2014 Week 1 NFC Power Rankings
Minnesota Vikings quarterback
Matt Cassel. Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
14. Minnesota Vikings (2013 record: 5-10-1) Last season finish: No postseason
Week 1 Matchup: at St. Louis Rams 9/7 1:00 PM EST
The Vikings have finally moved on from the Christian Ponder disaster era and may be ready to contend again. Leslie Frazier has been replaced with Mike Zimmer who brings a tenacious defensive mind as the new head ball coach.
Matt Cassel has won the starting quarterback job for now, but Teddy Bridgewater looked pretty brilliant this preseason. The quarterback carousel didn’t stop the best running back in the NFL, Adrian Peterson, from doing his usual thing.
The running back continued to play at a high level last year so nothing less should be expected this year. The potential breakout candidates Cordarelle Patterson and Kyle Rudolph will determine if teams stray away from packing the box against AP and respect Cassel or Bridgewater.
On defense, the Vikings knew they had to get better against the pass. This offseason they added Captain Munnerlyn from Carolina and Derek Cox from San Diego to counter against their pass happy NFC North opponents. Keep a keen eye to the development of Xavier Rhodes.
Mike Zimmer’s defensive scheme should help to corral a few opponents and keep Minnesota in some games.