Vikings

I've been meaning to talk Purple for awhile. Most offseasons have found the Vikings with money to spend but no desire to part with it. Big name free agents have gone to other teams and we've relied on the draft. With an ownership change in the works, this year looked like the same old thing. And then a week before free agency, word came that Randy Moss was on the move. I've talked about him here. Free agency opened and the Vikes went out and got one of the top players on their wish list: Pat Williams. Hopes are that he'll anchor the defensive line and help against the run. Next up was Fred Smoot, regarded as one of the best cornerbacks available. With last years pick up of Antoine Winfield, that gave them their best pair of corners since...I don't know when. At least the best pair in the Metrodome era. But they weren't done yet! Next up was former Packer, Darren Sharper. He's lost a step maybe, but he's still an improvment. To fill the gap left by Moss, the Vikings turned to Travis Taylor. He's a highly drafted receiver who has been something of a disappointment in Baltimore. Let's hope that the quarterback makes the receiver in this case. In the midst of all of this they also resigned tight-end Wiggins and brought back Brad Johnson to backup Dante. Still not finished, last week they traded a seventh round draft pick for linebacker Sam Cowart.
Add it all up and Vikes have added five new starters to their pitiful defense of last year. The secondary has gone from weakness to strength and they now have depth in nickel and dime situations. Last year's linebackers were awful. Now they are...different at least. And vetran expierienced.
So what else do they need to do? They have two picks in the first round of the draft this year, the 7th and the 18th. There's talk about taking a top receiver and a linebacker. Which would be fine with me. Assuming they do so, their biggest problems will be depth on the O-line and (please, God, please) a kicker. A new head coach couldn't hurt I guess. Most years in March, I'm focused on baseball. This year the Vikings have stolen the show.