Jared Allen hanging out with Jon Kitna?

If any of you were wondering how the Vikings might do this year, look no further: read this, from the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Apparently, Jared Allen thinks the Vikes are going to the Super Bowl.

First of all, the Vikings will not be going to the Super Bowl. Second, it’s interesting to note that the Vikes owner Wilf eagerly points out that the team filled needs in the off-season. In a day and age when many owners/GMs like TT avoid admitting that they have gone about trying to “fill needs”, in a way, it’s refreshing to hear this.

There are other reports from the Star Tribune indicating the team/staff have growing confidence in QB Tarvaris Jackson. Watch this video report. As always, this is a big point of contention between Brother Steve and me. Tarvaris scares me. I know most Packer fans think he kind of sucks and is just another harmless, bad QB in the NFC North. I don’t. I’ve seen flashes of unreal talent in this guy and if he truly has grown more comfortable in their offense, I think we’ll need adjust our level of concern upward. Now, I don’t think he’ll be good enough to get the team to the Super Bowl. Playoffs maybe, but not the Super Bowl.

The problem with the Vikings is that outside of Adrian Peterson, they have a very poor roster of WRs. People point to Berrian as an exception to that statement, but I won’t even allow that. Berrian is that guy from grade school who says in the huddle “I’ll go deep” every play. He is decent at that play because he’s fast, but I don’t think he’s that good. (I also have a hunch that Berrian may get injured this year – he seems too wiry and weak to play such a potentially dangerous position without an occasional injury). Sidney Rice could be decent perhaps, but still, having Robert Ferguson, Aundrae Allison and Bobby Wade rounding out a receiving corps is not good. And, having to throw to anyone named Shiancoe does not bode well for the MN passing game.

While I’ll admit the Vikes have made improvements over the last few years (adding Hutchinson, Peterson, Allen, Winfield, the Williams duo, Longwell, etc), we’ll see if these improvements can overcome the lameness of conservative coach Childress.