Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings finished the 2007 season with a slightly better record than the 2006 blowout. With an 8-8 overall finish, Head Coach Brad Childress improved upon the abysmal 6-10 record of the previous season. This neutral finish earned the Vikings an honorary 2nd place finish in the NFC Central, but dropped them out of contention for the 2007 playoff season. However, seven players were selected for the 2007 Pro Bowl, two were selected as alternates, and one was a second alternate. Only the Dallas Cowboys had more starters in the Pro Bowl, so the fans had their say in the end.

Against their all-time rival Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings did not fare any better. They lost both games to Green Bay, and didn't manage a single point in the second match-up of the season. The first game was decided by one touchdown, with a 23-16 finish. RB Adrian Peterson managed a tremendous feat: he became the first Vikings rookie RB since Chuck Foreman to eke out 100 yards a game in his first three starts.

Despite the break-even record of 8-8, the Packers were unable to pull off a playoff berth for the third season in a row. If second-year coach Brad Childress was hoping to impress Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman, he failed. While the improvement was a nice start, it will take more than that in order to pull a Super Bowl out of his hat in the upcoming seasons.

Perhaps Ragnar or Viktor the Viking, the team's current mascots, are to blame. Not likely, but there has to be a reason that the offense struggled to pull the plays together and the defense just couldn't hack it. Of course, that doesn't explain an away record of 3-5, but who knows, maybe the mascots of all the other teams are to blame for that one. No matter the cause, the Vikings have to do better next season if they hope to advance to an NFC Championship Game.

However, the 2007 fizzle-out finish brought one glimmer of hope%u2026a 17th draft pick for the 2008 season. Hopefully, the Minnesota Vikings will use this opportunity to gain some much needed support, and thereby land a better record for next season. In the 2007 offseason, the Vikings managed to scoop up Oklahoma star running back Adrian Peterson. If they play their picks just right, they may just find the next big thing since Eli Manning.