Three Questions 1. When will Bridgewater take over as the starting quarterback? Bridgewater was an outstanding precision passer for Louisville, completing over 70 percent of his passes and throwing just four interceptions last year. Minnesota will likely begin the year with Matt Cassel as the starter, but it’s unlikely that Cassel will survive a brutal early schedule featuring the Patriots, Saints, and Packers. Expect Bridgewater to take over before the team’s bye week. 2. How much can Mike Zimmer improve the defense? The bad news for Zimmer is that the Vikings had the worst defense in football last year. The good news is that it probably can’t get any worse from here. Zimmer will bring an attacking philosophy and use a number of pass rushers to put pressure on the quarterback. Turning around this defense is an effort that will take multiple years to accomplish but the Vikings should at least be noticeably better this season. 3. How will the team adjust to playing outdoors? Minnesota’s home games will be played at outdoor TCF Bank Stadium while a new downtown stadium is being built. While this will hopefully improve Minnesota’s performance in outdoor games in general, it also removes the advantage the Vikings had playing in their dome. Since the Vikings’ December home games are against cold-weather opponents in the Jets and Bears, it’s hard to see this being a huge advantage for them. To address this problem, the Vikings signed former Panthers cornerback Captain Munnerlyn. Munnerlyn will start opposite Xavier Rhodes, who was easily Minnesota’s best cover corner despite being a rookie last season. With Munnerlyn, Rhodes, and Smith in the secondary, there’s potential for dramatic improvement in the Vikings’ pass defense. Perhaps the most important addition is the signing of head coach Mike Zimmer, a former defensive coordinator highly respected around the league. Zimmer is likely to give the Vikings a more attacking and aggressive defensive identity than the cover-2 shell they used under Frazier. Even so, the Vikings still have a weak linebacking corps, a young secondary, and an unproven defensive line. This defense is most likely going to struggle again, just not to the same horrid extent as they struggled in 2013. Defensive Player to Watch When the Vikings selected Smith with the 29th pick in the 2012 draft, they were hoping to get a physical presence in the secondary, a player who could help in both pass coverage and run support. Smith fulfilled those wishes almost immediately, making a quick positive impression in his rookie season as he established himself as a great tackler and run defender. Smith gained a lot of attention for some hard hits on Detroit wide receiver Calvin Johnson in particular. Last season, a bad secondary got worse when Smith went down with a turf toe injury. He would return late in the season, but far too late as the Vikings were well out of playoff contention by that point. Mistral Raymond and Jamarca Sanford struggled in Smith’s place, routinely getting beat by receivers deep and over the middle. With Smith’s return, the Vikings pass coverage should get tighter and their defense as a whole should get a lot more physical. Don’t expect Minnesota’s defense to dominate in 2014, but if it does, Smith will likely be one of the biggest reasons why. TEAM ROSTER VIKINGS DEPTH CHART OFFENSE QB Matt Cassel Teddy Bridgewater RB Adrian Peterson Jerick McKinnon WR Greg Jennings, Cordarrelle Patterson Jerome Simpson, Jarius Wright TE Kyle Rudolph Chase Ford FB Jerome Felton Zach Line LT Matt Kalil Mike Remmers LG Charlie Johnson David Yankey C John Sullivan Joe Berger DEFENSE RG Brandon Fusco Jeff Baca RT Phil Loadholt Kevin Murphy DE Brian Robison, Everson Griffen Corey Wootton, Scott Crichton DT Sharrif Floyd, Linval Joseph Tom Johnson, Fred Evans LB Chad Greenway, Jasper Brinkley Michael Mauti, Audie Cole CB Xavier Rhodes, Captain Munnerlyn Derek Cox, Josh Robinson S Jamarca Sanford, Harrison Smith Mistal Raymond, Andrew Sendejo SPECIAL TEAMS K Blair Walsh P Jeff Locke KR Marcus Sherels
Minnesota Vikings Gameday HQ
To see the actual publication please follow the link above