I'm getting impatient

This is the roughest time of the year for football fans, I think. There's just NOTHING going on to read about, and it's driving me nuts.

The news articles that do keep popping up in my RSS feeds are about how coaches are pleased with the progress of Jackson (which I'm happy to hear, but I can only read it so many times) and news about McKinnie.

I'll admit, the McKinnie thing worries me a bit. Even though I'm one of those who have confidence that Tarvaris is going to play much better this year, the Vikings are still going to rely heavily on the run. I mean, wouldn't you if you had Chester Taylor as your BACKUP?!?!? Taylor and AD are going to be the heart of the team, no doubt. Because of that, we could really use McKinnie to be next to Hutch for all 16 games, and I'm guessing that isn't too likely. He's a second time offender. I'm not sure how many games he'll have to miss if he's suspended. Anyone know?

The Vikes are generating quite a buzz!

SI Story about the Vikings making the Super Bowl

Of course I shouldn't get too hyped about this... last time people thought the Vikings would make the Super Bowl, we had a very mediocre season.

Still, I thought it was interesting that a non-Minnesota writer would say something like this.

Since it's a slow football news time...

I thought maybe we could just relive a great great day...

How do you feel about the Vikings new confidence?

Our offensive coordinator thinks that T-Jack is going to drastically improve, Jared Allen thinks that they'll go to the Super Bowl, and Ray Edwards expects to break the single season sack record!

How do you feel about this?

I personally love it. I think the Vikings have the tools to go out and do big things, especially in the NFC, and I think confidence is going to help them a lot along the way. As for Edwards, I don't really see him getting 23 sacks this year, but that being said, he's going to be on the same defensive line as Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, and Jared Allen. I have to admit, if I was a defensive lineman, I can't think of many other places I'd rather play this year.

My Wish List For This Season

There are a few things I really am hoping for in this upcoming season:


-Tarvaris Jackson Elevates His Play
I am NOT one of those people who believe that T-Jack is hopeless. In fact, I saw some things in him last season that gave me some hope. He started out the season playing terrible. He looked like a lost puppy in the pocket, and he struggled with completing short dump off passes that should be automatic for a starter in the NFL. I remember watching one game that he was injured and Bollinger came in to relieve him. Brooks looked so much better than T-Jack at that point that I was really hoping Jackson had lost his starting job. But when Jackson came back from his last injury, something happened and he became instantly better. It still wasn't enough, though. The Jackson that I want to come into this season is the Jackson that played in the 4th quarter against the Broncos at the end of last season. That Jackson showed the ability to move the ball with his arms or his legs. That's the threat we need.

-Our Passing Threat Keeps Defenses From Stacking The Box
I don't want to see 8 or 9 defenders waiting for Peterson to be handed the ball. Part of this plays into the previous item, but a realistic fan can not put all the blame on Jackson. Jackson had moments of ineptitude last season for sure, but our receivers didn't do a lot to help him out. Williamson still had terrible hands, and Shiancoe was pretty terrible as well. The addition of Berrian and the maturation of Rice and Allison should help a lot here.

-Our Passing Defense Improves
I have the most faith in this one happening. We were terrible defending the pass last year, but I think a big reason for that is we put very little pressure on opposing quarterbacks. I think Jared Allen will help tremendously. I think because of Allen's presence, Edwards will be more effective, and I think less teams will be able to double team Kevin Williams, which will make him more effective against the pass as well. I also think our secondary will benefit HUGELY from this, since they won't have to cover receivers for 8-10 seconds anymore. That's too much to ask of any secondary unit.

-Brad Childress becomes a little less predictable
I think Childress deserves credit (along with Wilf) for his ability to bring in talent. Since Childress became coach, we got Adrian Peterson, Chester Taylor, Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, Brian Robison (who I think has the talent to be a star), and Jared Allen. I think, though, his play calling is too predictable and conservative. I think he's a big reason why we've never seen a huge game out of Jackson... I think Childress keeps the reigns on Tarvaris a little too tight. I'd like to see him open it up again.


That's pretty much it for me. I think we have a decent chance of seeing most of these things come through. I'd love to hear your thoughts on your wish list, though!

Welcome!

Hey everyone! Welcome to my Minnesota Vikings blog. My name is Jason Hannah, and I've been a Vikings fan for a long time. I'm 29 years old, but I have definite memories of watching Wade Wilson lead the Vikings through the playoffs and being only 1 caught pass away from playing the Broncos in the Super Bowl. I also have some memories (although not quite as clear) of watching Tommy Kramer play. I've loved the Vikings for a long time, and I like to talk about them, so I thought I'd start a blog. My goal is to post AT LEAST twice a week, but I think most of the time I'll be able to post more often than that. Obviously once the season starts this blog will become a little more interesting, as well.

So, that's it for the introductions. Let's see where this thing takes us!