Dean Dalton is a common sense former football coach who doesn’t sensationalize or exaggerate. So when he talks about the Vikings, including the early part of the schedule starting with Monday night’s game in Green Bay, better listen up.
Dalton, the former Vikings assistant coach now in the media, is a passionate admirer of the Vikings’ defense but is as curious as most everyone else in Purple Nation about the offense. “As this defense goes, is how the team will go as long as Tarvaris Jackson manages the football well and doesn’t create turnovers,” he told Sports Headliners.
Coming off a season as the No. 1 defense against the run in the NFL, Dalton likes the pass rush, too, led by new defensive end Jared Allen who led the league in sacks last season. The unit’s ability to bring pressure on the quarterback means Dalton isn’t that concerned about cornerback Cedric Griffin, a player sometimes singled out as not being effective.
The offense entered training camp with at least three major questions and added one or two more. Jackson, beginning his third pro season, was supposed to receive more playing time in preseason but injured his right knee in the second game and shorted out that goal. Dalton describes Jackson as “quite raw” and “is coming off a knee injury.” Not the way you want to prepare a young quarterback.
Last week’s four game suspension of left tackle Bryant McKinney by the NFL further clouds expectations for the offensive line. Journeyman Artie Hicks replaces McKinney at that vital pass protecting position. He doesn’t have McKinney’s ability but then, too, the former No. 1 draft pick is considered an underachiever.
Right tackle Ryan Cook, a third year lineman, is considered a project player. Along with Jackson and McKinney, his name had a question mark after it, going into training camp.
Hicks and Cook aren’t good one-on-one pass protectors, Dalton said. “So there’s going to be a challenge there against the relentlessness of the Packers’ defensive front,” he added.
Dalton said one worry the Vikings don’t need to have is wide receiver Bernard Berrian. He was bothered by a sore right toe during training camp, and also last year while playing for Chicago, but Dalton expects him to be okay for Green Bay.
A receiver that does concern him, though, is tight end Visanthe Shiancoe who joined the team last season. Neither last year nor in preseason did Shiancoe play up to expectations, according to Dalton.
Just like late last season, Dalton expects the Packers to crowd the line of scrimmage with defenders, focusing on stopping the Vikings’ runners until the offense can prove its effectiveness in passing, including protection of the quarterback.
Dalton thinks a 10 win year is possible for the Vikings and describes the Packer opener as “critical” to the season. “The first four games are just giant tests, and the fact that now you’re going to take on those tests without not all of your front line (on offense), lends you to be concerned,” he said. “They (the Vikings) have the capability of winning their division but…to do that, they’ve got to go through Green Bay, and that’s the first test out of the box. …”
After the Packer game, the Vikings play Indianapolis and Carolina at home, before a road game at Tennessee. Sports Illustrated predicts all four teams will have winning records with Indy advancing to the AFC Conference title game.