Heading into the 2012 season, most experts thought six or seven wins would be a good season for the Minnesota Vikings. But the purple shocked the world, moving from three to 10 wins in the blink of one offseason. The team’s still present shortcomings were exposed in the first round of the playoffs with a loss to rival Green Bay, but the seven-game improvement has observers excited about the future.

But the Vikings also play in a tough division, with Chicago and Green Bay highly competitive and Detroit making moves to get better. So can Minnesota keep moving forward? And what does the 2013 version of the Vikings have to do to make another playoff appearance?

Jon Merckle, senior blogger for The Viking Age, tells Zoneblitz he thinks if quarterback Christian Ponder continues developing, the team could stack up well with any of its rivals in the NFC North.

Zoneblitz: The Vikings were one of the league’s surprise turnaround teams in 2012. Were you surprised by the 10-6 result and to what do you attribute the quick improvement?

Merckle: It’s safe to say that the team going from three wins to 10 in one year surprised most everyone. It was the biggest turnaround franchise history. There were two major things attributing to what was the greatest turnaround in franchise history. First of all, Adrian Peterson. The man was football’s MVP coming within nine yards of breaking Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record. Of the six running backs who have run for over 2,000 yards in a season, four of those teams made the playoffs and this made it five of seven. The other lesser talked about fact for vast improvement is the Vikings finished the 2011 season as the league’s worst in pass defense and improved to ninth in 2012 due to key players such as Antoine Winfield and Chris Cook staying healthy and the addition of safety Harrison Smith.

Zoneblitz: What are your thoughts on the Leslie Frazier/Rick Spielman setup as coach and player personnel guy?

Merckle: I wrote a few blog posts during the 2011 season on how Frazier was decent coach, but a terrible personnel guy. Frazier seems to thrive on having faith in his players essentially loving everyone. When he should have cut guys like Bernard Berrian, Steve Hutchinson and Cedric Griffin going into the season he kept them. Meanwhile Spielman (who at the time had a lesser say than Frazier) did fairly well in his drafts with Brad Childress as the head coach and something needed to be done toward getting a guy in there who was capable of making cold, calculated football decisions. So far, so good for Spielman having the final say on players. Last year was a brilliant draft with nine of his 10 selections making the team especially hitting on Matt Kalil, Harrison Smith, Rhett Ellison and Blair Walsh not all of whom were popular picks at the time. We’ll see how this year’s draft plays out having made the decision to trade Percy Harvin for first and seventh round picks. Which leads us to…

Zoneblitz: What did you think of the Percy Harvin trade and how will the Vikings replace his contributions?

Merckle: Ugh! I hate to copout, but ask me again around November. Recapping the season, Percy was one of the best wide receivers in the league the first half, generating some MVP talk by lining up all over the field and causing headaches for defenses. The team went 5-4 with him until he got hurt in the Seattle game and threw a sideline tirade directed at Leslie Frazier. Most thought the season was over without Percy. However, as a pleasant surprise, they went 5-2 in the seven games without him and he wasn’t even around the team rehabbing in Florida. If Percy is making magic as a member of the Seahawks with the Vikings not getting the results out of their 25th overall pick and his replacement Jarius Wright (who did show promise in the games he played) not giving much, then it’s a win for Seattle. If Percy continues his history of insubordination under Pete Carroll and gets hurt again, then it was a wise move. But ultimately Spielman wanted to build off the momentum from the last seven games and this is his team with his vision.

Zoneblitz: What do you think of the development of Christian Ponder and, with the Matt Cassel signing, how will the quarterback depth chart look in the upcoming season?

Merckle: Going into the season this one is set in stone with Ponder being the starter and Cassel as his backup. Let’s face it. Ponder had a weird season in 2012. The first few games he looked like a legit franchise quarterback. He regressed badly in the middle-third of the season and then went on to be the second-highest rated quarterback (only Peyton Manning had a higher rating) for the month of December. The organization is committed to Ponder for this season and it would take a face plant early on to see Cassel.

In fairness to Ponder he’s never had a legitimate split end having spent the last two years throwing to Michael Jenkins and Devin Aromashodu, who couldn’t gain separation from a hamster. Ponder also has sneaky athleticism, a good enough arm to make any throw and is intelligent. He needs to work on not staring down his first target and on eliminating the number of bad throws made in a game, and he also has to stop taking unnecessary steps in the pocket to deliver his throws with conviction.

Zoneblitz: Can Adrian Peterson have another season in 2013 like he did in breaking 2,000 yards in 2012?

Merckle: Adrian is actually on record saying his goal for the 2013 season is 2,500 yards. Is that laughable? Yes. But if there’s any running back that you shouldn’t bet against in today’s game, it’s Adrian. Ultimately though two straight 2,000 yard seasons has never been done and it’s fair to wonder if the team even wants him to run for that many yards. A more realistic goal would be around 1,800 yards (which likely still would put him atop the league) and a more aggressive passing game.

Zoneblitz: While the defense played better, there are holes at linebacker, defensive tackle and safety. What do you think this defense has to do to continue improving?

Merckle: Without turning this into a conversation on whether a certain Notre Dame linebacker makes sense, middle linebacker is definitely an area of need. Jasper Brinkley graded out as the worst Mike in all of football and he’s now a member of the Arizona Cardinals. The Vikings need a thumper in the middle of the defense who is good at stopping the run and also capable of dropping back into coverage if need be. The two other areas that could use a youthful injection are defensive end and cornerback.  Jared Allen is on the wrong side of 30 and Antoine Winfield was recently cut. Then again, is there a team in the league that couldn’t some more quality pass rushers and/or corners?

Zoneblitz: Who on the roster do you see having a breakout 2013 season?

Merckle: Spielman has an affinity for Notre Dame players and, so far, the results have been pretty good. John Sullivan has gone from average to one of the best centers in all of football, Kyle Rudolph is a very nice young tight end who won Pro Bowl MVP and Harrison Smith was in the mix for Defensive Rookie of the Year. So why not toss out another Golden Domer? Safety Robert Blanton is entering his second year in the league and should compete for the starting job opposite Smith. He looked very good last year playing limited snaps by being physical against the run, recognized specific routes that the opposition was running and has an excellent work ethic. Not saying he’s going to “break out” and be a perennial Pro Bowler, however a name worth watching that not many folks know about now.

Zoneblitz: With the Bears and Lions making moves to improve and the Packers still seemingly ahead of Minnesota talent-wise, where do you think the Vikings currently sit in the NFC North hierarchy and how far is this team from making a deep playoff run?

Merckle: I’m going to respectfully disagree with you on this one. The Vikings went 10-6 last year, have debatably the best offensive and defensive lines in the NFC North and did it as the fifth youngest team in the league last year with 11 picks to spend in the draft in a few weeks. From a talent standpoint, the average player on this team is as good as the average player any of the teams you mentioned. But here’s the thing, and this is a big “but” – those other three teams are set at quarterback, in particular Green Bay. As to making a deep playoff run, a lot of that depends on quarterbacks play, what key players are healthy and of course a little bit of luck.

Zoneblitz: What do you think of the Vikings’ free agency moves so far and what would you like to see the team do in free agency and the draft heading into 2013?

Merckle: Signing Greg Jennings has headlined the 2013 offseason, which is a signing that a lot of fans love. He is one of the best route runners in the league, is capable of playing all three wide receiver positions and seems like he’s willing to go to work from day one with Ponder (which is something Percy didn’t do).

Toward the draft, the Vikings need to find a split end. Whether that’s spending a first round pick on a Keenan Allen or Cordarrelle Patterson if avail or taking a couple of guys in the later rounds with hope that one sticks has to play out. With the majority of their picks though, it’d be nice to spend them mostly on defense starting with defensive tackle, linebacker and cornerback.

Zoneblitz: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Merckle: The Vikings, like a lot of teams, are one that is a few positives away from being in the mix toward hosting the Lombardi Trophy and also a few negatives away being a five to eight win team that’s not noticed. If Ponder makes the leap to be legit franchise quarterback, adding a legit passing game to the best running game in football, and the defense makes as much of a leap in 2013, it could get really exciting. But as always if Ponder struggles badly and key difference makers (Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen, Greg Jennings, etc.) look like their best days are behind them, we could be in a state of flux going into 2014 with an entirely new coach and quarterback.

Follow Jon Merckle on Twitter at: @TheVikingPig
Follow The Viking Age on Twitter at: @TheVikingAge
Follow Zoneblitz.com on Twitter at: @ZoneblitzCom

Previous In Depth: Washington Redskins
Next In Depth: Indianapolis Colts