Mike Zimmer’s first year as head coach of the Vikings got off to a great start, as Minnesota trounced the St. Louis in-depthRams. Then Adrian Peterson’s child abuse situation cost him the rest of his season and things started derailing a bit. Matt Cassel got hurt, thrusting Teddy Bridgewater into the starting lineup before the team really wanted him there.

All things considered, an improvement from 5-10-1 to 7-9 in year one doesn’t look all bad. So where do the Vikings go from here? How far is this team from rejoining the postseason ranks? Jon Merckle, staff writer for The Viking Age, shares some thoughts.

Zoneblitz: The Vikings improved to 7-9 in 2015 and looked like they might finally have a long-term QB solution. How would you assess the season?

Geez where to begin? Here goes…. Between having a first year head coach in Mike Zimmer to losing the face of your franchise in Adrian Peterson to child abuse charges to having the face of your defense in Jared Allen joining the Bears to losing Matt Cassel to season ending injury giving rookie Teddy Bridgewater the reins immediately to losing two starting offensive lineman to injury, it’s safe to say that a 7-9 season was a success considering the team could have mailed in a significantly worse record. We’ll touch on a few of the points in the following questions.

Zoneblitz: Teddy Bridgewater impressed as a rookie. What was your assessment of his season and what are your expectations going forward?

Merckle: When looking back Bridgewater’s season it’s important to look at the entirety. Matt Cassel was basically the heavy favorite to start going into camp and the early vibes were Teddy looked okay at best in early practices. Once Teddy took over the role with Cassel’s injury there were actually a couple clunkers early on. Yes, he won his first start with the Vikings hosting the Falcons, but struggled with ball security and getting rid of the ball in a timely manner in spite of a depleted line. As the season went along however he became much more decisive with his reads and lead the offense in a commanding manner. His month of December was so good there’s little doubt now amongst Vikings fans he could be and will be the long-term answer at quarterback. Looking ahead to 2015, I do think it’s in the realm he could be a top 12 quarterback in the league. Top six? Not quite yet, but well above league average.

Zoneblitz: What do you think of the Mike Wallace addition and how does this trade fit into what Norv Turner and Bridgewater want to do?

Merckle: Norv’s an old disciple of the Air Coryell offense. There’s entire coaching books written on its principles and we don’t have time to get into all the Xs and Os, but the foundation of that offense is forcing the defense to defend the entire field and not having any set formations. The obvious strength of Wallace’s game is being able to stretch defenses deep. He has rare straight-line speed. Bridgewater throws the vertical routes sufficiently well and he should be a perfectly fine outside receiver opposite Charles Johnson.

Zoneblitz: What’s the answer on the offensive line at left guard and does Matt Kalil turn things around in 2015?

Merckle: Left guard is one of the major holes right now when looking at the entire roster. There are several questions right now with not much of an answer. Second-year player David Yankey currently sits atop the depth chart, but he didn’t see the field last year and vibe is he has to get stronger. They also have guys such as Austin Wentworth and Joe Berger, however their ceiling is likely that of an above average backup. Is there a possibility team could trade a late round pick for Evan Mathis? Doubtful. Left guard is likely to be addressed in the first two days of the draft with the expectation that pick will be the favorite to start week one.

Kalil was awful in 2014 and we’ll see if team picks up fifth-year option on him for 2016 or just lets him play out final year of contract. Yes, there was the built in excuse of not having a good enough left guard in Charlie Johnson playing at his side and the aggravation of a knee injury, but a top-five pick on a position where guys tend to play on an island had too rough of a year to justify. In closing, if team takes a lineman such as Brandon Scherff or La’el Collins with the 11th overall pick to start their career at left guard, it’s an indication that the team is not high on Kalil’s long-term future. You can find serviceable guards in the middle rounds. It’s a lot tougher to find starting tackles there.

Zoneblitz: Anthony Barr looked like a budding star in 2015, but the rest of the LB corps has question marks. What’s going to happen there next season?

Merckle: Yes, Barr is fantastic and has a bright future ahead. He wasn’t that popular of a pick on draft day given Vikes closed the night with Bridgewater and Barr was mostly mocked to teams running a 3-4 when Zimmer runs a 4-3. That was all proven wrong when Zimmer moved Barr to Sam and then kicked him to edge rusher on passing downs proving Barr’s versatility.

Toward the rest of the linebacking crew, I’m not as down on the rest of the group as some. Gerald Hodges played all three positions last year, is only 24 and graded out well versus both the run and pass. Audie Cole is an average athlete, but somehow made splash plays last year in limited chances. Brandon Watts is an intriguing project. And Chad Greenway’s best days are behind him, but maybe he’s brought back on a modest deal and still brings group leadership on limited snaps. I do think however it’s likely the team spends an early pick on a linebacker given how the board falls to them. They need another guy who’s capable of either rushing from the edge opposite Barr (which could cost their first round pick given the premium placed on versatile edge rushers who can also cover) or a thumper solidifying the middle of that crew on say a second or third round pick.

Zoneblitz: Do the Vikings have enough secondary firepower to hang with teams like Green Bay and Detroit? What has to be done to improve?

Merckle: The Vikings are an ascending team and actually scored more points that Detroit last year, so can they hang with them absolutely. And remember football is a balanced game of both offense, defense and special teams; so with Detroit losing Ndamukong Suh to free agency it’s possible the Viking are better than the Lions as a whole next year. In terms of competing with Green Bay, that’s such a difficult question to answer given the Packers have won the division the last 4 years and the only year they didn’t make the playoffs was the first year Aaron Rodgers started. He’s easily the best quarterback in football and as good of a GM as Ted Thompson is it doesn’t take much to fill in around him.

Zoneblitz: What’s the future look like for Cordarrelle Patterson after a disappointing second season?

Merckle: Patterson is another guy entering 2015 with a question mark and that one is honestly up to him. There’s no denying his electric ability with the ball in his hands, however for every diminishing highlight there’s dozens of plays where he struggles to get open running a bad route or wasn’t a very good blocker. The other vibe about Patterson is that he enjoys the attention of being a professional football player compared to actually playing the game. Those guys tend to not have the longest of careers. I hate to be a pessimist, however if I were a betting man I’d wager Cordarrelle bounces around the league compared to becoming a perennial Pro Bowler.

Zoneblitz: What Vikings have a chance to break out in 2015?

Merckle: Not to keep talking about the wide receiver position, but the one Viking with an upward pointing arrow is Charles Johnson. He has an odd story of being a late round Division II pick by the Packers and being plucked off the Browns practice squad given his history with Norv and Scott Turner, but once given the snaps it was evident the kid was a diamond in the rough find. The guy has a legitimate size/speed combo, runs clean routes, has a good work ethic and showed great chemistry with Bridgewater. Plus this offseason he plans on working out with Brandon Marshall. Provided the Vikings don’t draft one of Amari Cooper, Kevin White or DeVante Parker (and I don’t think they will given how much Norv has gushed about Johnson); a 1000-yard season with 8 or so TDs is not out of the question.

Zoneblitz: How far are the Vikings from making a run in the postseason?

Merckle: The biggest obstacle standing in the way of the Vikings making a deep run in the postseason is frankly Green Bay. Things happen, yes, but given how difficult it is to win at Lambeau and the fact that Rodgers is still in his prime (Side note: How spoiled have the Packers been at quarterback the past 20 years at quarterback?) the thought of getting one of the top 2 seeds in the NFC right now isn’t a safe bet. That being said, if Zimmer can continue to have an elite defense and if Bridgewater becomes an elite quarterback this team could go far within the next couple of years.

Zoneblitz: What is your reaction to free agency at this point and what would you like to see the team do through the rest of free agency and in the draft?

Merckle: The NFL has gone from free agency becoming an event to common fans noticing that teams that win in free agency don’t exactly win in the regular season, so I’m fine with the Vikings taking a laid back approach there. Toward the draft, we already touched on needs at left guard and linebacker, however the one position I also expect them to address early is finding an outside corner to play opposite Xavier Rhodes. Josh Robinson is a great athlete, but can’t press that well and is not a spectacular tackler with both of those attributes being needed in Zimmer’s defense. Also looking at recent Bengals drafts two first round picks were Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard. Can history repeat itself there? I would say it’s probable.

Zoneblitz: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Merckle: To circle back on the first question, a lot went wrong in 2014, yet the team pushed forward and was able to have a respectable season. Looking ahead to 2015 this team is likely not quite ready to be in the Super Bowl mix, but finding double digit wins and possibly working their way into a Wild Card game is not as laughable as it was a year ago. Thanks for the chat and we’ll talk to you again prior to the draft.

Follow Jon Merckle on Twitter at: @thevikingpig
Follow Viking Age on Twitter at: @TheVikingAge
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