The NFL is back, in the form of a battle between second-year quarterbacks. The Vikings and Jaguars combined for only eight wins in 2011, and the struggle of both teams was partially due to the play of their rookie quarterbacks. Minnesota’s Christian Ponder was unable to consistently put his team in a position to win after he took over the starting job from Donovan McNabb. On the other hand, Jacksonville quarterback Blaine Gabbert received the lowest rating of any quarterback in 2011 (-49.2). Improvement from these two youngsters will be vital to their team’s chance to win—in 2012 and beyond.
Both teams in this matchup will need to count on their defensive stars to help them come out on top. Vikings defensive end Jared Allen and linebacker Erin Henderson lead a stacked front seven that will look to stop the Jaguars’ rushing attack and get after Gabbert. Jacksonville’s stellar linebacking corps led by Daryl Smith and Paul Posluszny will be asked to slow down the Vikings’ offense to put their young QB in a position to succeed. If last year is any indication, this contest could be a very low scoring affair.
Star Running Backs?
A game between these two teams would usually include a matchup of superstar running backs—Adrian Peterson and Maurice Jones-Drew. However, this may not be the case in Week 1. For the Vikings, Peterson has not seen any game action since suffering a torn ACL last December. Minnesota will likely ease him back and lighten his usually heavy workload. They can take solace in the fact that they can turn to Toby Gerhart, who posted a +7.0 rating in relief of Peterson last year.
The situation for the Jaguars is not quite the same. Jones-Drew is healthy, but his recently-ended holdout kept him out of almost the entire training camp. MJD did not have a chance to familiarize himself with new offensive coordinator Mike Mularkey’s system, and as a result, Rashad Jennings has been named the Week 1 starter at running back. Jennings missed the entire 2011 season and last played in 2010 when he managed a -0.1 overall rating. He has impressed the coaches in the preseason during Jones-Drew’s absence, and will be counted on to contribute early in the 2012 season.
Vikings Defensive Line vs. the Jaguars’ Offensive Line
Gabbert struggled against pressure last year, managing to complete just 40.2% of his pass attempts while facing the heat. This is a good sign for the Vikings’ defensive line. Defensive ends Allen and Brian Robison managed a combined +15.4 pass rush rating in 2011 and will look to rattle Gabbert, while defensive tackle Kevin Williams gets after the Jaguars’ interior offensive line.
Jacksonville will counter with offensive tackles Eugene Monroe and Cameron Bradfield. Both of the starting tackles performed fairly well in pass protection last year, but they may have their hands full against Allen and his near-record 22 sacks. Their offense may have to seek extra protection from tight end Marcedes Lewis, fullback Greg Jones, or Jones-Drew, who all posted positive grades in pass protection in 2011.
Laurent Robinson and Justin Blackmon vs. the Vikings’ Secondary
There were many factors that led to the Jaguars’ offensive struggles in 2011. A major one was the receiving corps–their highest-rated wide receiver was Jason Hill, who only managed a -3.2 rating–and they’ve made it a point to improve this area for 2012. Jacksonville signed Laurent Robinson (+6.0 in 2011) to a five-year contract in March and then, in the 2012 draft, traded up two spots to select Justin Blackmon at No. 5 overall. Both Robinson and Blackmon are on track to crack the starting lineup, and improvement on the Jaguars’ recent wide receiver play will greatly help their chances of winning this game.
On the other side of the ball, the Vikings will hope to keep the secondary healthy. They will look to get cornerbacks Antoine Winfield and Chris Cook back after both players missed a significant amount of time due to injuries in 2011. The weak point of this secondary has been safety Jamarca Sanford, so it's no surprised he's been replaced by rookie Harrison Smith. There are worse places to be starting your NFL career, but it's always a test for a rookie to debut in Week 1 of any season.
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