4 MINNESOTA VIKINGS
The Donovan McNabb gamble could pay off big—or go bust
The Vikings are the NFL's cover-their-bets team of 2011. Three months after using the No. 12 pick to draft Florida State's Christian Ponder, their quarterback of 2015 (and maybe much sooner), they traded for their quarterback of September 2011 (and maybe much longer), Donovan McNabb. Now the drama unfolds—McNabb trying to regain his playoff form after the nightmare that was his 2010 season with the Redskins; Ponder trying to learn from McNabb, then hasten his retirement.
At training camp in Mankato, Minn., owner Zygi Wilf schmoozed with Betty McCollum, the congresswoman from the suburban Minneapolis district where Wilf is attempting to get a new stadium deal. Then the Vikes arranged for McNabb to meet McCollum, and they chatted amiably. Afterward one of the team's p.r. men, Tom West, explained the stadium project to the quarterback, including naming options for the stadium. "How about the House That Donovan Built?" McNabb said with a laugh.
You never know. After being wedded to Brett Favre for two years—for better in 2009 and for worse in 2010—Minnesota is still following the Packers' lead at quarterback, but in another way. The Vikings watched Aaron Rodgers sit behind Favre for three years and develop his game under a strong offensive coach, Mike McCarthy. In a perfect world McNabb, who turns 35 in November, would be reborn under new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and allow Ponder from one to three postgrad years to watch and learn. "It worked out well for Aaron," Ponder says. "Maybe it can work out for me. If we're playing well, I'm all for it. I know it's definitely better for the team to have a veteran in there now."
Coach Leslie Frazier pushed hard for the McNabb trade, which sent a sixth-round pick in 2012 and a conditional sixth-rounder in '13 to the Redskins. "Everyone in this game goes through a tough season," McNabb says. "This is the time for me to bounce back with an offense I like through a door the Vikings have been good enough to open for me. I'm looking forward to knocking that door down."
You might ask: Why would Frazier, the former defensive coordinator who took over for Brad Childress with six games left last season, have an easier time with McNabb than Mike Shanahan did in Washington? A couple of reasons: Frazier remembers the old McNabb; he was the Eagles' secondary coach in McNabb's first four years, when McNabb was soaking up Andy Reid's quarterback lessons. Frazier saw everything good about McNabb—the hard work, the extra film sessions, the leadership. What he didn't see was the friendly but ultimately uncooperative McNabb who bombed last year. McNabb hasn't discussed the story about his refusing to wear a wristband to streamline the Redskins' play-calling; an NFL source says that if it happened, it's because McNabb didn't want to appear to need a crutch in running a new offense. But Frazier understands McNabb well enough to know he can get results without pushing a proud man to do something he'd abhor. Frazier also thinks Musgrave can tailor an offense to take advantage of McNabb's strong downfield arm and his ability to move in the pocket and make plays quickly.
Still, with top wideout Sidney Rice gone, McNabb's options are limited. Deep threat Percy Harvin's two seasons have been stop-and-start due to migraines (a problem he now says he has under control). After that there's a bunch of Bernard Berrians and Greg Camarillos, guys who are going to have to be made better by their QB.
Frazier will give McNabb plenty of leeway, and the plan is for him to play the season and see how it goes. At the very least the double-barreled quarterback strategy will make constructing future rosters much easier. "Next year we're not going to be sitting in the draft room picking 21st in the first round and saying, 'We've got to get a quarterback,' and we can't get one," Frazier says. "We've got that position secure, and it's a great feeling after how unsettled it's been at times."
"I'm happy to have Donovan here," says veteran middle linebacker E.J. Henderson. "We've got a guy who's seen every defense, who's been through turmoil, who's a rock. We're going to need that this year."
PROJECTED LINEUP
WITH 2010 STATS
OFFENSE
2010 Rank: 23
QB DONOVAN MCNABB
ATT 472
COMP 275
PCT 58.3
YARDS 3,377
YD/ATT 7.2
TD 14
INT 15
RATING 77.1
RB ADRIAN PETERSON
ATT 283
YARDS 1,298
REC 36
TTD 13
FB RYAN D'IMPERIO
ATT 0
YARDS 0
REC 0
TTD 0
WR PERCY HARVIN
REC 71
YARDS 868
AVG 12.2
TTD 7
WR BERNARD BERRIAN
REC 28
YARDS 252
AVG 9.0
TTD 0
TE VISANTHE SHIANCOE
REC 47
YARDS 530
AVG 11.3
TTD 2
LT CHARLIE JOHNSON
G 15
SACKS 4½
HOLD 0
FALSE 0
LG STEVE HUTCHINSON
G 11
SACKS 2
HOLD 0
FALSE 1
C JOHN SULLIVAN
G 14
SACKS 3½
HOLD 0
FALSE 0
RG ANTHONY HERRERA
G 10
SACKS 4
HOLD 1
FALSE 0
RT PHIL LOADHOLT
G 16
SACKS 3
HOLD 2
FALSE 7
RB TOBY GERHART
ATT 81
YARDS 322
REC 21
TTD 1
WR MICHAEL JENKINS
REC 41
YARDS 505
AVG 12.3
TTD 2
DEFENSE
2010 Rank: 8
DE BRIAN ROBISON
TACKLES 15
SACKS 2
INT 0
DT REMI AYODELE
TACKLES 37
SACKS 1
INT 0
DT KEVIN WILLIAMS
TACKLES 39
SACKS 1
INT 0
DE JARED ALLEN
TACKLES 60
SACKS 11
INT 2
LB ERIN HENDERSON
TACKLES 7
SACKS 0
INT 0
LB E.J. HENDERSON
TACKLES 105
SACKS 1
INT 3
LB CHAD GREENWAY
TACKLES 144
SACKS 1
INT 0
CB ANTOINE WINFIELD
TACKLES 91
SACKS 2
INT 2
SS HUSAIN ABDULLAH
TACKLES 75
SACKS 0
INT 3
FS TYRELL JOHNSON
TACKLES 7
SACKS 0
INT 0
CB CEDRIC GRIFFIN
TACKLES 8
SACKS 0
INT 0
DB CHRIS COOK
TACKLES 21
SACKS 0
INT 0
SPECIALISTS
K RYAN LONGWELL
FG 17
FGA 18
XP 30
PTS 81
P CHRIS KLUWE
PUNTS 83
GROSS 43.0
NET 38.9
BOLD: Projected starter
Italics:New acquisition
TTD: Total touchdowns
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
SACKS: Sacks allowed
HOLD: Holding penalties
FALSE: False starts
2011 SCHEDULE
2010 RECORD: 6--10
September
11 at San Diego
18 Tampa Bay
25 Detroit
October
2 at Kansas City
9 Arizona
16 at Chicago
23 Green Bay
30 at Carolina
November
6 BYE
14 at Green Bay (Mon)
20 Oakland
27 at Atlanta
December
4 Denver
11 at Detroit
18 New Orleans
24 at Washington (Sat)
January
1 Chicago
COACH: LESLIE FRAZIER
AGE: 52
FIRST FULL SEASON WITH THE VIKINGS (3--3 IN '10)
When Tony Dungy flirted with taking over as president of the Seahawks late in 2009, he already knew his first choice as coach: Frazier, who worked under Dungy in Indianapolis in 2005 and '06. They're as similar as two football men can be: former defensive backs who believe in a cover-first D, players' coaches who are also patient and strict enough to take on projects.
SPOTLIGHT
KYLE RUDOLPH, Tight end
Donovan McNabb puts it this way: "Kyle Rudolph is Brent Celek." Considering that Celek caught 76 for the Eagles in 2009, when McNabb was there, that's high praise for the Vikings' 2011 second-rounder. But Celek and Rudolph are similar: Both are Cincinnati-born, both weigh around 260 pounds, both have excellent hands—and neither is very fast. Unlike Celek, though, Rudolph has never been a go-to receiver; at Notre Dame last fall he had just 28 receptions for an offense in transition.
He's coming to another team in flux. On the offensive line, shaky Colts import Charlie Johnson replaces the departed Bryant McKinnie at left tackle, and third-year man Phil Loadholt has yet to prove himself at right tackle. The Vikings also lost their most dangerous wideout, Sidney Rice, to free agency. During training camp McNabb worked almost equally with veteran tight end Visanthe Shiancoe and with Rudolph, because he'll need both. He isn't going to have all day to throw—and having two strong pass-catching tight ends will allow him to work shorter routes. Rudolph already appears to be the kind of bumper-car receiver who can break a tackle in the middle of the field and rumble for extra yards. Minnesota will need that to make up for its lack of a top-tier receiver who can draw the attention of opposing defenses.
PHOTO
GREGORY SHAMUS/GETTY IMAGES (FRAZIER)
PHOTO
JOHN BIEVER (MCNABB)
GIMME FIVE The Vikes are confident McNabb can recapture the magic of his best seasons in Philadelphia—and they're prepared in case that doesn't happen.
PHOTO
JOHN BIEVER (RUDOLPH)