Will Vikings defense be any better this year?

[faba]

Offseason pillage

Randy Moss is the NFL's version of Puck, the colorful character from MTV's Real World: San Francisco. To outsiders, his antics and the problems he caused made for great TV. For those who were stuck dealing with him on a daily basis, the drama got old very quick. This past offseason, the Vikings decided to make their locker room less turbulent by shipping their talented, yet troublesome, receiver to Oakland.

While dealing away the NFL's most dangerous receiving threat might seem like a recipe for a 2005 disaster, the Vikings seem to have played their hand well. Minnesota has finished in the top five in total offense in four of the last five seasons, but has continually failed to address the needs of a porous defense that has ranked in the bottom 10 each of the last five seasons. With cap space freed up by trading Moss, the Vikings were able to sign 317-pound defensive tackle Pat Williams and solidified their linebacker corps through trades by adding Sam Cowart in the middle and Napoleon Harris on the outside. Minnesota should also improve its 29th-ranked pass defense with the additions of shutdown corner Fred Smoot and veteran safety Darren Sharper.

Offensively, the Vikings used the No. 7 overall pick they received from Oakland to draft WR Troy Williamson, who's speed and ability to stretch the field vertically should ease the loss of Moss. Minnesota's bold decision to unload huge amounts money devoted to one superstar in exchange for the ability to finally address multiple position needs may finally propel the Vikings to the top of the NFC.

Vikings Defensive Newcomers

Player Position

Pat Williams Defensive Tackle

Erasmus James Defensive End

Sam Cowart Linebacker

Napoleon Harris Linebacker

Fred Smoot Cornerback

Darren Sharper Safety

[TomShane]

With all that talent, if they're not a top-ten defense next season, Ted Cottrell should never be allowed to wear a whistle again. God was I wrong about Cottrell. That great Buffalo defense he "ran" was all Wade Phillips's doing, obviously.

[spjets]

I think there defence will be alot better..PAT WILLIAMS is a big improvement for them,,,also signing SHARPER,SMOOT and COWART will help them alot too,,,,could be a good defence to watch ...

but then again they have FAT TEDDY

[TomShane]

I'm still pissed that we passed on Pat Williams. That guy is an absolute wrecking ball.

[stormshadow19]

No, their defense won't be any better. Yeah, they'll have more talent, but then again, the Redskins were said to have alot of talent on their offense, and you saw how good that was. James won't even play... they've got Lance Johnstone, who had over 10 sacks last year. Udeze is overrated. Darren Sharper won't even see the field. They've still got Chroey Chavious and Brian Russel at saftey. Brian Williams and Antoine Winfield were their corners last year... Smoot isn't that much of an upgrade over Williams. Considering price and everything. Harris replaces Claibourne. They look scary, but they've never played as a unit before. They might look a tad better; Green Bay is on the decline, the Lions haven't exactly played together on offense, and the Bears are in the same boat as the Lions, as far as offensive experience goes.

But, then again, looking at their schedule, they don't exactly play many offensive powerhouses.

1 Tampa Bay

2 at Cincinnati

3 New Orleans

4 at Atlanta

5 BYE WEEK

6 at Chicago

7 Green Bay

8 at Carolina

9 Detroit

10 at NY Giants

11 at Green Bay

12 Cleveland

13 at Detroit

14 St. Louis

15 Pittsburgh

16 at Baltimore

17 Chicago

Cinci, Atlanta, St Louis, and maybe the Lions (if they get together by week 9). Other than that, not a ton of offensive powerhouses. The Bears may be able to take off, like the Lions, as they get more experience. Pittsburgh isn't exactly a powerhouse, offensively. Carolina, if healthy, can cause some damage. Other than that, it's a pretty lax offensive schedule. At Baltimore, week 16... that'll be an ass whoopin, by the Ravens. Considering their defense has like All Pro's at every position.

[Jetlag]

Troy Williamson ?!??!? I still can't get over that one. Viking fans will be cursing this name for years as Mike Williams becames a legend.

[NJ]

Williams, Cowart, Harris, Smoot, and Sharper will step in as immediate strong contributors. James has a big opportunity to use his talents right out of the box, especially against the run. But I wont be supprised if he stumbles a bit. It's really hard to be a big impact player from snap one in the NFL at DE. He's going to see a lot of blocking technique and speed he's never come up against first hand. Big difference seeing it in film from having it thrown at you in a game. Regardless, they are impoved on D and with the weapons they have on offense, I see them as the team to beat in the NFC Central.

[R44]

No, outside of Pat Williams, and maybe Fred Smoot, they haven't added that many impact players.

Sam Cowart a big deal as a starter? I doubt it.

Ask any Raider fan, they'll tell you Nap Harris struggled bigtime recently.

Darrin Sharper looked washed in 2004 (although he did have nagging injuries) and James needs to stay healthy, which was a problem in college.

They added a lot of "name players", but most are overrated or beyond their prime's.

Plus, with Cottrell at the helm, how good can they be?

Also, how often do we see teams improve by "buying a new defense"?

Answer is rarely. That's just the way it is in football, you can't buy chemistry.

Plus, what did they get anyway?

For example, it's not like they added Keith Brooking and Brian Urlacher at LB....Cowart and Harris were both expected to be backups with their 2004 teams

I'll say this though: Winfield and Smoot could be a very good CB duo--so that's a start, along with a few decent linemen.

[Jetlag]

No, outside of Pat Williams, and maybe Fred Smoot, they haven't added that many impact players.

Sam Cowart a big deal as a starter? I doubt it.

Ask any Raider fan, they'll tell you Nap Harris struggled bigtime recently.

Darrin Sharper looked washed in 2004 (although he did have nagging injuries) and James needs to stay healthy, which was a problem in college.

They added a lot of "name players", but most are overrated or beyond their prime's.

Plus, with Cottrell at the helm, how good can they be?

Also, how often do we see teams improve by "buying a new defense"?

Answer is rarely. That's just the way it is in football, you can't buy chemistry.

Plus, what did they get anyway?

For example, it's not like they added Keith Brooking and Brian Urlacher at LB....Cowart and Harris were both expected to be backups with their 2004 teams

I'll say this though: Winfield and Smoot could be a very good CB duo--so that's a start, along with a few decent linemen.

I couldn't have put it any better myself. The Cottrell factor is huge. This guys name use to be on a number of HC lists around the league. He'll be lucky to keep his DC title after this season.

[stormshadow19]

No, outside of Pat Williams, and maybe Fred Smoot, they haven't added that many impact players.

Sam Cowart a big deal as a starter? I doubt it.

Ask any Raider fan, they'll tell you Nap Harris struggled bigtime recently.

Darrin Sharper looked washed in 2004 (although he did have nagging injuries) and James needs to stay healthy, which was a problem in college.

They added a lot of "name players", but most are overrated or beyond their prime's.

Plus, with Cottrell at the helm, how good can they be?

Also, how often do we see teams improve by "buying a new defense"?

Answer is rarely. That's just the way it is in football, you can't buy chemistry.

Plus, what did they get anyway?

For example, it's not like they added Keith Brooking and Brian Urlacher at LB....Cowart and Harris were both expected to be backups with their 2004 teams

I'll say this though: Winfield and Smoot could be a very good CB duo--so that's a start, along with a few decent linemen.

Isn't that what I said? Nicely put R :wink:

[bitonti]

just to add to R44's great post - the day I get behind a dome team as a legit SB contender is the day hell freezes over.

[R44]

Thanks SS19 and Lag.....It's easy to just go and buy players, but, as I said, how good are these players?

In Cowart and Harris, they got to 2 players that ended the 2004 season as backups....Vikings have had speed issues at LB. Does anyone on this board really believe Cowart will help that speed deficit?

Plus, how far did they sink in 2004 on defense with Cottrell at the helm?

[stormshadow19]

Thanks SS19 and Lag.....It's easy to just go and buy players, but, as I said, how good are these players?

In Cowart and Harris, they got to 2 players that ended the 2004 season as backups....Vikings have had speed issues at LB. Does anyone on this board really believe Cowart will help that speed deficit?

Plus, how far did they sink in 2004 on defense with Cottrell at the helm?

And, you have to consider the players that the new players are replacing. Are they that much better? I'm going to say no. Smoot isn't that much better than Williams. Harris and Cowart aren't any better than the linebackers they're replacing. Darren Sharper isn't better than either saftey they have. Erasmus James isn't better than Lance Johnstone. Their best buy was Pat Williams. The Vikings were almost 40 million dollars under the cap when the off season started. They almost had no choice but to spend money. And they really didn't spend it wisely. The ole Black and Blue division might look like a NASCAR race this year.