It it officially time for the league to take notice of the Vikings. After back-to-back wins over powerhouse teams in San Fran and Detroit, Minnesota is not only a surprise of the first quarter of the season – but they might actually have the weapons needed to contend and compete for the duration of the season.
Coming into the season, there were questions aplenty surrounding the team. Was AD healthy? Was Percy content? Could Ponder take the next step in his second season? Who would be catching the ball? So far it looks like those questions have been answered and then some.
AD is back to jump cutting his way between tackles and up the field. Percy Harvin is putting the league on notice to never give him an inch. Ponder is managing the games and not making mistakes while allowing his playmakers to make plays. Kyle Rudolph has shown flashes of brilliance that could make him a deadly red zone threat.
So what do the Titans have to compete with the vaunted Vikings attack? Well it appears as if Jake Locker will be down for the foreseeable future and game manager Matt Hassleback will be taking the snaps for now. Chris Johnson will get to face a run prevent that allows just 3.3 yards per carry, and have not allowed a run over 19 yards all season.
Kenny Britt is banged up and might not play – so that leaves the Titans with next to nothing in terms of game breakers. Nate Washington and Jared Cook will do their best, but facing Antoine Winfield is never fun.
Jared Allen has been fairly quite so far this season, as he has been slowed by a groin injury for the better part of the season. But if he can apply pressure and eat up blockers on one side, Everson Griffin, Chad Greenaway and co. are going to be able to eat up CJ2K in the backfield.
Adrian Peterson might be the best back in the world. Percy Harvin may be the most dangerous player with the ball in his hands. Matt Kalil is just a young rookie, but he is sealing the left side and giving these two studs the half second they need to find a seam. This team has has the pieces to not only be dangerous this year, but potentially for years to come.
Five and a half points is a fairly significant number to cover, but the Titans simply do not have any healthy weapons to make plays. CJ is afraid to go north and south, and the Vikings are quite simply scary all over the field.
Pick of the week record: 2-2. After an ugly 0-2 start to the season, things are falling in place for the ol' picks. This week is a case of going back to the girl that burnt you, as the Vikings fell to the Colts in Indy in Week 2 and made me look bad. That won't be happening again, I hope.
