Other than Adrian Peterson, 23-year old WR Percy Harvin is by far the best playmaker on the Vikings.  He has played in 12 games for the Vikings so far this year and he has caught 59 passes for 710 yards (12.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  Vikings’ QBs have completed an amazing 59 of 78 passes (75.6%) when throwing the ball in Harvin’s direction.  Harvin has also carried the ball 38 times for 254 yards (6.7 ypc) with 1 TD run as he is a very effective runner.  That isn’t it though.  Harvin has also returned 11 kickoffs for 398 yards (36.2 avg) with 1 TD return this year.  Harvin now has 108 touches so far this year and he has rolled up 1,362 all-purpose yards (12.6 avg. per touch).  Harvin is averaging 113.5 all-purpose yards for the Vikings, but he has potential for much more.

Christian Ponder needs to start throwing to his TEs more.  31-year old Visanthe Shiancoe has played in 11 games for the Vikings so far this year and he has caught 29 passes for 340 yards (11.7 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He is a big, veteran target with a good set of hands.  22-year old rookie Kyle Rudolph has played in 10 games so far this year and he has caught 17 passes for 177 yards (10.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Vikings’ QBs have connected on 46 of 80 passes (57.5%) when throwing to the TEs this year.

29-year old DE Jared Allen has been a monster for the Vikings so far this year.  Allen has played in 9 games for the Vikings so far this year and he has 41 tackles, 13.5 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  He has now played in 57 games in his first four years with the Vikings and he has 205 tackles, 22 tackles for a loss, 53.5 sacks, 12 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 16 passes defensed and 4 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Allen continues to be one the best defensive players in the NFL and there is no reason to think he can’t continue wreaking havoc in opposing backfields for the foreseeable future.

The return men are giving the offense good starting position consistently this year.  RB Lorenzo Booker is now the main man on kickoff returns for the Vikings.  He has returned 13 kickoffs for 340 yards (26.2 avg) so far this year for the Vikings.  Percy Harvin has returned 9 kickoffs for 280 yards (31.1 avg) with 1 TD return so far this year, but the Vikings are having him focus on offense right now.  Everson Griffin has pitched in with 1 kickoff return for 7 yards for the Vikings so far this year.  Young CB Marcus Sherels has been a gamebreaker for the Vikings in the return game.  He has returned 1 kickoff for 78 yards and 17 punts for 181 yards (10.6 avg) so far this year for the Vikings.  The Vikings have returned 24 kickoffs for 705 yards (29.4 avg) with 1 TD return and 17 punts for 181 yards (10.6 avg) so far this year.  The Vikings need these guys to keep up the good work.

The Minnesota Vikings are running the ball really well so far this year.  They are averaging 142.2 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry so far this year, which is pretty darn impressive.  Adrian Peterson has played in all six games for the Vikings so far this year and he has carried the ball 122 times for 537 yards (4.4 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He has also caught 10 passes for 49 yards (4.9 avg) in 2011.  Toby Gerhart gives Peterson a break once in a while.  He has played in all six games for the Vikings this year and he has carried the ball 11 times for 70 yards (6.4 ypc).  Gerhart has also caught 4 passes for 54 yards (13.5 avg) this year.  He is a lot better runner than most “experts” think he is.  Lorenzo Booker has played in all six games for the Vikings in which he has carried the ball 2 times for 22 yards (11.0 ypc) and he has caught 2 passes for 25 yards (12.5 avg).  WR Percy Harvin has also pitched in for the Vikings in the running game as he has carried the ball 14 times for 158 yards (11.3 avg).  The Vikings are likely going to have to start running the ball even more with rookie QB Christian Ponder at QB.

34-year old cornerback Antoine Winfield has been very solid for the Vikings so far this year.  He has played in both of the Vikings’ games this year and he has 21 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 interception and 1 pass defensed.  Winfield is only 5’9″, 180 pounds but he plays much taller and bigger, as he is a very aggressive player who gives his all on every play.  No one brings him up when talking about the great corners in the NFL, but they should.

26-year old RB Adrian Peterson is doing his part for the Vikings’ offense despite having teams keying on him due to a lack of a passing game.  Peterson has played in both of the Vikings’ games so far this year and he has carried the ball 41 times for 218 yards (5.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He has also caught 4 passes for 27 yards (6.8 avg) for the Vikings so far this year.  To me, Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the entire NFL and because of him the Vikings have a chance to win every time they take the field.

27-year old linebacker Chad Greenway is a tackling machine for the Minnesota Vikings.  He has played in 14 games for the Vikings so far this year and he has 136 tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery.  Greenway has now played in 62 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 446 tackles, 17 passes defensed, 6.5 sacks, 7 forced fumbles and 5 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Greenway was the 17th overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft out of Iowa.  He missed his rookie season due a torn ACL but he has more than made up for his lost time as he is one of the best linebackers in the NFL.

25-year old WR Sidney Rice got off to a late start this year due to hip surgery.  He’s trying to make up for lost time.  Rice has played in 5 games so far this year and he has caught 16 passes for 264 yards (16.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  With the QB play the Vikings have been getting, Rice’s numbers actually don’t look that bad.  Rice is coming off a huge 2009 season in which he played in all 16 games catching 83 passes for 1,312 yards (15.8 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  Rice has now played in 47 games in his first four years with the Vikings and he has caught 145 passes for 2,113 yards (14.6 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  Hopefully Rice will stay healthy the last couple of weeks and be rested up and ready to rock in 2011.

Vikings’ owner Zygi Wilf was thought to be considering firing 54-year old head coach Brad Childress a couple weeks ago instead deciding to release Randy Moss.  A lot of players really dislike Childress as they have said that they are playing for themselves.  The Vikings are an amazing 3-6 this season despite having a impressive collection of talent on both sides of the football.  Childress is now 39-34 (53.4%) during the regular season in his 5 years with the Vikings.  If the team continues to fade this year I see Wilf biting the bullet and firing Childress just one year after he led the team to the NFC Championship.