STOP THE SPLENDA BINGING, PLEASE __ Nothing is established at the quarterback position, the most crucial on the field. Nothing. Little has been established along the offensive line, especially the right side. Nothing is established at wide receiver. Nothing is established at tight end. Nothing is established at defensive end. Nothing is established in the play-calling. Nothing in the way of credibility has been established by the head coach.
Doesn't mean some of those things cannot change in 2007. But be honest. If all of these descriptions applied to any team but your favorite _ the Vikings _ you would be howling. About any other team outside Minnesota, the artificial sweeteners, the splendas _ those fans and Minnesota media members who love to suger-coat the local sport scene _ would be howling about all those question marks. You would be saying this a team that is going to have to answer a whole of questions before it can be taken seriously.
But because it is your beloved Vikings _ and hope springs eternal every training camp _ you will look at things differently. Fine. Go with it.
Brad Childress likes Eagles analogies. Fine. Go with that, too. If I were coaching a team that had fallen from 9-7 to 6-10 in my first year, I'd probably prefer Eagles analogies, too. They can be packaged and sold more easily. But remember this: When Secret Squirrel reminds reporters that in 2000, the Eagles started a green, second-year guy named Donovan McNabb, backed up by Koy Detmer, and finished 11-5, he forgets to mention that McNabb was the second player taken in the first round of the draft. Despite the boos with which Eagles fans met him, he was viewed by most talent scouts as a big-time major-college prospect who would go very early in round one. Tarvaris Jackson was a second-round choice taken as high as he was only because the Vikings moved up to get him.
Doesn't mean Jackson can't pan out, but it means that McNabb clearly was seen as far more of a sure thing. For the same reason, Adrian Peterson is the guy to whom it is easier to hand the benefit of the doubt almost from the beginning. Yes, the Vikings have to be right on Jackson or the whole thing implodes, but Peterson is the guy who can bring a dimension to this offense that could change a lot in a hurry. Just don't forget about all those other questions, starting with the head coach still needing to prove he is up to the job. He flunked the test in year one.
