Profizzle99 said:
Packers:
Total Offense: #2
Total Defense: #11
Record: 13-3
Vikings:
Total Offense: #13
Total Defense: #20
Record: 8-8
Just some questions:
Do you seriously think that Allen will push you up nine spots to even contend with our defense?
Do you think that Berrian along with the loss of Favre will put you in contending range with our offense?
Answer(s): No, No
I think you Vikings have to be worried, not us. We are the ones with a RB that has a good line, we are the ones with the deepest WR depth in the NFL, and we are the NFC North Champions.
Passing offense:
Packers: 270.9 YPG (2nd)
Vikings: 171.6 YPG (28th)
Our passing game sucked last year, no doubt about that. Viking fans are hoping that TJ will be coached out of his tendency to throw jump passes when the pocket breaks down, and that the game will 'slow down' for him, as you often hear it does for 3rd year QBs. He is still a question mark. The wide receivers have definitely been firmed up with the addition of Bernard Berrian. He had 951 yards on 71 passes. The man he's replacing had 18 catches for 240 yards. While I don't know if Berrian can get the same numbers in Minnesota's run first offense, he will make a difference in the passing game.
Sidney Rice opened some eyes with some amazing catches in his first year, and should be a solid #2 guy.
The Packers, on the other hand, lost their main weapon in their passing game, their HOF QB. Aaron Rodgers is still unknown as a starter, and while it is reasonable to expect that he will be a serviceable QB, I think it is unrealistic to expect that the Packers will put up the kind of numbers in the passing game that they did last year.
The Packers will most likely still have the better numbers in the passing game at the end of 2008, but the style of offence that each team runs almost dictates that outcome. I fully expect both teams to be much closer to the middle of the league.
Rushing Offense:
Vikings: 164.6 YPG (1st)
Packers: 99.8 YPG (21st)
The Vikings have possibly the best RB in the game. I think it's uncontested that they have the best 1-2 combo of running backs in the game. They have a strong O-line blocking for them. There is the question of McKinnie's possible 4 game suspension, depending on how his legal matter is resolved in June, but the Vikings were good at running both to the left and the right last year, even with the lesser talent on the right side of their line. There is no reason to believe that the Vikings can't have the #1 rushing offense in the league again next year. They'll have a harder time of it, since no one will be surprised by Adrian Peterson this year, but it is definitely possible. The Packers rushing game is going to suffer due to defenses not respecting the passing game as much. Unless Aaron Rodgers proves that he can be as effective as Favre, the run game is going to suffer.
Pass Defense:
Packers: 210.4 (12th)
Vikings: 264.1 (32nd)
Those numbers above don't tell the whole story between these two teams. The Vikings, due to their stellar rush defense, faced 646 attempts against them last year, the most in the league, and 112 more than the Packers. When you factor in the number of attempts, and look at yards allowed per attempt, the Vikings are 15th in the league, and the Packers are 13th; much closer than the numbers above show. The Vikings' main problem against the passing game last year was the lack of a consistent pass rush. When they were able to put pressure on the QB, the secondary played well (4 INT and 3 DEF TDs vs NYG). All too often, though, the secondary was forced to cover receivers longer than they should, and the D line was not able to make the QB throw the ball. The Vikings remedied that by adding a guy that led the league in sacks last year, and has averaged almost 11 sacks a year in the four years he's been in the league. If the Vikings had given up 30 less yards per game last year, their defense would have been ranked in the top ten. That's 3 or 4 more incompletions per game. I think the added pressure that the Vikings D line will be able to apply this year can account for that. The coverage abilities of our new safety, Madieu Williams, will help as well.
Rush Defense
Vikings: 74.1 YPG (1st)
Packers: 102.9 YPG (14th)
The Vikings have had the #1 rush defense for two years running. Again, there is nothing to indicate that they can't do it again. I don't think much else needs to be said in this category
So what you have is two teams with strong defenses, and some strengths on offense. However, both teams have quarterbacks at the helm that are the main question mark going into the season. The Vikings don't know how their three-year-project, Tarvaris Jackson, will fair in his third season, and the Packers don't know how much of a drop off there will be from Favre (253 career starts) to Rodgers (0 career starts).