Are The Minnesota Vikings At The Elite Level?

The Minnesota Vikings are looking like championship stock. After a disappointing three years under former head coach Leslie Frazier, the organization was ready for a new direction. Sticking with the slant towards defensive philosophy, Mike Zimmer was hired to right the ship. Hardnosed and gritty, Zimmer seemed like the perfect candidate to bring stability. So far, the plan has worked. The Vikings are bidding for elite status.

The Vikings suffered a setback in 2013 season, when their record sank to 5-10-1. That was the first time in 12 years the team failed to win a game on the road. The offense was respectable but was forced to endure a quarterback carousel that caused unbalanced results. The Vikings’ defense sank to new lows that year. They allowed 480 points, averaging 30.0 points per game. That type of breakdown and inefficient play hadn’t been seen in 20 years.

Enter Mike Zimmer and the new deal.

Under the guidance of Zimmer, the Vikings were able to turn 2014 into a positive. The disastrous year experienced the year before was turned into a 7-9 campaign. Though the Vikings were bumped from the playoffs by the Detroit Lions in Week 15, there was a glimmer of hope for the future. Teddy Bridgewater was picked up in the 2014 NFL Draft and is beginning to see the light. His 64.2 percent completion ratio is comparable to the elite quarterbacks in the league. But, his overall rating suffers from too many picks. His rookie season passer rating of 64.4 was third best in NFL history.

The Vikings’ defense has been righted. The defense has learned to work as a unit, to get the job done. There have been relatively few occurrences of poor tackling, a sure indicator of good coaching. There have been several games that depended heavily on the defense getting off the field and keeping it close. They allowed the offense to score just enough to get the win, or hold off the opponent late in the game to preserve the win.

The offense of the Vikings is performing better than advertised. It’s not flashy, but it’s good enough to win. Sitting at 6-2 and tied for the NFC North lead with the Packers is a serious accomplishment. Bridgewater can infuriate fans with his spotty play. Yet, when the time is right for him to shine, he has come through. Mike Zimmer has an interesting observation of his signal caller, per ESPN. He wants him to develop a complete game mentality.

“Sometimes he’s cautious with the ball because he doesn’t want to give the other team a chance,” Zimmer said. “I think he sees us playing fairly good defense at times, but I do have a belief, like when we get behind in games, he doesn’t play that way. He kind of lets it loose and just plays football. I want him to be more like that throughout the course of the ballgame.”

Zimmer has made the reference to Bridgewater’s hesitant play before. But, he sees the young Vikings quarterback eventually getting a full 60 minute mindset going. Bridgewater may have a chance to make some huge plays on Sunday. The Oakland Raiders pass defense is ranked No. 32 in the league. The Raiders are coming off a 38 point game against the Steelers’ offense.

There’s never any doubt with the Vikings’ running game. Adrian Peterson is always a beast. His rushing yardage and attempts lead the league. Peterson is a perfect complement to the passing attack.

The Vikings being a fifth seed in the playoffs, at the midway point, is huge. Current power rankings have also been favorable to the Vikings. Most lists have them placed at seventh or eighth.

There’s the argument that the Vikings haven’t played any powerhouse teams and have struggled to be where they are. The Vikings don’t make the schedule. The object is to win. They have done just that.

A Vikings win in Oakland will go a long way towards silencing many of the haters.

[Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images]