Vikings Secondary

The Minnesota Vikings used a first round pick on a defensive back a grand total of twice through their first 51 drafts. Twice! Safety Joey Browner in 1983. Corner DeWayne Washington in 1994. Two times in 51 years! Passing wasn't quite the same through most of those years as it is now but it's incredible to avoid a position group that has historically required top-end talent. The Vikings have changed that pattern in recent years. They have selected a defensive back in the first round three times since 2012. Safety Harrison Smith in 2012. Corner Xavier Rhodes in 2013. Corner Trae Waynes in 2015. The Vikings have made it a priority to improve the overall talent of the secondary. They have also improved the teaching of techniques. Head coach Mike Zimmer has a background in coaching defensive backs and he doesn't sit back and watch. He and defensive backs coach Jerry Gray are tremendously hands-on and effective teachers. The emphasis on improving both the talent and teaching of the secondary has expectations sky high for the Vikings defensive future.

 Here's a look at the current depth of the Vikings secondary:

Corners

Xavier Rhodes

Trae Waynes

Terrence Newman

Captain Munnerlyn

Josh Robinson

Marcus Sherels

Jabari Price

Jalil Carter

DeMarcus Van Dyke

Justin Coleman

Safeties

Harrison Smith

Robert Blanton

Andrew Sendejo

Taylor Mays

Antone Exum

Anthony Harris
Shaun Prater

Rhodes and Smith are already franchise cornerstones. Each is on the cusp of being considered among the best in the league at their positions. The feeling here is that they are already there. Waynes has the talent to join them. The Vikings selected him with the 11th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft to pair with Rhodes as a terrific corner tandem for years. Whether Watnes is ready to step in as the starter game one will be determined this summer. Newman will turn 37 before the season starts. He appears to be on of those very skilled defensive backs like Darrell Green, Deion Sanders, and Charles Woodson that can play forever. He's played in Zimmer's defense for years. At worst he's a player-coach on the field. At best he's the starter until Waynes is ready. If nothing else Newman improves the overall talent of the secondary. Munnerlyn had a rough year last year adjusting to Zimmer's demanding expectations but he's ideally suited to be the nickel corner. It sounds like he's closer to being on the same page with Zimmer and his defense. Robinson has started and improved his play last year but he still has difficulties with bigger receivers. Unfortunately there's a bunch of big receivers in the NFC North. Sherels has been a scrappy corner, terrific punt returner and his persistence and fight to sustain an NFL career is inspiring. The fight to make this Vikings roster will be his greatest fight. Price was a pleasant surprise last year as a seventh-round rookie and could challenge Munnerlyn for the nickel role. Carter was an offseason addition from the CFL. There was a time not long ago that the top of the Vikings corner depth chart looked a lot like the bottom of this depth chart. Those were sad days. The top four spots are pretty much set. If the Vikings keep six corners there will be a well-contested fight between Robinson, Sherels, Price, Prater, Carter, Van Dyke, and Coleman. The guess here is that Robinson and Price fill out the corner spots. 

The most fierce battle at training camp might be for the safety spot opposite Smith. Blanton started most of last season. Sendejo stepped in and started when Blanton was injured. Mays was added this past offseason and played for Zimmer in Cincinnati. Exum was a sixth-round pick last year and mostly played on special teams. General manager Rick Spielman singled out Exum as a player that has increased expectations this year. Harris was the Vikings top undrafted target this year. Despite not being selected in the draft he will be in the mix for that starting spot. Prater was moved from corner to safety this offseason. I think that the starting spot next to Smith comes down to a battle between Exum and Harris. No matter how that starting spot shakes out there will be a battle between Blanton, Sendejo, Mays, Exum, and Harris for probably three spots. The wildcard in this mix is Mays. He has a unique mix of size (linebacker-like size) and speed. He's been somewhat unreliable in coverage which is a bit of a problem for a safety but he has skills to play a specialized role in certain defensive packages. He's also an excellent special teams player. He could force the coaches to keep a fifth safety but it might be too much of a luxury on a 53-man roster. 

A way-too-early look at how the Vikings secondary might shake out:

Corners

Xavier Rhodes

Trae Waynes

Terrence Newman

Captain Munnerlyn

Josh Robinson

Jabari Price

Safeties

Harrison Smith

Antone Exum

Robert Blanton

Anthony Harris

If it does shake out this way, I'd really hate not seeing Marcus Sherels and Andrew Sendejo on the Vikings roster. The talent level throughout the roster has improved so much so quickly that there will be a lot of tough cuts this year. 

Finally

The Adrian Peterson nonsense has finally come to an end. The only more trying bit of nonsense in recent memory that comes close was the annual waffling of Brett Favre. Both instances were made much worse by the media. With the Favre nonsense the paparazzi-like coverage was simply nauseating. Just let the indecisive, old man make his decision. With the Peterson nonsense the media didn't have a clue as to what was taking place and they reported guesses as fact. They created a story when nothing was there. The media is tasked with reporting the news not creating it. They made an unfortunate situation worse. Much worse.

I really didn't want to touch this ridiculous topic ever again. But here I am. I just can't let the media go on this. Former Green Bay Packers salary cap guy Andrew Brandt is a weekly guest on the Ross Tucker Podcast. He used to be part of NFL management. He's part of the media now. For months Brandt has maintained that Peterson will not play for the Minnesota Vikings again. Despite not having a clue as to what is actually going on with the Vikings or with Peterson he never wavered. He even maintained that uninformed stance after Peterson reported to the Vikings this week. Incredible. His uniformed opinion became firm after Peterson's agent Ben Dogra got into a very public altercation with Vikings cap guy Rob Brzezinski at the Scouting Combine. I have no idea how anyone could have seen that incident as anything but staged. Especially when you consider that Brzezinski and Dogra smoothly negotiated a contract for Terrence Newman not long after as if nothing had ever happened. Personally, I think that Dogra was an idiot throughout much of the offseason. Any agent that thinks a public incident with a team representative, staged or otherwise, is appropriate is an idiot. And that was just one of a run of simply stupid public stunts by Dogra. It was ridiculous things like this that drove the uninformed narrative for Brandt and the rest of the media. No one stopped to consider that trading Peterson was never in the Vikings best interest. No one stopped to consider that Vikings general manager Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer were serious when they said that Peterson wasn't going to be traded. No matter how many times they were asked they said the same thing. You could tell that they were getting sick of answering the same questions on a damn near daily basis. The only people that could move Peterson had no interest in moving him. How do you simply ignore that? The media did. Incredible. And Brandt continues to do so. Even with Peterson in a Vikings uniform.

Perhaps the most puzzling time of this ordeal came in early February. Peterson was in Minneapolis for the appeal of his suspension. Outside the courthouse he was asked if he would like to stay with the Vikings. "Of course" was his answer. Those words straight from the player's mouth never gained any traction. Peterson says that he wants to play for the Vikings. Spielman and Zimmer say that he isn't playing for any team but the Vikings. The whole thing should have ended there but it didn't. Somehow the media-generated narrative kicked into gear and took off in the opposite direction. And it snowballed a few weeks later after Dogra's clown act. It was mind-numbing. The drama was preferred so it was reported. Some even started reporting that a trade was inevitable. The only question was where. Arizona? Dallas? Tampa Bay? The Vikings compensation? Some said that a second round pick would be fair compensation for a 30-year old running back. A second isn't even close to fair compensation for what Peterson means to the Vikings offense. A second would be charity rather than a trade. None of it made any sense.

Everyone with a voice is reporting a story. It doesn't even have to be true. As long it's interesting. The media prefers an interesting lie more than a boring truth. The more people reporting the lie the more likely the public will accept as a truth. And maybe, just maybe, all of the chaos stirred up by the media might even force their story into reality.

The nonsense ended this week the only way that it was ever going to end. Adrian Peterson playing football for the Minnesota Vikings. Despite the chaos that the media caused. Fortunately it's at an end. Finally.

Throwback Thursday: Vikings Linebackers Through The Years

The future of the Minnesota Vikings linebacker group appears bright. That can happen when successive top picks are used at the position. In 2014 the Vikings selected UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr with the ninth pick. A month ago they selected Barr's former UCLA teammate Eric Kendricks with the 45th pick of the 2015 NFL Draft. Barr was terrific as a rookie at strong-side linebacker. Kendricks is penciled in as the starter at middle linebacker. The former UCLA teammates and roommates should have a long, productive partnership in the NFL. Veteran Chad Greenway or third-year Gerald Hodges will compete to take the field next to Barr and Kendricks at weak-side linebacker this year. It will come down to a battle between Greenway's experience and leadership and Hodge's speed and athleticism. No matter how it shakes out this season the Vikings future at linebacker likely looks like this:

Anthony Barr
Eric Kendricks
Gerald Hodges

That's a fast, athletic group. Each can race to the ball wherever it is on the field. Each can be a factor in coverage. This group has the talent to be the best in franchise history. Unlike their grand tradition of talent on the defensive line the Vikings have no linebackers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Their linebacker tradition has been one of solid play and production. A scattering of Pro Bowl-level performances and an occasional excellent season. It's a good tradition. Not a great one.

The earliest linebacker group that I vaguely recall as a little Vikings fan was the first to establish themselves as a group. They were the first in franchise history to play together for a few seasons. That sustained time together brought a bond on and off the field and the whole was better than the individual parts.

Roy Winston
Lonnie Warwick
Wally Hilgenberg

The Vikings were surrounded by teams with linebacker groups with brilliant middle linebackers. The Green Bay Packers had Ray Nitschke in the middle. The Chicago Bears had Dick Butkus. The Detroit Lions had Joe Schmidt and then Mike Lucci. The Vikings had Warwick. He didn't get anywhere near the attention of the others but he was a very good middle linebacker. The Vikings linebackers played behind an incredible defensive line. Alan Page and Carl Eller are in the Hall of Fame. Some think that Jim Marshall should be. The Vikings linebackers were overshadowed on their own team by the defensive line and by the linebackers around the league. This group was more tough than talented. More solid than great.

The earliest group that I remember best is the one that followed the Winston-Warwick-Hilgenberg trio.

Matt Blair
Jeff Siemon
Wally Hilgenberg

Hilgenberg somehow managed to fend off 1974 top pick Fred McNeil for a few years. This group played together for only one season but it was a Super Bowl season. It was the Vikings last Super Bowl season so it was pretty memorable. A group that included Blair, Seimon, and pretty much anyone had the potential to be great. Blair and Seimon each had a stretch of 3-4 seasons in which they were among the best at their positions. Unfortunately those stretches weren't at the same time. Siemon was selected to four Pro Bowls. Blair was selected to six. 1977 was the only year in which they made it together. Despite their single season starting together I always liked this group. It was a blend of the past (Hilgenberg) with the present and future.

The Vikings played in a 3-4 defense from 1981-85. As far as I know that defense might have been preferred because of the talent that the Vikings had at the linebacker position especially at inside linebacker. The group that played together the majority of those five years was this very nice group:

Matt Blair
Dennis Johnson
Scott Studwell
Fred McNeil

The chance to get Siemon and Studwell on the field at the same time was probably the catalyst for the switch to the 3-4. They only played together in the middle in 1981. For most of the 3-4 era it was these four. This was a good group. Blair was terrific. Studwell was a tackling machine. McNeil was solid. Johnson was an underrated Vikings football player.

The end of the short 3-4 era eventually led to a stretch that could have been great. As it was, it was often very, very good. The groups started with these two:

Mike Merriweather
Scott Studwell

Before the 1989 NFL Draft the Vikings traded a first-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for Merriweather. He was selected to the Pro Bowl three times in his career. All while he was with the Steelers. He should have made the Pro Bowl with the Vikings as it felt like he made big plays as a matter of routine. Studwell was always a tackling machine. Unfortunately Merriweather and Studwell were together for only two seasons. Ray Berry filled the third linebacker in 1989. Mark Dusbabek filled the spot in 1990. If only Jesse Solomon could have been matched with Merriweather and Studwell but he was part of the Herschel Walker trade in 1988. I always felt that Solomon had the talent to shine.

Through most of the 1990s the Vikings had a stream of linebackers that surrounded Jack Del Rio and then Jeff Brady in the middle. That stream included some decent to solid players like Carlos Jenkins, Fred Strickland, Dixon Edwards, Broderick Thomas, and the always frustrating Dwayne Rudd. Rudd was frustrating because he looked like a steal in the draft. A top-10 talent that the Vikings were able to grab later in the first round. At times he was brilliant. More often he was a knucklehead. The best Vikings linebacker of the 1990s was Ed McDaniel. He played on the outside for most of his career but some of his best years were the years in which he directed the defense as an under-sized middle linebacker. He was fun to watch and very underrated. The Vikings dominant 1998 season fielded a linebacker group that looked like this:

Dixon Edwards
Ed McDaniel
Dwayne Rudd

This was the strength of a shaky Vikings defense that greatly benefited from an offense that could score at will. McDaniel and the great John Randle were the Vikings only Pro Bowl players on defense. This was on a 15-1 team. The offense sent seven players to the Pro Bowl. McDaniel made this group fun. Rudd made it frustrating.

The early part of the 2000s was a shaky time for the Vikings. It was a revolving door at linebacker as it was at most positions on defense. That inconsistency changed in 2007. That was the year that the Vikings first fielded a linebacker group that is probably it's best. It was certainly the group that played together the longest.

Ben Leber
E.J. Henderson
Chad Greenway

This was a very good and versatile group. It helped that they were together from 2007-10. Henderson made a single Pro Bowl. He deserved more but made only one. He's in the conversation with Warwick, Siemon, and Studwell as the best middle linebacker in franchise history. Greenway has been very good, sometimes even great, for a long time. Leber was solid. So dependable. I believe that it was Troy Aikman that once mentioned during a broadcast that this linebacker group was the best in the league at that time. That's debatable but this group was definitely in that debate. As much as I enjoyed watching Jeff Siemon and Matt Blair take care of the second level of the Vikings defense this Leber-Henderson-Greenway group is my favorite.

Although the group that's being put together now looks promising. So promising.

Peter King's Power Rankings

Sports Illustrated's Peter King is one of the football writers out there that I respect the most. If you aren't reading his MMQB website I highly recommend that you do. He's recruited some terrific writers to assist him. King recently posted his very early power rankings for the 2015 NFL season. My reason for re-posting it here will become clear soon. At #6.

1. Baltimore (10-6). Why? I trust John Harbaugh to find answers in a league devoid of a truly great team. I trust the running game to take pressure off Joe Flacco until he develops chemistry with new receivers, and I trust Dean Pees to replace Haloti Ngata with a combination platter of front-seven changeups. This is a battle-tested team that had two 14-point playoff leads in Foxboro last January. I just think the Ravens will find a way.

2. Seattle (12-4). The addition of Jimmy Graham means so much. He could mean a third straight Super Bowl trip. There’s little reason to doubt Seattle, except the loss of some key defensive pieces, including coordinator Dan Quinn. But it’s hard to stay on top in the NFL for even three years.

3. Green Bay (12-4). The secondary worries me, as does the pass rush. The Pack’s a trendy pick to get to the Super Bowl, and it wouldn’t surprise me, but a lot will have to go right on defense for that to happen.

4. Kansas City (9-7). Two things must happen: making Justin Houston contractually happy and finding some answers in the passing game. I like most everything else about the Chiefs’ ability to play in January.

5. New England (12-4). I don’t care if Damon Huard plays the first four games. Pats will win 11. Or more.

6. Minnesota (7-9). This is reliant on so many things. Adrian Peterson showing up number one. But finding a consistent pass-rush is key too, as is the continued maturity of Teddy Bridgewater. I pick the Vikes here because if you ask me for one rising team if two or three vital things go right, I’m picking Minnesota.

7. Philadelphia (10-6). Mike Trout says: In Chip We Trust. For the Eagles to be seventh in the NFL, he’s going to have to say: In Sam Bradford We Trust.

8. Pittsburgh (11-5). Like Antonio Brown a lot. Like Ben Roethlisberger a lot. But this faith is subject heavily to the ascension of Keith Butler to defensive coordinator after 16 seasons as a defensive assistant below the coordinator level. Mike Tomlin is putting tremendous faith in Butler, who replaces Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau, to be a breath of fresh and productive air. Risky move, and early returns are good. But early returns come in shorts and T-shirts on the South Side of Pittsburgh, not on a cruel Thursday night in Foxboro.

9. Denver (12-4). The Ryan Clady injury shows what a house of cards this offensive line was. (Of course, any team can say losing the left tackle is a crippler, and it is.) But when your quarterback is 39 and cannot roll out and escape the rush, it’s triply important.

10. Arizona (11-5). Maybe the most intriguing team in football. If Carson Palmer stays healthy and productive, the Cards can fight Seattle until Week 17. But we all know Carson Palmer’s health is one of the biggest ifs in the NFL.

11. Indianapolis (11-5). Best team in the AFC South, which isn’t saying much. Still have no clue how the Colts will stop the best offenses in football. I bet Chuck Pagano doesn’t know either.

12. Cincinnati (10-5-1). The running game, and the offensive line, should be enough to make up for Andy Dalton if he struggles. But I don’t think a team can be great unless its quarterback is close to great.

13. Dallas (12-4). I keep reading how many great pieces the Cowboys have added to their defense. I don’t see it. But they’re going to win a bunch of 33-27 games, so there’s hope.

14. New Orleans (7-9). Josh Hill, it’s time for your closeup. Drew Brees needs a power tight end with red-zone chops, and you’re it. Or you’d better be.

15. San Diego (9-7). I feel this way every recent June about the Chargers: They will not go 6-10. But they could go 11-5 or 8-8 and it would not surprise me. The insecurity of the franchise will not help.

16. Miami (8-8). Dolphins win second in the AFC East, which is an accomplishment. But I wonder if Stephen Ross will think 9-7 and being out of the playoffs is really such a swell year?

17. Detroit (11-5). I don’t trust that the Lions have done enough to bolter a defense made thin by the loss of its best position group, defensive tackle.

18. Buffalo (9-7). Who wouldn’t love to see Rex Ryan playing important football games in January? But if he’s going to do that, it means that Matt Cassel, or EJ Manuel, or even Tyrod Taylor, is going to have to be playing important football games in January.

19. St. Louis (6-10). If Nick Foles is really good, the Rams will win 11. If he’s average, they’ll win eight. You see which way I’m leaning.

20. Carolina (7-8-1). Giant question marks at both tackle spots and an offense that can’t afford to lose its quarterback. Still love the defense, but did the offense improve enough?

21. Atlanta (6-10). What does new coach Dan Quinn have in store on defense? The pass rush is a question mark coming into the season. And new offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan needs to find a starting running back and new No. 3 receiver.

22. New York Giants (6-10). Tell me Eli Manning stays protected, and tell me the second act of Steve Spagnuolo can come close to matching the first, and I’ll have more faith in the Giants to be a playoff team.

23. Chicago (5-11). They blew it with Ray McDonald, and I just don’t see that defense improving. And relying on a Jay Cutler-led offense to over-produce is not a sound strategy.

24. New York Jets (4-12). Love the front seven. Love the new coach. Don’t love much about the offense.

25. Washington (4-12). I’d love to muster up enthusiasm for Jay Gruden, a good man and a good coach. But I can’t get his RGIII negativity out of my head from last season. Only Robert Griffin III can do that—for both of us.

26. San Francisco (8-8). A hurricane’s coming for Jim Tomsula. It’s one thing to know that—and he does know it. It’s another thing to deal with it and find a solution when September comes.

27. Cleveland (7-9). I don’t hate the Browns, at all. I’m just tired of having June faith in them.

28. Houston (9-7). Actually, HBO’s “Hard Knocks” will be a good thing for Houston coach Bill O’Brien. I’ve never been one to think the show is some huge distraction. With a bunch of young kids trying to prove themselves, and an interesting but anonymous quarterback battle, I think the show will be good TV, and good for the Texans in learning to deal with the spotlight early.

29. Tampa Bay (2-14). Jameis Winston will get thrown to the wolves without a good offensive line, and the Bucs also lack a running back. It won’t help having two studs at receiver if Winston doesn’t have time to find them.

30. Jacksonville (3-13). This ranking comes from not trusting Blake Bortles—yet—and not trusting a pass rush dealt a horrible blow with the Dante Fowler injury an hour into his NFL career.

31. Oakland (3-13). It’s not that I don’t trust Derek Carr. It’s that I don’t trust Derek Carr’s health after what I’ve read about the problems with a finger on his throwing hand. That plus the fact that the Raiders have a boatload of existing holes that Jack Del Rio has to address this summer.

32. Tennessee (2-14). I love the Marcus Mariota pick. I don’t love the supporting cast, and he’s not a guy who’s going to be great day one. Or day 24.

The spots taken by the Ravens, Chiefs, and the Vikings in the top-6 might be the biggest surprises. The consensus seems to be that some combination of the Seahawks, Packers, and Patriots make up the top-3. I certainly agree with King's expectations that the Vikings could be a big surprise this year. One of vital things that King says has to go the Vikings way ticked into place yesterday. They might actually be a year, or two, away but they are a team on the rise. That rise could start as soon as this year. Can't wait. 

He's Back!

Adrian Peterson is in Minnesota today. It's not for a court case or anything like that. He's in Minnesota for business. Football business. Better yet, the business of playing football.

"I'm returning because I want to. I'm part of this football team and I owe it to the guys that I play with and to our coaches. I was planning to come in this week, and I look forward to getting back on the field. It's what I love to do."

-Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson

Aw. Fine words. That's right. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. The clowns in the media that honked on and on for months and months about Peterson having played his last game as a Vikings football player can just...well, they were just wrong. He's back. In Minnesota. To play football for the Minnesota Vikings.

Peterson hasn't practiced since the second week of the 2014 NFL season. It's been about nine months. It feels so much longer. The media made it feel much longer. They claim that they were just doing their job. They really made it worse. When Peterson admitted that he was returning to the Vikings this week he was, of course, asked about his contract. It's what they do. "I'll leave those discussions to my agent, but any player wants to guarantee his future as much as possible," Peterson said. "I'm focused on what I need to do on the field, what I need to do to prepare for the season." Nice.

He's back!

"I've been watching this game from the sidelines for far too long. My teammates and coaches are important to me. Those relationships matter, and I owe it to those guys. I knew I wanted to come in this week. I had a family obligation last week but I'm ready to put on a Vikings uniform again and get back to work."

He looks so great in that uniform.

He's back!

And the NFC North tilted, just a little, away from Green Bay.

Welcome back to football, Adrian!

Superstar Flacco?

"This guy is a superstar..."
-Ravens head coach John Harbaugh talking about his quarterback Joe Flacco

Some might think that Harbaugh is nuts. Maybe he's just being supportive of his guy but laugh all you want. He's far more right than wrong. Joe Flacco has never really received much respect outside of Baltimore. A lot of that likely has to do with with his "ah shucks, ho-hum" persona. His laid-back attitude raised questions prior to the 2008 NFL Draft. Despite those questions the Ravens selected Flacco out of itty-bitty Delaware with the 18th pick of the first round. They even traded up to insure that they got him. Everybody involved with the Ravens is happy that they did. A victory in Super Bowl XLVII sealed that emotion. It also sealed a nice contract for the quarterback. A contract that has brought more jeers than cheers. Flacco can't get any respect. I don't think that anyone in Baltimore really cares. They have nothing but respect for their guy.

Joe Flacco is often grouped in the second tier of quarterbacks. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Ben Roethlisberger are found at the top. Russell Wilson, Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Matt Ryan, and even the often slighted Eli Manning are considered in the next group. Flacco missing from that second group always raises questions because of that Super Bowl that he's won. Ryan's presence in the group ahead of Flacco is the most curious. The two will be forever linked as they were both first-round selections in 2008. Ryan has always received more acceptance as a talented NFL thrower since that draft. Ryan has been slightly more efficient in the regular season but not by a wide margin. The playoffs are a whole other story. It's Flacco's performance in the playoffs that really brings merit to Harbaugh's superstar comment. Flacco and the Ravens are a remarkable 10-5 in the playoffs. Ryan, in comparison, is 1-4 in the games that matter most. Since Flacco established himself, despite his laid-back ways, as a team leader in 2010 it's no exaggeration to say that he's been brilliant in the playoffs. His playoff record since 2010 is 7-3. His touchdown-interception ratio during those playoff games is 24:4. Great stuff there. He outplayed Tom Brady in playoff losses in 2011 and last year and his team was "oh-so-close" to making it to one more Super Bowl and possibly two. In short, Joe Flacco really has been a superstar in the playoffs. Perhaps the best in the league since 2010 in those important games. He hasn't been too bad during the regular season either. He's led the Ravens to the playoffs every season of his career but 2013. Fuel for his critics was that the one playoff miss followed the Super Bowl win and that "big" contract.

The bottom line with Joe Flacco is that he leads his team to the playoffs as a matter of routine. Once he has his team where every team wants to be he's been outstanding. I'd say that pretty much calls for the "superstar" label.

Hopefully Happy Returns

Several prominent players missed most, if not all, of the 2014 NFL season due to injuries. Some due to unfortunate matters other than injuries. Here are a few of those players that could make their teams very happy with their return.

Navorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco 49ers

-Bowman suffered his brutal knee injury in the 2013 NFC Championship game. He's been on the shelf for much more than a full calendar year. He's still not 100% but he's getting there. His complete return to health became even more crucial for the 49ers after the surprising and not-so-surprising retirements of Chris Borland and Patrick Willis. The 49ers need Bowman in the middle of their defense. When healthy he's one of the best linebackers in the game. 

Sean Lee, LB, Dallas Cowboys

-Lee always seems to be returning from injuries. When he isn't he's a terrific, play-making linebacker. He's been on the verge of joining Luke Kuechley as one of the best middle linebackers in the league but the injuries keep setting him back. This time it was a torn ACL. The Cowboys got solid middle linebacker play from Rolando McClain in Lee's place last year. McClain's return this year allows Lee to slide to the weak-side. A move that fits Lee's play-making abilities. It might also keep him out of the congestion in the middle of the field and hopefully injury free. Finally.

Kiko Alonso, LB, Philadelphia Eagles

-When Alonso suffered his torn ACL during offseason workouts last year he was a member of the Buffalo Bills. So he returns from a knee injury to a new team and system. He was a 4-3 middle linebacker in Buffalo. Now he's a 3-4 inside linebacker in Philadelphia. It's a crowded linebacker group in Philadelphia but Alonso is one of the most talented young linebackers in the league. He'll fit in nicely with whatever combination of Mychal Kendricks, DeMeco Ryans, Brandon Graham, and Connor Barwin the Eagles decide to put on the field. 

Sam Bradford, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

-The Eagles traded for two prominent players that missed all of last season with knee injuries. Alonso and their new quarterback. As with Sean Lee, Bradford has never stayed healthy for very long in all of his time in the NFL. When he has managed to stay healthy he's played well but he's still such a mystery. With the Eagles he enters an offensive system that more closely resembles the system that he played in at Oklahoma. A system in which he won the Heisman and got himself selected #1 in the 2010 NFL Draft.

Victor Cruz, WR, New York Giants

-Before a torn patellar tendon Cruz was Eli Manning's go-to receiver. He was excellent in the role. A deep threat. A game-breaking threat. With Cruz on the sideline the Giants, Manning and the world discovered Odell Beckham Jr. Oh my. With the attention that will most definitely be paid to Beckham this year, Cruz could be running from single coverage like he never has before. 

Jadeveon Clowney, LB, Houston Texans

-Clowney is an edge rushing freak. He didn't get to show that last year because he got hurt so early. On a defensive front seven that includes J.J. Watt, Clowney can be downright scary. 

Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings

-The only good thing about Peterson missing all but one game of the 2014 NFL season is that it wasn't due to injury. He doesn't have to rehab. There's no question about his health. He'll be his usual beast self. For someone that doesn't need much motivation to get himself worked up into a game day frenzy he'll have a lot of motivation. He'll be playing angry. He'll be playing for redemption. Peterson lining up behind very promising second-year quarterback Teddy Bridgewater has everyone surrounding the Vikings very, very happy. 

Here's to a hopeful, happy return for these players and all players returning from difficulties.