Get To Know Your Foe (Week 1): Minnesota Vikings

Dec 16, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) talks with St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson (39) after a game at the Edward Jones Dome. Minnesota defeated St. Louis 36-22. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Tomorrow, the St. Louis Rams will open th2 2014 regular season against the Minnesota Vikings. To get some inside information on Vikings’ camp, we went behind enemy lines and spoke with Adam Carlson, co-editor over at The Viking Age, the Minnesota Vikings site within the FanSided Network. To get some deeper insight on the opponent, here are Ramblin’ Fan’s five quick questions…

1) At one point in time, heading into the 2014 NFL Draft, Teddy Bridgewater was considered by most to be a “lock” for the No.1 overall pick. However, he would drop to the bottom of the opening round, right in the waiting laps of the Minnesota Vikings. Yet, the Louisville product will start his career on the bench. Why wasn’t he able to beat out Matt Cassel for the starting position?

I was very high on Bridgewater in college and never really saw why some folks thought he wasn’t a top talent in the draft.  A below average pro day didn’t scare me off from the talent that he possesses.  When Minnesota chose their starting quarterback, it was basically that Matt Cassel didn’t do enough wrong than Teddy Bridgewater doing right.  Bridgewater had an amazing preseason that found him with 5 passing touchdowns and zero interceptions.  Right now, they’re still working on grooming him to be the quarterback of the future, and that future looks bright for Bridgewater in Minnesota.

2) The Minnesota Vikings lost on the top pass rushers in the league, in Jared Allen. Everson Griffen showed some glimpses of promise last year. What should we expect from him, and the rest of the defensive line, in the opener?

Although Allen has one heck of a career when it comes to rushing the passer, Minnesota shouldn’t see a significant drop off now that he’s moved on.  Everson Griffen ended the preseason as the #3 defensive end according to Pro Football Focus and should shine in a starting role.  When you add in the solid play of Brian Robison and the Vikings first draft pick this year, Anthony Barr, the pass rush could even be better without Jared on the team.  A lot of that has to do with the more aggressive scheme that new head coach Mike Zimmer is instilling with this team.

3) The Minnesota Vikings offensive line was a strong point last season, particularly against the run. However, at times, they failed to keep their quarterback upright. How will they slow arguably the best pass rushing front-four unit in the league on Sunday?

This should be one of the most interesting matchups.  With left tackle Matt Kalil struggling and left guard Charlie Johnson a below average player, the Rams could really take advantage of them when rushing the passer on Sunday.  However, the real strength of this offensive line is the run blocking.  John Sullivan, Brandon Fusco, and Phil Loadholt are some of the best run blockers in the league and will be tested by this strong Rams defense. The Vikings will rely on blocking from their fullbacks and running backs to keep Cassel off the ground, but it could be a long day if the left side of that offensive line struggles.

4) Who is one impact rookie that Rams fans should know about before this game that could have a major impact?

This is an easy one.  Anthony Barr.  Barr is a favorite of head coach Mike Zimmer and will see a ton of time in this game on Sunday.  Barr is a huge, quick player who did well during the preseason both in pass coverage and when blitzing.  He brings a dynamic to this Vikings defense that fans haven’t seen from them in a long time.  He will make an immediate and constant impact on this game.

5) What is your prediction for a winner and final score of this game?

While I firmly believe this will be a very closely contested game and both teams have a lot of things to be positive about, I really feel that the media is really underestimating how powerful this new Vikings offense is under Norv Turner.  With Adrian Peterson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Greg Jennings and Kyle Rudolph in the mix, I think Minnesota will end up outscoring the Rams 30-27.