Blair Walsh, yes that guy, has some interesting thoughts about the Vikings

Former Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh recently shared some of his opinions on his old team and what could be in store for them in the 2021 season.

After a magical rookie season from him in 2012, the Minnesota Vikings felt that they hand landed a guy in Blair Walsh who would go on to be the team’s kicker for the next decade.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as well for Walsh during his next few seasons with the Vikings. There was, of course, his infamous miss in the 2015 playoffs, and eventually, he wound up getting let go by Minnesota midway through the 2016 campaign.

Despite not attempting a kick in the NFL since 2017, Walsh actually found himself on the New Orleans Saints practice squad at the end of last season as an emergency kicker for the playoffs.

Blair Walsh shares what he thinks the Minnesota Vikings are capable of in 2021

Walsh was recently a guest on the “Upon Further Review” podcast and he was asked a variety of questions about what he expects from some teams around the NFL during the upcoming season, including his former squad in Minnesota.

The former Vikings kicker thinks his old team’s ceiling in 2021 has them only winning 10 games. However, he thinks a worst-case scenario performance next season still has them finishing with seven victories.

Walsh’s most intriguing comments about his former team, however, had to do with what their offense could potentially do in 2021.

"“[The Vikings] have the offensive weapons to put up 35, 40 a game. They just do. So any time they don’t, it’s kind of a disappointment. I think [the offense] has to be the real focal point of their team this year because they have the guys to do it.They need to let [Kirk Cousins] loose on offense. Their scheme needs to be throwing the ball around, mixing in screen-plays to Dalvin [Cook], and letting him run as well. They can’t just be a heavy run-centric team anymore because they don’t have that elite defense that they had for years. For them to have success, they need to utilize their offensive weapons and just rely on the fact that they can outscore their opponents.”"

Even in today’s NFL, 35 to 40 points per game is an extremely high amount for a team to average each week. Minnesota’s 1998 team that featured the franchise’s most explosive offense ever still only averaged 34.8 points per matchup.

The Vikings might not be able to average more than 35 points per game in 2021, but as Walsh mentioned, their offense does have the weapons to still be very good during the upcoming season.

Last year, Minnesota’s offense actually finished with the third-most points scored in team history. Before the 2019 season, only six Vikings teams ended their year with at least 400 total points. But in 2019 and in 2020, Minnesota was able to surpass the 400-point mark in both seasons.

So the potential for the Vikings to have one of the top scoring offenses in the NFL in 2021 is certainly a possibility. Walsh might have just set the bar a little too high when talking about the actual scoring average that Minnesota could be capable of next season.