Surprise Team? Not The Minnesota Vikings

Storyline: Minnesota Vikings don’t fit the standard definition of a ‘surprise team.’ Coming into 2016 the Vikings were going to be a force to be reckoned with. Now they look like a Super Bowl contender. Written by Elias Tilleskjor, Denver CO.

1999 St. Louis Rams. Surprise team.

2016 Minnesota Vikings. No surprise team.

The definition of the term “surprise team” can get misconstrued at times. I will hear top sports media outlets heavily abuse this word.

Courtesy: profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

A surprise team is not a returning division winner. It’s not a returning playoff team either. A surprise team is one that struggles the year before, but then strings together wins the following year.

For example, the 1999 St Louis Rams won the Super Bowl after coming off a 4-12 season. Experts had them at the bottom of their division before the year started. Then, a week before the season started, their starting quarterback (Trent Green) suffered a season-ending injury. That’s a surprise team!

The 2016 Minnesota Vikings are not a surprise team.

Anybody who follows the Vikings knew the Vikings were going to have an exceptional year. To unravel the question why, you need to start with the 2013 Minnesota Vikings. Coming off a 5-10-1 campaign the Vikings fired Leslie Frazier and hired Mike Zimmer. The Vikings defense improved dramatically from that point on. Consider Minneesota’s PPG evolution and NFL ranking: 2013, 30.0 (last in the NFL), 2014, 21.4 (11th), 2015, 18.9 (5th), to Week 6 of 2016, 12.6(1st). Now let’s look at total defense per game: 2013, 397.6 (31st), 2014, 344.7 (14th), 2015, 344.2 (13th), to Week 6 2016, 287.6 (4th).

Mike Zimmer has built a young team into an elite defense.

Last year, besides Adrian Peterson, the bulk of the plays were made by young and emerging stars, especially on the defensive side of the ball. On the offensive side, you had a 2nd year QB and the emergence of Stephon Diggs and (toward the end of the year) Adam Thieland, Jerick Mckinnon, and Kyle Rudolph.

This team, full of youngsters, went 11-5 and took the NFC North from the Packers.

Courtesy: chatsports.com

So, let’s get it straight: this team has been good. It’s no surprise that the Vikes are 5-0 heading into a Bye Week. And it’s no surprise what the defense is doing. The Vikings returned every starter on defense from last year and the team also returned most of its offensive weapons.

And one thing you can guarantee with Zimmer: from year to year this team will get better. And the way the season ended last year, you know those guys were ready to prove Minnesota is one of the teams in the league–even after losing Adrian Peterson and Teddy Bridgewater to injury.

Why? If there’s one thing I know about Mike Zimmer it’s that he will not let his guys make excuses. Consider what happened last year. The 2015 Minnesota Vikings were without their top 3 defensive players as they headed to Arizona to play the Cards on a short week. The Vikings were one play away from tying that game.

What I learned from that game was that Vikings take after their coach. Mike Zimmer holds every player accountable for their actions.

The Vikings are definitely not a “surprise team.” Coming into 2016 I knew the Vikings would be a force to be reckoned with. And although we’re only in Week 6, Minnesota looks like a Super Bowl contender.

It’s no surprise at all.