. Vikings fans’ pain, my humor.
Can we just agree that the NFC North sucks and that any decent D-1 college team could beat any team in that division?
July 22nd, 2007 at 11:52 PM
I meant the Cardinals. Note to self–don’t post when messed up on vicodin.
July 23rd, 2007 at 12:06 PM
Just read all the comments. Yes, the Lions will blow. Yes, the Raiders will be terrible.
But you can be sure the Vikings will see many, many 8-man fronts, rendering two pretty good RBs useless. Does everyone know something about Jackson that we don’t?
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:07 PM
This is the sort of conclusion reached by people who don’t really watch football, and only understand football in terms of the quarterback and who he is throwing to.
The Vikings had a top-10 defense last season (featuring a dominant run defense). They will likely have a top-10 rushing offense this season. They have solid special teams. They have very good offensive linemen. That doesn’t seem like the sort of team that will be the absolute worst in the league.
Did you really look at the Vikings’ depth chart, or did you just look at the quarterbacks and receivers?
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:14 PM
You’re a Vikings fan. I get it. But when your QB is garbage, and the receivers are weak … that second safety will be creeping to the line an awful lot.
Yes, the defense is stout, and will keep them in games. But you at least need something resembling an offense to win games. Will they lose a lot of 10-6 and 13-3 games this season? Sure.
Also, it’s easy to generate great defensive numbers against the worst division in football.
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:31 PM
An 8-man front does not de facto stop a running game. Jamal Lewis rushed for 2,000 yards with Kyle Boller trying to scare secondaries; I’m willing to bet the safety crept up quite a bit that season. Good running teams still have success against an 8-man front, even with weak passing games.
I have no idea what the Vikings will finish this year. I just think it is senseless to suggest they’re worse than everybody else based solely on two positions on the depth chart. If you’d like to dismiss any analysis I have because I’m a Viking fan, go for it. I still wonder why you’re also dismissing offensive line, running backs, defensive linemen, linebackers, and defensive backs.
July 23rd, 2007 at 3:20 PM
Looking back at my first comment, the first sentence was demeaning and dismissive, and I’m sorry about that.
I’m only objecting to the lack of analysis supporting the suggestion that the Vikes will be the worst team in the league. In the post, the only argument you’ve made is that the QBs and WRs are bad (a fair statement, but not enough–there’s a lot more to any football team than the offensive passing game). In the comments, you’ve added that this will lead to 8-man fronts (true) and this will render the running game ineffective (not true), and that the Vikes’ defensive numbers last season were based on a bad division (possible, but the other NFC North teams were all between 10th and 17th ranked in yardage, so they were pretty average offensively, and the Vikings ranked 7th in defensive yardage). While the Vikings may be awful in 2007, I’m not convinced based on the arguments you made, and wished to point that out.
However, I recognize that this post wasn’t attempting to offer in-depth on-the-field analysis, and I shouldn’t demand it from a blog that doesn’t have the goal of providing in-depth game analysis (that’s not meant to be an insult: you’re very good at what you do, but that doesn’t usually involve in-depth on-the-field commentary).
July 23rd, 2007 at 3:25 PM
Tampa Bay’s combination of WRs and QB is only slightly better. While Houston has slightly better WRs, Matt Schaub currently has shown that he is no better or worse than Tarvaris Jackson. Oakland has weak WRs and a terrible QB (for all we know). Cleveland has talent in WRs but, again, an awful QB. Tennessee has even worse WRs and a QB who throws less consistently than Jackson (however, he is VY, so they’ll win). Atlanta, sans Vick has the WORST QB/WR combo in the league. I honestly think you looked at 2 positions on the depth chart and thought that was the end-all. Tarvaris Jackson, while he may be a bottom 5 QB in the league right now, is not the worst starter in the league. And the Vikings, unlike all the other teams I just listen have an EXCELLENT running game, and an EXCELLENT defense. With those pieces of a team they are more likely to go 10-6 than 4-12. If Tarvaris Jackson is anything BUT the awful QB you think he is, the Vikings are arguably a playoff team. And even if he is the worst QB in the league, they’ll still win 6 games.
July 23rd, 2007 at 3:58 PM
AP- put down the pipe! Matt Schaub has started more games than T. Jack and has more experience. He’s also proven to be a decent QB when he’s actually played, T-Jack has been anything but good and if we are honest, he was downright awful! It’s one thing to have a running game with a raw QB and good receiver’s, but when you have a raw QB and the leagues worst receivers who couldn’t catch a cold, you can stack the box all day long and completely shut down the running game. The Vikings defensive rankings is also quite deceiving. They had the leagues best rush defense and the WORST pass defense! That’s not the kind of balanced defense that can overcompensate for a terrible offense.