With the past few days not being the typical fun football days it seems a fine time to take a far too early look at the Flea Flicker's projected Minnesota Vikings starting lineup. It's ridiculous to do this but it sure is fun.
Offense
WR Percy Harvin
TE Kyle Rudolph
LT Matt Kalil
LG Brandon Fusco
C John Sullivan
RG Geoff Schwartz
RT Phil Loadholt
TE John Carlson
WR Jerome Simpson
QB Christian Ponder
RB Adrian Peterson
Defense
RE Jared Allen
NT Letroy Guion
UT Kevin Williams
LE Brian Robison
LB Chad Greenway
LB Jasper Brinkley
LB Erin Henderson
CB Chris Cook
CB Antoine Winfield
S Harrison Smith
S Robert Blanton
QB: The quarterback job is Christian Ponder's. He'd have to fail miserably to lose it. That's not going to happen. It's unfortunate that a player as talented as Joe Webb is left on the sideline. He can make things happen. I'd like to see him on the field in some capacity. Sage Rosenfels brings veteran experience and stability. He's a coach with a helmet.
RB: Adrian Peterson is a beast. He'll be back. Toby Gerhart is terrific. He needs to get more touches and help keep Peterson fresh. Lex Hilliard will likely be RB 3. At fullback, Ryan D'Imperio showed some good things toward the end of last season. Jerome Felton was still brought in as a free agent. Rookie Rhett Ellison was drafted as a tight end but can probably fill a dual role. Unlike a lot of teams, the Vikings still use a true fullback on occasion.
WR: Percy Harvin has been fantastic. He'll be even better this year. He's a very, very unique football player. Ponder was all smiles after throwing to Jerome Simpson for the first time. Fast and incredibly athletic, Simpson finally showed some of his skills in Cincinnati last year. He's suspended for the first three games and has some personal settling to do. If he can improve on his little breakthrough of last year, his addition could be explosive. I think that the Vikings now have a deep, young, but mostly unproven receiver rotation. There's a lot of potential. Michael Jenkins adds the little experience that there is. Before he went down with an injury, Jenkins seemed to develop a nice rapport with Ponder. Second year Stephen Burton and rookies Jarius Wright and Greg Childs will likely round out the group. Childs could be a star.
TE: Kyle Rudolph and John Carlson should provide a dynamic receiving duo for Ponder. Whether they have a similar impact as the New England Patriots' tight ends of a year ago remains to be seen but that seems to be the goal. Rhett Ellison will add some position versatilty.
OL: The improvement here should be drastic. There will be at least three new starters. Only John Sullivan and Phil Loadholt return as starters. Rookie Matt Kalil became the starter as soon as he was drafted. He alone makes the line better and he's yet to take his first NFL snap. Many around the Vikings have already named last year's left tackle Charlie Johnson as the starter at left guard. I have some doubts. I think that second year Brandon Fusco is ready. Those that say Johnson starts say that Fusco and Schwartz battle for the right guard spot. I can understand where Johnson's experience would be beneficial to a rookie like Kalil but I see the Vikings putting the best five linemen on the field. I see that including Fusco and Scwartz as the starting left and right guards. There is some nice depth here. Johnson, Joe Berger, Chris DeGeare and DeMarcus Love could all fill in and play multiple positions.
DL: Kevin Williams, Jared Allen and Brian Robison are solid to awesome. Letroy Guion is the newcomer to the starting lineup. He's been right on the verge of a breakthrough for a couple of years now. Never quite sustaining his often explosive play. This is his chance. End Everson Griffen has to get on the field. He's unusually versatile. New defensive coordinator Alan Williams has to find a way to take advantage of Griffen's skills. The Baltimore Ravens did several interesting things with a similarly talented Adalius Thomas a few years ago. Williams might want to start there. Use him as a roving lineman/linebacker hybrid. He can probably even take on some safety-type coverage responsibility. A remarkable player. Christian Ballard, Fred Evans D'Aundrae Reed and rookie Trevor Guyton will provide nice depth.
LB: Chad Greenway is super. Erin Henderson is steadily improving. Middle linebacker might be the position that concerns me the most on the team this season. Jasper Brinkley missed the entire 2011 season with a hip injury. He's solid against the run but struggles some in coverage. If he's at all slow to return to form those struggles could increase. Larry Dean, Marvin Mitchell, Solomon Elimimian and rookie Audie Cole provide depth. Elimimian could be the wildcard. From the CFL, he can run and hit a ton.
DB: Chris Cook returns. If he can keep his off the field business in order, he could explode on the field. His battles with Detroit's Calvin Johnson are instant highlights. If Antoine Winfield can stay healthy, his football is still excellent at 34. Free agent additions Chris Carr and Zack Bowman will compete as will Brandon Burton, Asher Allen and rookie Josh Robinson. It might be a little optimistic but Robinson has the skills to start early. Safety play in Minnesota has been real sad for too long. Harrison Smith, like Kalil, became a starter as soon as he was drafted. Fellow rookie Robert Blanton could start as well. His main competition will likely come from second year Mistral Raymond. Raymond, realistically, has the edge based solely on his one whole year of experience. So, that edge is slight. Jamarca Sanford helps. Helps a lot on special teams.
Only two seasons have passed since the Vikings were a whisper from the Super Bowl in 2009. It's striking to look at this roster and see only six starters from that NFC Championship game. John Sullivan, Adrian Peterson, Kevin Williams, Jared Allen, Chad Greenway and Antoine Winfield. It's just amazing how fast a team can change if you blink. Peterson, Sullivan, Allen and Greenway are still on the right side of 30. The Vikings have become a young team. It's all potential now but there's some real nice potential.
There it is. The offense and defense of the 2012 Minnesota Vikings. A whole lot can change over the next four months. The Flea Flicker will be here when it does.
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