Minnesota Vikings 2011 Season Odds
(The Spread) – The Vikings landed their quarterback of the future and present in one offseason but the odds don’t favor their chances in 2011.
The Vikings surprised many draft pundits when they selected Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder in the first round despite his second-round grade. But Minnesota clearly didn’t want Ponder to start as a rookie, so they traded for former Eagle and Redskin Donovan McNabb to run Bill Musgrave’s version of the West Coast Offense this season.
With players like Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin surrounding him this season, McNabb could lead one of the more potent offenses in the NFC. But he lost his No. 1 receiving target before he even got the opportunity to throw him a pass as Sidney Rice signed with Seattle this offseason. The Vikings did sign free agent Michael Jenkins (a former first-round pick of the Falcons), but Jenkins doesn’t posses the same skill set as Rice.
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The Vikes also signed receiver Devin Aromashodu (Bears), defensive lineman Remi Ayodele (Saints) and linebacker Mark Washington (Cardinals) this offseason. Along with Ponder, Minnesota selected tight end Kyle Rudolph in the second round of this April’s draft, Iowa defensive end Christian Ballard in the fourth.
Oddsmakers clearly don’t buy Minnesota being a contender in 2011. They currently list the Vikings as 35/1 long shots to win the 2012 Super Bowl and 15/1 mid-range long shots to win the NFC. The Vikes also have the worst odds to win the NFC North at +850, which is saying something considering the lowly Lions have +550 odds to win the division.
The Vikings have major issues along the offensive line and while McNabb could resurrect his career now that he’s out of Philadelphia and Washington, he clearly isn’t the same quarterback he was earlier in this career. The Vikings could suffer big-time unless the offensive line and McNabb play over their heads.
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