Vikings might be better than '96 Packers
Just the idea rankles Green Bay Packers fans to the core. But maybe, just maybe, Brett Favre(notes) was right earlier this season when he implied that this year's Minnesota Vikings are better than the Packers team he won a title with in 1996.
Maybe, the Vikings have the kind of diversity on both sides of the ball that defined the Packers' last title team. Perhaps the Vikings are exactly what Favre hoped for when he signed on this August, a team so gifted that all he has to do is not screw it up.
Ultimately, here's the reality: The 2009 Vikings have every chance to recreate what the Packers did in 1996, right up to and including the title.
"They're the most balanced team in the league," an AFC assistant coach said Sunday night after Favre and the Vikings dispatched the Packers 38-26 on Sunday. "Offense, defense, running game, passing game, special teams … there's no obvious weakness.
"Yeah, Pittsburgh beat them and Baltimore could have, but take a real good look at those games and the Vikings played way better in both of those game. Pittsburgh got two fluky defensive scores and the Ravens got on a roll with Ray Rice(notes) in the second half. When you talk about quality of play, the Vikings were the superior team. They have been all year. The way they're going, Favre just has to be Steve Williams."
For those who don't follow golf closely, Williams is the caddie for Tiger Woods. While that metaphor at times has been a bit of overstatement (Favre's four touchdown passes Sunday were heavier lifting than Williams ever performs), the point is that Favre isn't the key cog in this show. The offensive weapons are obvious with running back Adrian Peterson, rookie receiver Percy Harvin(notes) and veteran wideout Bernard Berrian(notes).
That offense, which entered the weekend No. 3 in the league in scoring, sets the table for a hellacious defense. Defensive end Jared Allen(notes) had three sacks Sunday – 7½ in two games against Aaron Rodgers(notes) this year – to bump his season total to 10½, putting him on pace to surpass his career high of 15½ in '07. On the other side, Ray Edwards(notes) has 3½, also putting him on pace to eclipse his career high of five. Defensive tackle Kevin Williams(notes) has five sacks, putting him on pace for his first double-digit sack season since 2004. Even tackle Pat Williams(notes) contributed his annual sack on Sunday, one of the Vikings' six against Rodgers. On more than one occasion, the Packers quarterback writhed in pain from his latest beating.
The Vikings are so good up front that they don't have to play a lot of exotic defenses. On Sunday, they covered for the loss of Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield(notes) by doing – how should we put this? – nothing special at all.
"I have to look at the tape again to check everything they did, but nothing looked out of the ordinary," a scout with an NFC team said. "It was like they just plugged the next guy in and moved along. With cornerbacks, that's really hard to do … but the Vikings can adjust easily because they don't have to fake anything with their pass rush. They don't have to blitz a lot or do anything exotic.
"Yeah, everybody loves to talk about blitzing, like it's so cool, but that's not what you want to do if you play a lot of 4-3. You want the front four to make it happen. If you can do that, you leave seven guys back and take everything away. That's what the Vikings do. They can play simple in the secondary because the [defensive] line is so good. Jared Allen is so good, he looks like a bargain."
Allen, who received a $72 million contract over six years after being acquired by trade from the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008, has helped transform the Vikings from merely a stout run defense to a dynamic group capable of playing in any type of game.
And just as the prolific offense is helping the pass rush, the front four is turning players like linebacker Chad Greenway(notes) into stars. It's all about balance.
"The Vikings are the one team I look at and think, ‘They don't really have any obvious hole,' " an AFC team executive said. "When you look at every other team, I see some weakness that you could try to exploit. It might not work, but you could try. Indy doesn't defend the run and they're not physical. New Orleans passes to set up the run and they're doing it with smoke and mirrors on defense.
"Baltimore has some holes in run defense and at cornerback. [Pittsburgh] doesn't run consistently. Denver's quarterback [Kyle Orton(notes)] is just sort of a guy … really, every team has some really big flaw. But not Minnesota. They're complete. They might beat themselves in a game once in awhile, but we all do that.
"If you're asking me, I think we'll see the Vikings in the Super Bowl. I wouldn't bet any money on it, but I like them a lot."
