In depth: Minnesota Vikings

by | Jan 14, 2012 | 2011 season, 2012 season, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

Many people thought the Minnesota Vikings were in for a tough 2011 season long before it kicked off in September against San Diego. But not quite so many saw the bottom completely falling out from underneath a team that was seconds away from going to the Super Bowl just two years ago.

The challenges get bigger in 2012, as well, with Adrian Peterson recuperating from an ACL tear and gaping holes on the offensive line and in the secondary. Dan Zinski, lead writer at TheVikingAge.com, took some time to share his insights on what went wrong in 2011 and where the team should go from here.

Zoneblitz: I think most people went into the season expecting the Vikings to have their issues in 2011, but I don’t know that many saw 3-13 coming. What made this whole thing fall apart? (more…)

In depth: St. Louis Rams

by | Jan 12, 2012 | 2011 season, 2012 season, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

After several tough seasons, the St. Louis Rams went 7-9, finishing one game from the playoffs in 2010. They had a new quarterback in rookie Sam Bradford and, seemingly, all the momentum in the world. I thought they had the best chance in the division of winning the NFC West.

I was way, way wrong. For our second post-season, in-depth segment, Ryan Van Bibber, editor of Turf Show Times, joined Zoneblitz this week to share his thoughts on what went wrong in 2011 and what has to happen for the Rams to turn things around again in 2012.

Zoneblitz: After 2010 I believed St. Louis would be in the mix for the NFC West championship. What happened that derailed that so dramatically? (more…)

In depth: Indianapolis Colts

by | Jan 10, 2012 | 2011 season, 2012 season, NFL Draft, NFL Free Agency, NFL Random Thoughts

It’s hard to stay completely up to date on every detail of each of the NFL’s 32 teams. So we’ve decided to try and reach out to the blogger community to help provide some insight.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to get in touch with someone who covers each team to get their thoughts on how the 2011 season went, how they see the draft and free agency playing out and what they expect and hope for in 2012.

The plan is to do a post every couple of days in the same order as the draft. As such, we start with the Indianapolis Colts.

Few teams went from penthouse to outhouse as quickly as Indianapolis did, thanks in large part to the neck injuries that afflicted Peyton Manning all season. So was this a one year aberration? Or are there deeper problems the Colts must address before they can think of being competitive again?

We asked Brett Mock, managing editor and head writer at The Colts Authority, for his thoughts on that and much more. Here’s what he had to say:

Zoneblitz: Peyton Manning’s injuries were obviously a large reason for the Colts’ struggles in 2011, but I was stunned by the level to which the team fell apart. What else factored in?

(more…)