Opinion Monday: The 2018-2019 Vikings are the Greatest Vikings Ever.
Jhawthorn16
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The 2018-2019 Vikings are poised to be the greatest Vikings team ever assembled. The team has brought in upgrades at multiple positions, and in typical Mike Zimmer fashion, this team is flying under the radar. This year’s Vikings are set to be as fierce offensively as they were in 1998, and as nasty defensively as they were in the 1970s.
Let’s start on the defensive side of things. The Vikings were the NFL’s best defense in 2017. Let’s look at last year’s defense, and see what we lost and what we gained. Xavier Rhodes was the best cornerback in the NFL last year. He returns. Harrison Smith is one of the best safeties in the NFL, earning All-Pro honors. He returns. The defensive line gets Everson Griffen, Danielle Hunter, and Linval Joseph back. Erik Kendricks and Anthony Barr will also be back. The starters on this defense look exactly the same! But the Vikings didn’t sleep in free agency and the draft. The team added Sheldon Richardson to the defensive line. They added Mike Hughes to the defensive backs list. Hughes is my key to the defense this year. Hughes is going to step in and cover the slot. Hughes can also take over at safety for Sendejo and play man-to-man while we blitz. This defense is coming back and will be the best Vikings defense ever.
Now to offense. The big, flashy, fancy new Quarterback. Kirk Cousins is better than Case Keenum. He throws a better deep ball, he is more accurate short, and he matches Case’s mobility when needed. This season the team’s Yards After Catch (YAC) should be much higher. Case put the ball on the receiver, in a place where our talented receivers could go up and make a spectacular catch. Kirk puts the ball on the spot, giving our receivers the chance to grab the ball and go up the field. The offense lost Jarius Wright, but they immediately upgraded by adding Kendall Wright. The only question this offense has is the line. If the line can be average this team is elite. If the line can be good? This team is the greatest of all time.
The question i get when i bring up this point is always “How do you prove this team is the best?” My answer is a championship makes them undoubtedly the best. But if we fall short this season, then a top 7 offense and defense could still make the 2018-2019 Vikings the best Vikings ever.