5 Reasons To Be Skeptical About The 2014 Minnesota Vikings

With the 2014 NFL regular season a little more than 10 weeks away, it’s time to start daydreaming about seeing our favorite team on the field. There are some reasons to be excited about the upcoming year and there are also some reasons to be pessimistic. This time, we’ll focus on reasons to be skeptical about the 2014 Minnesota Vikings!
Here are my top 5 reasons to be skeptical about the 2014 Minnesota Vikings:

The new schemes and philosophies may take some time to institute and perfect. Like anything new, it will take some time to get used to. Practice makes perfect and success isn’t made overnight, so it’s a bit naive to think that the team will be a success early on while trying to get used to all these new things. It could be tough for the 2014 Minnesota Vikings to execute this new defense, but it is a work in progress that should pay dividends in the future.

Dec 29, 2013; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen (69) reacts against the Detroit Lions in the second quarter at Mall of America Field at H.H.H. Metrodome. The Vikings win 14-13. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

A large portion of the team’s roster lacks experience. We’ve seen many veterans move on from the Minnesota Vikings over the past few years. For example, guys like Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, Erin Henderson, Chris Cook, Toby Gerhart and J’Marcus Webb have all moved on from the team after just this season alone. While young and speedy are good things, veteran experience is important in the development of those players and transitioning them to the NFL.

Many of the Minnesota Vikings draft picks over the last couple years are boom-or-bust. So far, it looks like the Vikings have struck gold with Cordarrelle Patterson, but there is still a lot left to see from him. Other guys, such as Sharriff Floyd, Xavier Rhodes, Teddy Bridgewater, and Anthony Barr sure seem like guys that could be huge stars if they can realize their potential, but that has yet to be seen on a regular basis. The future of this team relies on these guys becoming big time players.

Jun 17, 2014; Eden Prairie, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer watches practice at Winter Park. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Is Mike Zimmer the right coach for the team? New Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer is a drastic change from Leslie Frazier. He has a much more abrasive attitude and approach to football. He needs to get the team to buy in to his theories and ideas. There are a lot of question marks about Zimmer’s first opportunity as a head coach, but he seems like a motivator who believes on competition instead of relying on veterans. He could be the key to the Minnesota Vikings future success.

Adrian Peterson. That’s right. He’s on this list, too. This is his final year of NFL football before he turns 30 years old. After that mark, many experts feel that running backs are in decline. But his age isn’t the major concern this year, it is his health. Over the last two years, he has had injuries to his foot, groin, ankle, abdomen, hamstring, shoulder and knee. Honestly, fans of the Minnesota Vikings should be much more concerned about the health of this man than his age. If he can stay healthy, he’s a game changer…but that’s a big “if”.

Do you disagree with one of my reasons to be skeptical about the 2014 Minnesota Vikings? Or do you think I missed something that is a bigger question mark than those listed above? Discuss it in the comments!

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