The Vikings looked pretty bad in this game but they were resting some key players.  Brooks Bollinger had a terrible game against the Cowboys completing only 6 of 18 passes for 62 yards.  John David Booty also got a lot of playing time in this game but he wasn’t that effective either.  Booty completed 8 of 15 passes for 93 yards with 1 interception.  Albert Young was the leading rusher for the Vikings in this game with 68 yards rushing on 14 carries (4.9 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 14 yards.  Maurice Hicks was also busy in this game as he carried the ball 8 times for 25 yards (3.1 ypc) with a 1-yard TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 26 yards in this game.  The Vikings only had possession of the football for 24:06 of this football game and it’s very hard to win that way.  The Vikings finished up with 100 yards rushing on 23 carries (4.3 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 33 passes for 145 yards.

Cornerback Benny Sapp led the Vikings on defense with 9 tackles against the Cowboys.  The Cowboys finished up with 97 yards rushing on 26 carries (3.7 ypc) and they also completed 28 of 41 passes for 210 yards.  The Vikings finished up the preseason with a very unimpressive 1-3 record.  They better hope the offense gets in gear next week against the Packers as the games will start counting now.

The Vikings didn’t look too good last Saturday Night especially on offense.  Gus Frerotte started and he did not play that well as he completed 13 of 19 passes for 133 yards with 1 interception.  Rookie QB John David Booty made a brief appearance and he completed 4 of 5 passes for 19 yards.  Adrian Peterson had a tough night as he carried the ball 12 times for 21 yards (1.8 ypc) with a 1-yard TD run.  He also caught 3 passes for 11 yards (3.7 avg).  WR Aundrae Allison led the way in the passing game for the Vikings with 5 grabs for 56 yards (11.2 avg).  The Vikings finished up with 32 yards rushing on 22 carries (1.5 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 24 passes for 131 yards.  They only had possession of the football for 23:37 and it’s hard to win that way.

Linebacker Chad Greenway led a solid defensive effort by the Vikings with 7 tackles.  The Steelers finished up rushing for 102 yards on 31 carries (3.3 ypc).  They also completed 26 of 40 passes for 179 yards.

The Minnesota Vikings played a good game on both sides of the football last Saturday Night.  Tarvaris Jackson played well as he completed 7 of 11 passes for 82 yards with a 23-yard TD pass to WR Martin Nance.  Jackson also rushed for 22 yards on 2 carries (11.0 ypc) before leaving the game with a sprained MCL.  Gus Frerotte came in next and he completed 4 of 9 passes for 69 yards with a 5-yard TD pass to WR Robert Ferguson.  Brooks Bollinger had a so-so game completing 7 of 15 passes for 63 yards.  Rookie John David Booty had a night to forget as he only completed 1 of 3 passes for 9 yards and he also threw a pickoff that CB Derrick Martin of the Ravens returned 22 yards for a TD.  Albert Young led the Vikings in rushing against the Ravens with 46 yards on 12 carries (3.8 ypc).  Adrian Peterson got some action on Saturday as he carried the ball 8 times for 30 yards (3.8 ypc).  Chester Taylor pitched in with 23 yards rushing on 6 carries (3.8 ypc) against the Ravens.  WR Martin Nance was the leading receiver for the Vikings in this game with 74 yards on 3 catches (24.7 avg) with a 23-yard TD reception from Tarvaris Jackson.  Sidney Rice pitched in with 3 catches for 31 yards (10.3 avg) in this game.  The Vikings finished up with 133 yards rushing on 38 carries (3.5 ypc) and they also completed 19 of 38 passes for 206 yards.  The Vikings’ offense looked pretty sharp in this game against a good defense as they held onto the football for 34:35 of this game.

Linebacker Erin Henderson led a spirited effort on defense for the Vikings with 9 tackles.  DEs Jared Allen (3 tackles, 2 sacks) and Otis Grigsby (2 tackles, 2 sacks) were also very good against the Ravens on Saturday Night.  The Ravens did rush for 126 yards on 16 carries (7.9 ypc) but the Vikings held them to only 111 yards passing as they completed 21 of 32 passes.  The Vikings had a solid all around effort in this impressive win over the Ravens.

The Vikings will be without starting left tackle Bryant McKinnie for the first four games of the 2008 season due to him violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.  This will hurt the Vikings big time as the teams he will be missing games with all have good DEs (Green Bay, Indianapolis, Carolina and Tennessee).  Converted guard Artie Hicks looks like the replacement the Vikings are going to go with.  With that in mind Tarvaris Jackson better have his head on a swivel because he’s going to be hearing a lot of footsteps coming from behind him.

The Minnesota Vikings improved in Brad Childress’ second season in Minnesota and if they can improve a couple of more wins they will be in the playoffs.  The Vikings only really had three weaknesses heading into the off-season after 2007 and they were 1) a pass rush  2) a legit WR and 3) a legit QB.  The Vikings filled up the first two needs with the additions of DE Jared Allen and WR Bernard Berrian but the third one is still a big issue.  Tarvaris Jackson has the athletic talent of a Donovan McNabb who Childress coached in Philadelphia but he’s very raw.  He turns the ball over way too often and he’s not very accurate.  It will be interesting to see if Childress can coach him up and if he can’t will he have the guts to yank him in favor of Gus Frerotte during the season?  Childress’ future could hinge on this season in Minnesota as the Vikings’ ownership has opened up the wallet for him.  Childress has compiled a 14-18 record (43.8%) in his two seasons in Minnesota and nothing less than a playoff berth this season will be acceptable for the Vikings.

The Vikings have lost safety Madieu Williams for the next 6-8 weeks because of a neck injury.  This will hurt the Vikings big time as rookie Tyrell Johnson could be thrown into the fire and have to start when the season begins.  Williams is an enforcer type against the run and he also makes big plays against the pass.  He played in 13 games for the Bengals last season and he made 58 tackles, had 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, defensed 7 passes and he forced a fumble.  The back end of the defense will miss Williams.

The Vkings have placed linebacker Heath Farwell (injured knee) and DE Jayme Mitchell (torn ACL) on the Injured Reserve List ending the season before it began for them.  Farwell is a special teams ace.  He played in all 16 games for the Vikings last season and he made 30 tackles.  Farwell has played in 39 games in his NFL career and he has made 65 tackles.  Mitchell played in 13 games for the Vikings last season and he made 9 tackles, had 3 sacks and forced 1 fumble.  Mitchell has now played in 23 games in his NFL career and he has made 17 tackles, has 4 sacks and he has forced a fumble.  This will hurt the depth of the Vikings’ defense and special teams but neither Farwell or Mitchell is an impact player.

The Minnesota Vikings had a night to forget against the Seahawks who pushed them around last night.  But, Tarvaris Jackson was a bright spot for the Vikings last night as he completed 8 of 11 passes for 118 yards with a 6-yard TD pass to fullback Thomas Tapeh.  Gus Frerotte followed Jackson in the game and he completed 4 of 7 passes for 60 yards.  John David Booty made his NFL debut and he completed 9 of 18 passes for 82 yards with a interception.  Brooks Bollinger didn’t get to play much as he completed 1 of 2 passes for 8 yards.  Maurice Hicks was the leading rusher last night for the Vikings with 32 yards on 7 carries (4.6 ypc).  Albert Young got a lot of work in last night but he only rushed for 13 yards on 11 carries (1.2 ypc).  Chester Taylor only rushed for 7 yards on 4 carries (1.8 ypc) but he scored a rushing TD.  The vaunted rushing game of the Vikings only produced 52 yards rushing on 23 carries (2.3 ypc) but that’s misleading because Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor didn’t play much.  The Vikings also completed 22 of 38 passes for 246 yards last night which is a good sign.

The Vikings did not play well at all on defense last night.  Free safety Husain Abdullah led the way for the Vikings with 6 tackles last night.  Linebacker Erin Henderson also had a solid night with 5 tackles.  Overall though the Vikings’ defense was pretty awful as the Seahawks rushed for 162 yards on 35 carries (4.6 ypc).  The Seahawks also completed 24 of 31 passes for 257 yards last night.

33-year old Ryan Longwell will have to be effective in putting points on the board again in 2008.  The Vikings can’t afford to leave any points on the field this season if they want to win a lot of games.  Longwell played in all 16 games for the Vikings last season and he made 20 of 24 field goals (83.3%).  He also made 39 of 40 extra points last season for the Vikings.  Longwell has had a solid NFL career but he’s showed no signs of slowing down last season so the Vikings expect him to be solid in 2008.  Longwell has now played in 176 games in his NFL career and he has connected on 267 of 326 field goal (81.9%) attempts.  He has also converted on 442 of 448 extra points (98.7%) in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B

The Minnesota Vikings don’t expect gaudy pass receiving numbers out of the tight end position.  What they do expect is a good blocking effort in the running game and they get that from this group.  28-year old Visanthe Shiancoe is a good blocker but he can also catch a pass once in a while.  He played in all 16 games for the Vikings last season and he caught 27 passes for 323 yards (12.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for him to catch maybe a few more passes this season for the Vikings.  Shiancoe has now played in 80 games in his NFL career and he has caught 62 passes for 576 yards (9.3 avg) with 4 TD grabs.

31-year old Jim Kleinsasser is a huge converted fullback at 6’3″, 272 pounds and blocking is his game.  He played in all 16 games for the Vikings last season and he caught 4 passes for 43 yards (10.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Don’t look for him to catch too many passes this season either as that’s not what he’s paid for.  Kleinsasser has now played in 117 games in his NFL career and he has caught 158 passes for 1374 yards (8.7 avg) with 6 TD grabs.  He has also carried the football 43 times for 147 yards (3.4 ypc) with 1 TD run but his running days appear over.

24-year old Garrett Mills is more of a receiver than blocker but he’s clearly #3 in line at tight end so he likely won’t get much playing time.  Mills played in 1 game for the Vikings last season and he caught 2 passes for 26 yards (13.0 avg).

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  C-