For the entire month of August, the Sportable Staff will look at one National Football League team a day. We?ll look at their offense, defense and in the end, assess their playoff chances. Previews will be done by division, starting with the NFC East. Each new division will also feature a new podcast devoted entirely to that division.

This Team Still Exists?
The Minnesota Vikings enter the 2007 season looking to right the ship. After controversial head coach/scalper Mike Tice was shown the door, the Vikes brought in slightly less charismatic Brad Childress. The result was a six win season and one of the worst offenses in the entire league. You take a look at this roster and you would expect some big things. The Vikings have the essentials to a great team: Great offensive/defensive lines. Outside of that, there’s not much to be excited about.

Offense
The Vikings enter the season with a new quarterback, second year guy Tavaris Jackson, who was selected in the 3rd round last year. When 67 year old Brad Johnson was benched late in the year, Jackson was able to get some reps in. I’m just a bit skeptical on whether or not he could lead an NFL team. It’s just that the offense was ran at such a remedial level under Johnson. Did this team ever take a shot down field? But this team must have some confidence in Jackson. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have passed up Notre Dame Golden Boy Brady Quinn in the draft, opting to take Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson. Peterson, a stud at Oklahoma, will battle Chester Taylor for touches. Taylor ran for over 1200 yards last year and could form a pretty nasty running back tandem with Peterson. Jackson won’t asked to do much because this offense will be so reliant on running behind guys like Bryant McKinnie, Steve Hutchinson and Matt Birk.

If Jackson is forced to throw, the results won’t be pretty. You could make the argument that the Vikings have the worst wide receivers in the entire league. Troy Williamson enters his 3rd year trying to shed the seemingly inevitable label of “bust.” After Peterson, the Vikings added another South Carolina Gamecock, selecting speedster Sidney Rice. Besides that, it’s horrendous. Travis Taylor, last year’s leading receiver, was released. So was last year’s starting tight end, Jermaine Wiggins. Where’s Cris Carter or Jake Reed when you need them? Getting production out of the passing game is going to be a monumental task for Coach Mr. Clean Childress.

Defense
When you have the 8th ranked defense in the NFL, you’d expect more than six wins. Can the Vikings defense repeat a pretty solid season? With just 62 yards allowed on the ground, the Vikings had not just the best rush defense in 2006, but one of the best ever. The problem? They allowed nearly 240 yards through the air. That great rushing defense starts up front with defensive tackles Kevin Williams and Pat Williams. While the interior line can stuff the run, it can’t get much pass rush. Defensive ends Erasmus James and Kenechi Udeze are also looking like first round busts. They need to stay healthy and get to the quarterback. If they can’t, expect Darrion Scott to play more of a role.

I don’t like the Vikings’ linebackers. Ben Leber, EJ Henderson and Chad Greenway are the expected starters, provided Leber stops being mediocre and Greenway actually gets healthy. Last year’s first round pick, Greenway missed the entire year due to injury. The Vikings selected decorated Oklahoma linebacker Rufus Alexander in the draft. Still, there’s not much to be excited about for this unit. The Vikings’ secondary is full of names but fell victim to the anemic pass rush in ‘06. Antoine Winfield is back and that’s always a good thing. Sexboat Captain Fred Smoot is back in Washington, so the Vikings are looking for Cedric Griffin or rookie Marcus McCauley to step up and fill the void. Mike Doss was signed as a free agent to provide some depth. Darren Sharper and Dwight Smith are the expected starters. You look at that cast of characters in the secondary and wonder how they got burnt so easily through the air.

Outlook
The Vikings have plenty of talent. I don’t think that’s the issue. However, there’s still plenty of cause for concern. The guy throwing the ball is incredibly inexperienced, as are the guys he’s supposed to throw to. There’s still no pass rush and there’s still a mediocre linebacker crew. Those were all weaknesses last year and none have been addressed. The Vikings are just another one of the bad teams in the NFC North. The Bears have it lucky.