Changes

Supposedly, change is good. Sometimes, change can be a little sad. Free agency and the salary cap has made keeping an NFL together a fairly difficult task. For struggling teams that can be considered a very good thing. Successful teams see it differently. The Baltimore Ravens win a Super Bowl and half of their defense is gone about a month later. It costs a lot of money to keep a good team together. That Ravens team decided that keeping quarterback Joe Flacco was more important than keeping a bunch of other players. In a quarterback-driven league they probably made the right choice. It's still tough to see a good/great team taken apart because it costs too much to keep it together. Sometimes age plays as much of a role. That Ravens defense, even the team, was never going to be the same after linebacker Ray Lewis retired.

2009 was one of the great seasons of Minnesota Vikings football. That team should have faced the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. They thoroughly outplayed the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game yet found a few too many ways to give the game away at the end. Much of the Vikings success that season was due to the incredible play of quarterback Brett Favre. There was a great deal of hope for 2010 once Favre finally decided that he wouldn't retire again. With the old thrower in the fold, all 22 of the Vikings starters from the 2009 season were back. 2010, despite all that hope, was an absolute disaster and that terrific team gradually fell apart. Each year more players were gone. Five years later, only Adrian Peterson, John Sullivan, Phil Loadholt, Brian Robison, and Chad Greenway remain from that team that could have won it all. Five years is a very long time in football years but that roster turnover started in earnest in 2011. Now, it's nearly complete.

Defensive tackle Kevin Williams and defensive end Jared Allen will become free agents next Tuesday. Those two have been team leaders and defensive stalwarts for years. As well as two of my all-time favorite Vikings players. Jared Allen since he was obtained in a blockbuster trade in 2008. Kevin Williams since he was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft. There's always a chance that one or both might be back in 2014 but it may, unfortunately, be time to move on. They will be following the departures of Jim Kleinsasser, Antoine Winfield, Pat Williams, E.J. Henderson, Steve Hutchinson, Matt Birk, Chester Taylor, Ben Leber, and Cedric Griffin. That was a very talented core of players that hit it's peak in 2009. Favre's stellar play that season really brought it all together. It sure showed what decent quarterbacking can do for a football team. That team was also a fun team. They had a bunch of characters that really seemed to enjoy playing football together. On the field success will certainly promote happiness on the field and off but this went beyond that. I think that the success of the 2009 Minnesota Vikings was a product of the camaraderie of the team. That and some fine quarterback play. It's been difficult to see the players from that team move on or retire but it's part of the game.

As long as Adrian Peterson is carrying the football in Minnesota he will be the face of the franchise. Hopefully, he will be carrying the football for many more years. It's still hard to believe that he's now one of the older players on the team. There are never enough seasons for a football player like Adrian Peterson. The Vikings are now surrounding Peterson with a new core of football players. Kleinsasser, Winfield, Hutchinson, and Henderson have been replaced by Kyle Rudolph, Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, Matt Kalil, Cordarrelle Patterson, and Sharrif Floyd. They are still missing a quarterback which is the worst possible position to be missing a player. Many of the players that are thought to be the future of the Minnesota Vikings were in high school in 2009. It's pretty much a new Vikings team. Most of the change has been gradual. It's barely noticed until you sit down and actually think about all of the players no longer on the team. Losing Jim Kleinsasser, to retirement, and Antoine Winfield, to stupidity, was difficult. The likely loss of Jared Allen and Kevin Williams will be as difficult. The evolution of that Vikings team from 2006-09 provided some of the most enjoyable football that I've seen played in Minnesota. It's been sad to see those players fade away over the years. Peterson's incredible 2012 season led to a surprising playoff appearance. Other than that outlying year, the Vikings football played from 2010-13 left a lot to be desired. Recent strong drafts have brought talent and potential. Hiring Mike Zimmer as head coach has brought hope. Maybe in five years I'll be looking back at the changes now and the changes of the last few years as the beginning of something never seen in Minnesota. A Super Bowl championship. Hopefully, multiple Super Bowl championships. Well, I'll start with one Super Bowl championship and go from there.