I’m sure you’ve seen it. Some girl on the internet had her friend record her trying Kombucha tea for the first time. At first, it’s not that bad. Then, it’s awful. Then, it’s great. All of a sudden, it’s not. It’s a gamut of emotions that ultimately lands on adequate but not truly enjoyable.
People have used that meme countless times online. But for those who follow the Minnesota Vikings, that glass of Kombucha might as well be filled with purple Kool-Aid.
The 2022 Vikings are a team clouded in mystery. At first glance, they have everything you need to contend. From another angle, they’re an aging team approaching the end of their window to contend. One more look, and they have several emerging stars. Tilt your head a little, and Kevin O’Connell and Kwesi Adofo-Mensah are updating their resumés.
Where will the Vikings end up? It depends on who you ask.
Some analysts believe the Vikings are sleeping giants. Colin Cowherd thinks the Vikings could win 13 to 14 games next season, putting them at the top of the NFC. He believes they’ll benefit from Mike Zimmer’s departure, who turned the Vikings into a slightly more modern version of their 1970s counterparts. While Zimmer was aiming to be Bud Grant, the result was more like the 1960s, when Norm Van Brocklin and Fran Tarkenton butted heads until both left Minnesota in 1966.
While Tarkenton needed a few years with the New York Giants, Cousins got his fresh start while staying in Minnesota. Freed from Zimmer’s clutches, O’Connell should be able to unleash him.
“If you ever had a boss who was rigid…and he didn’t even trust you, I absolutely think it affects your performance,” Cowherd said. “[Cousins], whose personality can shrink in big games anyway, when you look at his season, they won a couple of overtime games, but they were not very good late, and I think that’s going to be a game changer.”
Everyone could feel the good vibes as the Vikings began training camp when The MMQB’s Albert Breer delivered some excellent news. Christian Darrisaw was turning into Trent Williams. The aging players on the roster located the fountain of youth. A slew of young players were standing out in practice.
When you think about it, this looks like a team that should go on a run. Cousins has the stats of a franchise quarterback. Justin Jefferson is evolving into the best receiver since Randy Moss. Dalvin Cook is a top-five running back, and Irv Smith Jr. could break out under an offensive-minded coach, assuming he recovers from his thumb injury.
Even the defense has its reasons for optimism. Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith could be the best pass-rushing duo in the league. The Vikings could have underrated depth along the defensive line with Harrison Phillips and preseason standout T.Y. McGill. Eric Kendricks, Harrison Smith, and Patrick Peterson are all former All-Pros, and Andrew Booth Jr., Cameron Dantzler, and Cam Bynum give the secondary an element of upside.
The Vikings also got screwed by dumb luck last season. Warren Sharp laid out the numbers last April, noting that the Vikings allowed a touchdown on 32.4% of drives in the final four minutes before halftime or the end of the game. That percentage was the worst in football since at least 2000.
The law of averages says that the pendulum needs to swing back toward the Vikings at some point, and 2022 would be a good time for that to happen. But there’s another crowd that isn’t entirely sold.
Cousins is one of the main targets of criticism. You know the complaint: great stats, but a .500 record to go with it. Whether it’s Mike Sando’s QB Tiers or Madden ratings, Cousins finds himself in the middle of the pack, opening himself up to be the scapegoat.
“I don’t think his players would die for him,” one rival coach said in Sando’s piece at The Athletic.
“They ran the ball straight up Pittsburgh’s ass, and he made about three throws the whole game,” another coach griped. “A couple of outstanding throws, but other than that, he was terrible. One of the deep throws, the receiver pushes the DB in the back. I’m thinking, ‘This is not the guy you are going to win a championship with.'”
Cousins’ reputation drags the Vikings down in the eye of some, but it doesn’t have many analysts hopping on podcasts predicting a three-win season. Instead, Minnesota has seen a few veiled shots that may not be intentional.
NFL Network’s Maurice Jones-Drew listed his top quarterback-and-pass-catcher combos earlier this month; Jefferson and Cousins didn’t make the list. With Jefferson’s historic start, this seems preposterous. But it’s even more bizarre when considering who was ahead of them.
Jones-Drew listed Derek Carr and Davante Adams fourth when they haven’t played a down since college. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, Justin Herbert and Keenan Allen, and Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins made the list despite being outproduced by Minnesota’s duo. Then there’s Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas, who haven’t even played together yet.
Pro Football Focus also went with the subtle jab when listing their prediction of which wide receiver duos will reach over 1,000 yards this season.
Part of this is rooted in truth. Thielen hasn’t had a 1,000-yard season since 2018. But Kyle Pitts, Drake London, and Gabriel Davis have never had a 1,000-yard season. Davis has never eclipsed 600 yards in a season.
Tell me you’re skeptical about the Vikings without telling me that you’re skeptical about the Vikings.
But the most glaring example came from ESPN’s power rankings. The World Wide Leader in talking heads listed the Vikings 23rd in their preseason rankings, below several teams with a lower projected win total.
Vegas Insider has the Vikings over/under listed at 9.5 wins. That’s more than the No. 13 Las Vegas Raiders, No. 16 New England Patriots, No. 17 Cleveland Browns, No. 18 Arizona Cardinals, No. 19 Miami Dolphins, and No. 20 New Orleans Saints, who all have an over/under of 8.5 wins.
Even the 21st-ranked Washington Commanders and 22nd-ranked Pittsburgh Steelers were ahead of Minnesota with an over/under of 7.5 wins.
That’s confounding but also has some merit. For all of the positives the Vikings have going for them right now, they also have scenarios that can ruin their season.
- Thielen has suffered a serious injury in two of the past three seasons.
- Garrett Bradbury is still starting at center.
- Smith Jr. is hurt again.
- Smith and Hunter are coming off injury-riddled campaigns. (For Hunter, it’s each of the past two years.)
- Kendricks, Smith, and Peterson are on the wrong side of 30.
- The young players could still have growing pains.
None of this signals that a “Tank for Bryce Young” campaign is coming, but it’s enough to dissuade analysts from thinking anything is substantially different from a team that hasn’t been over .500 in 957 days and has missed the playoffs each of the past two seasons.
In this case, there are three things for sure. Death, taxes, and the Vikings finishing somewhere between seven and 10 wins.
Then again, many people thought the same thing in 2017, and Minnesota went to the NFC Championship game. However, people had championship expectations in 2010 only to see their stadium collapse. It’s hard to tell.
In the end, the Vikings are like a giant glass of Kombucha — a little strange, somewhat divisive, and likely to cause you to make an exasperated face worth catching on camera.
