Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001

Vikings will rise again

Favorable schedule, talent will help put Culpepper and Co. back on track

By Jeff Agrest, Senior editor

For those of you fantasy owners with Vikings players on your squad, I hope to ease your concerns regarding their slow start. Their shoddy effort against the Panthers in Week One was an anomaly, one of those rare occasions when the explosive powers that be — Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss — fail to fulfill their potential.

But no more. Expect a heavy dose of reality Sunday when the Vikings make their annual pilgrimage to Chicago, where they have owned the Bears the last five seasons, winning all five meetings — and impressively at that. Moss has taken a particular liking to playing the Bears, and Culpepper’s first starting appearance came against them. You remember those three rushing touchdowns, don’t you?

In Week One, the Vikings simply came out flat after what was a chaotic preseason, marred by the death of ORT Korey Stringer. But now, the Vikings are keenly aware of their shortcomings, which Cris Carter said were merely masked by those 50-yard bombs to Moss in the preseason. Sure, the team made a number of big plays, Carter said, but that only overshadowed the inconsistency that plagued the offense.

Now that those inconsistencies have crept into the regular season, the Vikings will react accordingly, and they’ll start Sunday at Solder Field. But one game does not a turnaround make. After the Bears game, Minnesota hosts Tampa Bay before traveling to New Orleans. Red-flag games, you ask? Perhaps. But the Vikings always play the Buccaneers well at the Metrodome. It’s the Saints you should worry about.

After all, they’re the ones Minnesota removed from last season’s playoff tournament so swiftly. The Saints will have payback on their minds and the advantage of exacting revenge in their own house. But after New Orleans, the Vikings should return to form in home games against Detroit and Green Bay. In other words, four of Minnesota’s next five games are either at home or against the Bears, and that should help the team get out of its funk.

But aside from the schedule, you have to believe there’s just too much talent on that offense for it to struggle much longer. Granted, the offensive line is a shell of its old self, but the OT tandem of Brad Badger and Chris Liwienski isn’t as bad as you think, and it has a great teacher in OL coach Mike Tice. The line also has a Pro Bowl center in Matt Birk and a rather large veteran guard in David Dixon.

The biggest concern is in the backfield, where rookie Michael Bennett and second-year pro Doug Chapman are still learning the ropes. It’s a misnomer that the presence of Moss and Carter opened the running game for Robert Smith the last few years. Actually, it’s the other way around. The threat of Smith made life easier for the wideouts, but neither Bennett nor Chapman has become that kind of threat — yet.

Bennett is the more highly touted of the two, having been taken with the Vikings’ No. 1 pick in April’s NFL draft. If he catches fire, watch out. He has the speed to take it to the house any time he touches the ball. But he needs to show more patience finding the hole. It’s all part of the learning process, and in the meantime, fantasy owners will have to show some patience of their own.

Don’t worry. You’ll be rewarded.

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2001 - 2002 Season