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Minnesota Vikings: A Changing of the Guard in the NFC North?

By Erik Durand

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Entering the 2015 season the Green Bay Packers are the defending NFC North champions. The rival Packers have won the division four straight years, dating back to 2011. As it stands I’m sure most if not all analysts and fans of the game have the cheeseheads retaining their crown. In my opinion, this will be the last year for a little while that they will be the clear-cut favorites in the division.

With no disrespect towards the Lions and the Bears I feel the Vikings have made the most improvements in recent offseasons to be able to contend with our Wisconsin neighbors for division glory and bragging rights.

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Offensively Minnesota has a lot of upside and can potentially be scary. If Teddy Bridgewater continues to develop into what the organization wants him to be, the Vikings will have an incredibly talented quarterback for a lot of years. Looking at the weapons he has alongside him in the trenches will make for a difficult game plan defensively against this quad. Adding Mike Wallace to an inexperienced but talented group of receivers makes the crew a dangerous passing attack.

A healthy Kyle Rudolph may become an enormous piece of this offense, as he should be. This man was seemingly put on this earth to be a tight end and with the attention the speedy receiving core is going to attract he may have a lot of space out there this year.

An immense piece of the puzzle on offense is Adrian Peterson. With the former MVP reporting to camp and gelling with this offense the potential truly is limitless. 28 adds a dynamic that 31 teams would love to have and dread game planning for defensively.

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Though the Vikings will have a good offense this year, of course, the Packers offense is still very close to if not the top unit in the league. Nobody can completely neutralize the Aaron Rodgers led Packers but I think the Vikings defense can hold up a little better this year than the Packers can defend the Vikings. Both teams still have question marks on the defensive side of the ball. In my opinion, the Vikings have done a better job at filling those voids even though lot of the Vikings defensive prowess will hinge on development.

With Mike Zimmer focusing on getting the defense stout and where it needs to be and Norv Turner running this lethal, on paper, offense I think that the NFC North wont be going through the Packers for very much longer. Who knows, things could get interesting as soon as this year. Week 17 in Lambeau could have a division title implication. Stranger things have happened.

Next: Minnesota Vikings 2015 Game By Game Previews

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