Zygi's Believe It or Not: Oddities of the 50th Season

Come one, come all! Step right up! Bear witness to the bizarre! Behold, the grotesque and the freaky! The deranged circus that was the 2010 Vikings' season left in its wake more carnage than a Rob Zombie film. Each twisted side show distracted more and more from the main event: the complete self destruction of a Super Bowl favorite.

Brett Favre's media lackey, Ed Werder, reports that the new grandpa will remain retired. Never trust a man with a mustache.

Deadspin releases a story alleging that, as a member of the New York Jets in 2008, Brett Favre texted pictures of his pride and joy to Jenn Sterger, a silicon-stuffed attention monger masquerading as a Jets' "sideline reporter." The "Wrangler Dangler" would eventually admit to leaving sleazy voicemails on Sterger's phone, but he continues to deny that he's ever worn Crocs.

Ryan Longwell, Jared Allen, and Steve Hutchinson make the voyage to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to recruit Brett Favre out of retirement. After a bromantic evening of reminiscing and rye whiskey, they successfully coax Favre off his his lawn mower for one more run at the title.

An unnamed source tells Yahoo! Sports that "Brett thinks Childress has no clue about offense." In the coming days, backup quarterback and fan favorite Sage Rosenfels (along with return man Darius Reynaud) is jettisoned to the Giants for future draft picks, fueling speculation that he was the locker room leak. Upon his arrival in New York, Rosenfels tells reporters that Eli Manning thinks Dora has no clue about exploring.

Pro Bowl receiver Sidney Rice, a Drew Rosenhaus client, decides to have hip surgery six months after original doctor recommendations. He'd go on to miss nine games. Speculation abounds that the delayed surgery is a contractual ploy orchestrated by the real-life Jerry Maguire. The development leaves a gaping hole on the outside, and sets into motion a desperate chain of events.

Now lacking wide receiver depth, the Vikings sign NFL washout Javon Walker (he's cut two weeks later), and then deal cornerback Benny Sapp to Miami for receiver Greg Camarillo. The move means Vikings fans will be subjected to heavy doses of Asher Allen, who couldn't cover a sneeze.

Still haunted by their five-turnover NFC Championship Game debacle just nine months prior, the Vikings return to New Orleans to kick off the season in eerie fashion. The pregame Super Bowl banner ceremony is a throat punch, and a demoralized effort results in a second straight loss under the Superdome lights.

Vincent Jackson trade rumors fall through. Still starving for a playmaker, Minnesota acquires an exciting young talent to attract double teams. They pick up her husband, Hank Baskett, too.

A deal is swung with New England to bring Randy Moss back to Minnesota. The news sends Vikings' country into a frenzy, as grown men gleefully squeeze into dusty No. 84 jerseys like tweens in tube tops at a Bieber concert.

Randy Moss makes his much-anticipated second Vikings' debut in a Monday Night showdown with the Jets at the Meadowlands. On his very first play, he takes a reverse handoff and completes an illegal pass to Brett Favre. In hindsight, the entertaining blunder would serve as a perfect metaphor for the entire Moss experiment. Trailing 12-0 in the third quarter, Favre finally connects with Moss on a gorgeous 37-yard tear drop. The clouds part, and a chorus of angels rain down from the heavens. The touchdown, Favre's 500th, would unknowingly become the season's climax. A late interception drops Minnesota to 1-3.

After a tightly-contested loss in Green Bay, the NFL apologizes to the Vikings for bungled officiating. The apology is painfully reminiscent of the "Sorry, you should have been in the Super Bowl but the city of New Orleans needed it more than you" letter the team received after the NFC Championship Game.

Randy Moss returns to New England to face his former team on Halloween night. Moss catches just one pass for eight yards in the Vikings' loss, and draws criticism for quitting on a catchable deep ball. In a bizarre post-game press conference, Moss gushes uncontrollably over the Patriots' organization. It's like Brad Pitt telling Angelina Jolie that Jennifer Aniston was better in the sack.

Brad Childress waives Randy Moss. The bombshell ignites a controversy in the "triangle of authority," as Childress had failed to discuss his intentions with Zygi Wilf. In the coming days, a story emerges that the classless Moss had berated a local caterer's donated post-practice spread in a profanity-laced tirade. Despite Moss' despicable behavior, the rabid fan base goes after Childress with pitchforks and torches.

Brad Childress and Percy Harvin have to be physically separated afer Childress reportedly questioned the injured Harvin's effort in a Friday practice. Later, the team suggests that the feud was over Harvin's unwillingness to get an MRI. Fans and media connect the dots back to the waiving of Harvin's friend and mentor, Randy Moss.

In his first game without Randy Moss, Brett Favre throws for a career-best 446 yards in an improbable 27-24 overtime victory over Arizona. After trailing by 14 with under five minutes to play, Favre hits Visanthe Shiancoe for a 25-yard score with just 27 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. Ryan Longwell kicks Minnesota to a 3-5 record, but "Fire Chilly" chants grow louder than ever.

Following an embarrassing 31-3 home loss to the Packers, Brad Childress is fired. Leslie Frazier is elevated to Interim Head Coach of the 3-7 Vikings, and Tarvaris Jackson, despite his backup status, is elevated to Interim Head Scapegoat.

The Metrodome roof collapses under the weight the Super Bowl Championship banners hanging from the rafters. Or something like that.

Pushed to Monday night, the Vikings "host" the New York Giants at Detroit's Ford Field. It's the first time in 10 years that a Monday Night Football game is played in Detroit, and free tickets are issued to the public. The Vikings manage just 164 yards of offense in the 21-3 drubbing. Even Lions' fans are embarrassed. Brett Favre's consecutive game streak (297) also comes to an end, ironically, in the same slum as Lou Gehrig's.

Still homeless, the Vikings bum TCF Bank Stadium from the University of Minnesota for a Monday Night showdown with the Bears. It's a logistical nightmare. The stadium has been winterized, and was not built with December games in mind. The field is compared to concrete, and the bowl is full of snow. Moreover, the new venue holds 13,000 fewer fans than the Metrodome, and despite the team's horrifying play, the intrigue of the first outdoor home game in 29 years has put tickets in high demand. For four days leading up to the game, 1,500 workers and volunteers clear 40,000 cubic yards of snow from the stadium. Another winter storm hits Monday, adding to the mystique, and Brett Favre makes a short-lived surprise start. Ultimately, the 40-14 defeat becomes a mere side note to the snowy spectacle.

An impending east coast blizzard causes the Vikings-Eagles Sunday night tilt to be pushed back to Tuesday. A blitz-heavy defensive scheme, coupled with the solid play of Joe Webb in his first career start, results in a stunning 24-14 upset of the heavily favored (-14) Eagles. The win bodes well for Leslie Frazier's coaching future. However, it costs the Eagles a first round playoff bye, and the Vikings several crucial spots in April's NFL draft. Even they win, the Vikings lose.

The Vikings return to Detroit, this time as the visitors. Prior to the game, the Vikings remove the interim label from Leslie Frazier's title. The team responds with a half-hearted effort, and a 20-13 loss drops the team to 6-10. In one year, the Vikings fall from the NFC Championship Game to the NFC North cellar. After the game, Brett Favre retires for the fourth straight year. It's a fitting end to one of the most memorable seasons in team history.

As fans, we'll be feeling the after effects of this for some time. It will be a very different healing process than the one we went through after the heartbreaking finish to last season. The sharp pain that left us counting the days until training camp, and ultimately, redemption, is long gone. Going forward we'll experience a forlorn ache that creeps in when hope becomes doubt, and certainties become questions. Has the window closed? Will a new season really mean a clean slate? Sure, Frazier's return as head coach should provide stability, but the fact remains that this team is still without a home or a quarterback. As we watch the Packers and Bears battle in the NFC title game next week, the promised land will never seem more distant.

Contenders or Pretenders?

To call the Vikings' season bizarre would be an understatement of epic proportions. Imagine if I'd told you two months ago that Randy Moss would return to the Vikings, Kendra Wilkinson would bring the twins to the Twin Cities, and Brett Favre's privates would no longer be private. You simply can't make this stuff up. The Winter Park Circus has taken center stage, but for all the wrong reasons. The product on the field hasn't been nearly as entertaining as the extravaganza off of it. At 2-3, the enigmatic Vikings are an immensely talented group of underachievers who probably don't deserve the opportunity they still have. However, the NFC North has been lousy, and as you're about to find out, a third straight division crown is still well within reach.

WEEK 7

You may find it hard to believe, but I don't hate the Packers. Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews, Greg Jennings, and Jermichael Finley are among my favorite players in the league. It's their uber-obnoxious, glue-sniffing fan base that drives me up a wall. The Vikings catch a couple of major breaks here. First, they get the outdoor portion of the series split out of the way early, meaning that the weather will be a month warmer for brittle Brett Favre. Second, and more importantly, the Packers are decimated by injuries on both sides of the ball. The headliners are season-ending injuries to Ryan Grant, Nick Barnett, and Finley (who torched the purple for 6/128/TD in his only contest last year). The running back tandem of Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn are better suited for bagging groceries. While Rodgers will still make some plays when the Pack goes four-wide, he was sacked 14 times in the two matchups last season, and another nine in his last two games. On the other side of the ball, Brett Favre wasn't sacked once in the two matchups last year, and he chucked seven touchdowns. He's started slow, but he has a 4:1 touchdown to interception ratio in his last two games. Adrian Peterson has scored in the last four matchups between these teams, and overall, the Vikings are simply too talented across the board for a short-handed team that's being held together with duct tape. Other notable Packers whose availability is in question are: Al Harris, Atari Bigby, Donald Driver, A.J. Hawk, Brandon Chillar, Chad Clifton, Cullen Jenkins, Clay Matthews, Ryan Pickett, Mark Tauscher, and Charles Woodson. The Packers opened tryouts to the public this morning, but the only "prospect" who passed the breathalyzer was a 460 pound bearded hoarder-woman who bore a striking resemblance to Gilbert Brown. He/she will battle Bryan Bulaga for playing time Sunday night. All kidding aside, this game was won three weeks ago, when in a 24-hour span the Packers passed on Marshawn Lynch and the Vikings added Randy Moss. It should be a tightly contested game, and for what it's worth, Aaron Rodgers is 1-11 in games decided by four points or less.

WEEK 8

This is a scary Halloween matchup for the Vikings. In case you're wondering, I'll be dressing up as a matador this year, in my purple #74. Ole! There's three factors the Vikings will struggle to counter in this one: a hostile crowd, possibly the best quarterback of all time, and a colossal coaching disadvantage. The Vikings will still hold a statistical advantage in most areas of this matchup, most notably over the Patriots' 30th ranked defense. But Bill Belichick is the ultimate trickster, and I'm not betting against him on All Hallow's Eve. The Vikings are hoping that Randy Moss will come back to haunt the Patriots, but the Brady/Belichick combination has won their last 23 regular season home games!

WEEK 9

The Cardinals are 26th against the pass and 29th against the run. Their starting quarterback, Max Hall, is an undrafted rookie. Hall replaced Derek Anderson, who couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. Why am I even wasting time on this one, anything less than a 20-point shellacking should be considered a major disappointment. Welcome home, Larry!

WEEK 10

The Bears are an average team, and they're an epic blown call away from an average 3-3 record. They tripped up the Vikings late last season, but like the Packer home/road series split, the Vikings luck out again getting the outdoor game early. I know, it sounds weak, but I'll take Brett outside on November 14th over December 20th any day. The frigid weather stiffens his creaky joints, and it also causes shrinkage and shoddy cell phone service. If you need any further convincing, in six career games, Adrian Peterson has scored a ridiculous 11 touchdowns against the Bears and has averaged 138 yards per contest.

WEEK 11

The Packers should be much healthier in the rematch. However, Sidney Rice should be back in the fold for the Vikings as well. With matchup nightmares Moss and Rice on the outside, Harvin working the slot, Shiancoe working the middle, and Adrian being Adrian, this is the week that the Vikings' offense hits full throttle for the first time. Additionally, the Vikings have won 12 of their last 13 games at the stadium formerly known as the Metrodome. Skol.

WEEK 12

For some reason, this one has me a little worried. The Vikings are a markedly better team than the Redskins, who rank in the bottom half of the league on both sides of the ball. However, there's always one unexpected loss that you don't account for. There's the hostile crowd. There's the cold weather. There's Randy Moss hitting the FedEx Field showers early in 2005. There's Fred Smoot covering 1/3 of the Earth. This game just feels a lot like the late-season losses in Carolina and Chicago last year. I'm calling it a tentative victory for now.

WEEK 13

The Bills might be the worst team in the NFL. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, a Harvard grad, scored 48 out of 50 on his Wonderlic Test, and might be the smartest player in the league. That's neat. However, he sucks at football.

WEEK 14

As of October 21, the Giants may be the cream of the NFC crop. They're talented, balanced, well-coached, and have recent Super Bowl cred. The Vikings have won their past four against New York, which is refreshing when you consider that our Twins have lost 17 of their last 19 to the Yankees. As of right now, however, the Giants are the more solid, consistent team.

WEEK 15

In the Week 10 matchup, the only advantage I could find for the Bears was their home turf. They've lost three straight in the bubble, and they'll be outclassed again in this one.

WEEK 16

As a Viking fan, I know all too well how dangerous Michael Vick can be. The Philly fans may decide to spare Santa this year and save their snowballs for the Vikings. Between the weather, the stout opponent, the hostile environment, and Andy Reid's clear psychological edge over former understudy Brad Childress, I'm very pessimistic about this potential playoff preview. If that's not bad enough, the Vikings will be coming off an emotional victory with a short week of preparation.

WEEK 17

I expect this to be a "win and you're in" matchup for the Vikings. Thank you, schedule makers! This isn't your older brother's Detroit Lions -- this bunch is plucky. However, the Vikings won the first matchup handily. That made six straight over Detroit, and with Minnesota angling for a playoff birth, this should be a blowout.

I found it difficult to pick against the Vikings in most matchups. Not because I love them, but because on paper they are easily one of the most talented teams in the league. They've invented some interesting methods of self-destruction over the last year, but that's a difficult thing to figure in to this kind of exercise. Randy Moss not only brought game-breaking ability back to the purple, but he brought his air of swagger and confidence that's been striking fear into opponents since 1998. I've predicted a 10-6 finish, but I have six "swing games" on the schedule -- games that I can see going either way (within two notches of center in either direction). In those six swing games, I have the Vikings going 4-2. That means that in my estimation, their record could range anywhere from 6-10 to 12-4. Their stretch of three swing games from Week 10-12, which includes two crucial home divisional matchups, may ultimately decide their fate.

What do you think? Am I a jaded homer? Am I being too critical of the home team? Let's hear it!

The Pinnacle: A Hiatus From My Hiatus

I've been a die hard Minnesota sports fan for 28 years. It's hard to remember a more euphoric day.

The "Super Freak" is coming home. Like many of you, I've had an empty feeling in my heart ever since Randy Moss left the Vikings. Minnesota's last blackout was the final game of the 1997 season. Moss' arrival in 1998 single-handedly rejuvenated the fan base, and the Vikings have sold out every game since. Randy was an outcast, but he was our outcast. He scored a ridiculous 90 touchdowns in his seven seasons in purple. He's one of the all-time greats, and at 33, he can still out-run and out-jump any secondary in the league. His return to Winter Park is surreal -- I've been pinching myself for the last 12 hours, and I'm still not waking up. It's like Randy Moss has returned from the dead. He'll join an offense that features the legendary Brett Favre, and dynamic playmakers Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe, and eventually, Sidney Rice. Combine that with a topflight defense, and this may be the best 1-2 team in the history of the NFL. A destiny that just yesterday seemed derailed is now stronger than ever. Favre has been pining to play with Moss for years, and Zygi Wilf has made the stars align.

Impossibly overshadowed are our Central Division Champion Minnesota Twins, who welcome the New York Yankees to the playoff christening of Target Field in prime time tonight. The Bronx Bombers have been the pinstriped monkey on Minnesota's back, but this appears to be the Twins' best chance to overtake them in the Ron Gardenhire era. New York has chinks in their armor, and no past Gardenhire playoff roster has had this depth, firepower, or veteran savvy. It's our time to return to the Fall Classic.

To think, I was planning on being productive today.

Minnesota Vikings Fantasy Preview

Now that the vuvuzela has been silenced for another four years, a new buzz has invaded the sports world. Yes, fantasy football preseason is in full swing, and it's music to our bleeding ears. One of the more difficult tasks in our preseason preparation is assigning fair value to the hometown players we're exposed to all year. In this post, I am of course referring to the Minnesota Vikings. There are two common traps fantasy owners fall into. The most common mistake is overvaluing Vikings. We all know the owners in our league who will overspend on anyone wearing purple and gold, in an attempt to double dip on Sunday Funday. They're an easy mark, and the consequences should be obvious. Homers never win, because they draft with their hearts and not with their heads. The second, and more painful trap, is being fully aware of one's own fanhood, and overcorrecting for fear of becoming the aforementioned homer. I've fallen victim to this in the past, and trust me, there's nothing worse than watching the Vikings explode on a Sunday when you chose not to grab a piece of the purple pie. It's that same feeling you got in the pit of your stomach when you weren't invited to the coed margarita hot tub party. But enough about me, let's attempt to take an objective look at your 2010 fantasy Minnesota Vikings.

ADRIAN PETERSON

There's no other place to start than Adrian Peterson. Peterson entered 2009 as the prince of fantasy football, but by the end of the season, Chris Johnson had dethroned him. Entering 2010, the two are locked in a national battle for the #1 overall spot. This is an instance where, being closer to the situation, I think local owners should be downgrading a Viking. Here, we put Peterson's flaws under the microscope year round, and justifiably so. National experts are looking at the bottom line stats and the superhuman highlights, and from 10,000 feet, Peterson does look like a surefire top two pick. But he's not. Take a deep breath, homers.

I have some real concerns. Peterson's YPC dropped for the second straight season, to 4.4, as the offensive line struggled to open holes with any kind of consistency. Adrian was dropped in the backfield more than any back in the league, and the Vikings did nothing to improve their pathetic run blocking this offseason. A more glaring issue for Vikings fans is Adrian's slippery mitts. He's fumbled 17 times in the last two seasons. Even if your league doesn't subtract points for fumbles, it's costing him scoring opportunities, and it will undoubtedly cost him carries. Which, naturally, leads me to Toby Gerhart. The second rounder accumulated nearly 700 carries in his four years at Stanford, and fumbled only once every 67.1 carries (a big upgrade to Adrian's rate of 1/42.3 over the last two seasons). Furthermore, he racked up 27 touchdowns last season. It would make a lot of sense for the Vikings to work the young bruiser into the mix near the goal line. Not only is he more sure-handed, but it would be wise to start prolonging Peterson's career by protecting him from violent goal line collisions. Chester Taylor stole just one rushing touchdown from Peterson last season. Gerhart could easily steal 8-10. Finally, with Brett Favre under center, the Vikings are a passing team. Peterson lost 49 carries from 2008 to 2009, and there's no chance of him approaching the 363 carry mark he set in 2008 with Favre chucking again. With slight trepidation, I have Peterson ranked 4th overall.

Chris Johnson was on another planet last season. He enters 2010 without any major questions. The loss of aging center Kevin Mawae and the toll of 408 touches are worth noting, but not enough to unseat him as the clear #1. Keep in mind, that even a 25% reduction in last year's output would still net 1,880 total yards and 12 TD. And with nobody to share the touches with, there's no reason to expect a significant drop off for CJ. Maurice Jones-Drew feels like a much safer #2 than Peterson. He's missed just one game in the last four years, he's a 3-down back with superb hands, and he's possibly the best goal-line back in the league. Ray Rice is on the fast-track to fantasy superstardom. I expect him to grace the covers of many a fantasy magazine next season. He's a MoJo clone, with the only major difference being that he still has to deal with pesky vultures Willis McGahee and LeRon McClain.

To me, ranking Peterson 4th seems like the perfect balance between homerism and overcorrection. Despite all his negatives, he's still probably the most talented back in the NFL. Shockingly, he hasn't missed a game in two straight seasons, and he's the only back in the league to rank in the top 5 in fantasy points in 2007, 2008, and 2009. His talent alone should keep that streak alive. I can't in good conscience rank him lower than Frank Gore, Steven Jackson, or Michael Turner. Gore hasn't played a full season since 2006, and was just good (not great) from 2007-2009. When are people going to stop buying the hype? He's inconsistent, injury prone, and a vastly inferior talent to Peterson; his ceiling is Peterson's basement. Steven Jackson is a beast, but like Gore, he's also failed to play a full season since 2006, and his scoring opportunities are severely limited in St. Louis. Michael Turner is coming off a badly injured ankle, and with Jerious Norwood healthy and Jason Snelling in the mix, it seems that he's in line for a workload reduction of closer to 300 carries. He also doesn't play on 3rd downs, and is invisible in the passing game. He has 22 catches for 147 yards in his 6-year career (Peterson contributed 43 for 436 last season alone). So while I still think Adrian will still be a top 5 running back, the former prince will not be worth the king's ransom required to land him in Minnesota fantasy leagues.

TOBY GERHART

My fondness for Gerhart has been well chronicled on this site. He's a first round NFL talent, who had no business falling to the 51st overall pick in April's draft. As far as his fantasy value, I see a direct correlation between the overvaluing of Adrian Peterson and the undervaluing of Gerhart. Of the top seven running backs who I discussed in the previous paragraphs, Gerhart is easily the most talented respective backup. In recent years, running back-by-committees have muddied the definition of "handcuff." Where is the line drawn between a handcuff and a committee back? That was rhetorical, but the point I'm trying to make is that for the price of a handcuff, you may be buying into a more valuable low-level committee situation. Gerhart is a guy who can protect the ball at the stripe, protect the lead late in games, and protect the lifespan of Adrian Peterson (especially in blowout situations). So even if Adrian Peterson, a man who actively pursues punishment, can somehow stay healthy for a third straight season, Gerhart could still have value as a bye week/injury filler when the schedule is right. He's the unquestioned #2 on the Viking's roster, yet he's currently being drafted #140 overall in ESPN mocks, in the same vicinity as scraps like Tashard Choice, Larry Johnson, Arian Foster, Mike Bell, and Derrick Ward. The guy just can't get any respect, and if you land him in this portion of the draft, it's highway robbery.

BRETT FAVRE

You may have noticed that I'm operating under the assumption that Brett's coming back. Well, I'm 99% sure, only because "100%" and "Brett Favre" can never be accurately used in the same sentence. Favre was the third best fantasy quarterback last season, trumping guys like Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Tony Romo, Matt Schaub, and Tom Brady. Yet he's fallen well behind all of them in mocks (as well as Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers). He's currently being drafted as the 8th quarterback, just ahead of the underwhelming Joe Flacco and the overhyped Jay Cutler. It begs the question: What's changed from 2009? Favre is coming off his best statistical season at the age of 40, has all of his weapons back, and has shown no signs of slowing down. Logic simply doesn't apply to this man, so we should stop trying to apply it. Is standard cleanup surgery on his ankle really going to derail him, when last season's bicep surgery on his throwing arm caused no ill effect? Sure, a good case could be made for each of the younger signal callers being drafted ahead of him, but the fact that he's being drafted a full two rounds later than guys like Romo and Rivers is baffling. Especially when experts continue to warn us about injury concerns surrounding the NFL's Ironman, and in the next sentence, endorse quarterbacks who've missed more time in the last few years than Favre has missed in his entire life. As of right now, Brett Favre is easily the best value of any quarterback in Fantasyland. Draft or bid accordingly, grab yourself a margarita, and enjoy the view.

SIDNEY RICE

Nobody benefited more from Brett Favre than Sidney Rice. His 83 catches for 1,312 yards and 8 TD's vaulted him to the #8 WR ranking, and certified him as an up-and-coming star. His 15.8 YPC was outstanding, as he became Favre's favorite downfield target. He lacks elite top end speed, but he more than makes up for it in size, body control, hand-eye coordination, and sticky fingers. In short, he's the polar opposite of former South Carolina teammate Troy Williamson. That's incredibly high praise. He's currently being drafted 11th among WR's, in the neighborhood of Greg Jennings, Marques Colston, Steve Smith (Car), and Anquan Boldin. This seems a touch low to me. I expect the Pro Bowler to once again finish in the back end of the top 10 WR's. His lingering hip injury is a bit of a concern, and will certainly be something to monitor in the preseason. However, with other top receivers catching balls from unproven QB's like Chad Henne, Matt Leinart, Kevin Kolb, Matt Moore, and Matt Stafford, Sidney's bromance with Favre feels like a pretty safe situation to buy into.

PERCY HARVIN

Electric. There's no better word to describe the 2009 Offensive Rookie of the Year. He's a threat to score on every play, whether he's split out, in the slot, in the backfield, or returning kicks. That being said, I think he's being overvalued on the basis of style points. I'm still not sold that the coaching staff has defined a consistent role for him, and what's more, I'm not sure they have the creative chops to get the most out of his diverse skill set. What we're left with is a boom-or-bust teaser who cracked 100 yards receiving just once last season. More troubling to me, is that there's been no news of any progress towards solving Harvin's chronic migraines (pun intended). He missed just one game last season with the ailment, but he was nonexistent in several others, after missing weeks of practice and leaving fantasy owners with headaches of their own. I love Percy Harvin as an NFL player, but I'm skeptical of him as a consistent fantasy contributor. Right now he's being drafted just inside the top 20 WR's, a spot ahead of the reliable but boring Hines Ward. Are you ordering the dependable cheeseburger, or the hit-or-miss fish tacos? Pass the Heinz.

BERNARD BERRIAN
Coming off a nice 2008 as the Vikings go-to receiver, the sky was supposed to be the limit for Berrian in 2009. But before Favre had even traded denim for spandex, Berrian's season was hamstrung. Injured in the first preseason game, his gimpy hamstring never had a chance to fully recover. He tried to fight through it all year, but missed out on any real opportunities to gel with Favre. I imagine that the pain in his leg paled in comparison to the pain of watching Favre turn Percy Harvin into the Rookie of the Year, and Sidney Rice into a Pro Bowler. In the last game of the season, Berrian finally showed a spark. After never topping 75 yards once during the regular season, he grabbed 9 balls for 102 yards in the NFC Championship game. On replay, we all saw Berrian lurking wide open down the right sideline, as Favre forced the infamous interception in the direction of his more trusted target, Rice. Be right back, I need a drink.

As we come into the 2010 season, Berrian finds himself in a weird spot. He seems to have been passed by both Harvin and Rice on the depth chart. Harvin's a more natural fit for the slot in three receiver sets. Who will line up opposite of Rice in two-wide sets has yet to be determined. Berrian is still very capable of helping your fantasy squad if the opportunity presents itself. He's currently being drafted as the 45th receiver. At that spot, I see him as a great value. He's the same guy who was talented enough to rack up 964 yards and 7 TD's with Gus Frerotte and Tarvaris Jackson taking snaps in 2008. The depth chart is still in flux, Rice's hip is healing slower than expected, and Harvin may be on the injury report every week of his career. The chips fell all wrong for Bernard in 2009, but if they fall right in 2010, you could be looking at a top 25 receiver who you scored for pennies on the dollar. Take a flier.

VISANTHE SHIANCOE
Shiancoe was a red zone beast last season. His 11 touchdowns were second among tight ends, and he finished 6th in fantasy scoring at his position. Ignored between the 20's, his value was dependent on touchdowns, and he delivered. However, in fantasy football, yardage is a more dependable measurable than touchdowns when formulating predictions. Touchdowns can be fluky, and the human tripod would be hard pressed to exceed what he did in 2009. Did I really just write that?

RYAN LONGWELL
Longwell has a strong, accurate leg, and he kicks indoors for a high powered offense. These are the kinds of things we look for in a fantasy kicker, and Longwell should have no problem finding himself in the top 5 again this season (he finished 3rd in 2009). If he's able to turn a handful of his league-leading 54 PAT's into field goals, he could rise even higher.

D/ST
The Vikings are currently being drafted as the 6th D/ST. They led the league in sacks and forced fumbles last season, and if Ray Edwards can put aside his contractual quandaries, he appears poised to join Jared Allen as part of a premiere pass rushing tandem. The Vikings will be stout against the run once again, even with middle linebacker E.J. Henderson most likely sidelined early in the season. However, the Vikings already lackluster secondary took a major hit with the loss of Cedric Griffin, who's ACL injury will keep him in street clothes with Henderson for a chunk of 2010. Improving on their putrid 11 interceptions will be a tall task, and the pass defense will thwart the overall potential of the Vikings D/ST. Percy Harvin's return skills will be the wild card, and should keep the unit in top 5 contention.

When you remove the fan from the fantasy, you end up with something closer to reality. Can you handle the truth? If not, be sure to err on the side of hot tub.