Expert Brutally Pops the Minnesota Vikings 2019 Balloon

It's weird to see such optimism around the Minnesota Vikings going into 2019. This is a team that barely finished above .500 last season despite having a roster that appeared loaded for a Super Bowl after signing quarterback Kirk Cousins. Aside from some tweaks to the offensive line, not much has changed since last year. Yet there are people who believe this team will end up winning the NFC North.

Look it's always possible. They still have talent and they're only two years removed from a 13-3 season. That said a lot of things have changed since then. Namely the status of the teams around them. Namely the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. One swept them in convincing fashion last year and might actually be better due to greater experience on offense. The other still has Aaron Rodgers and a good defense.

Perhaps nobody sums it up better than Adam Schein of NFL.com. He addressed all the "bubble" teams of this year who look like they could make the playoffs but aren't a sure thing. His assessment of the Vikings was harsh and hard to argue with.

"Case against: Cousins' performance in prime-time games has been shaky. Despite all the money Minnesota has pumped into the QB and WR positions, Zimmer still wants to run the ball a ton. The offensive line is better, but still not great. And the defense dipped last year.

Early take: The Bears are better. The Packers are better. A nine-win Vikings team falls a dollar short in a highly competitive NFC North."

Minnesota Vikings don't have time on their side anymore

The most concerning thing for the Vikings at this point is age. To this point, the defense has been their driving force. Now a number of their key players are getting to where time may start catching up to them soon. Everson Griffen, Harrison Smith, and Linval Joseph are all 30 or older. Xavier Rhodes is 29. So their window of opportunity is at risk of closing unless they find a way to replace those key pieces on the fly.

Cousins is also not a long-term solution. He's got two years left on his contract. The odds of keeping him longer will depend on how he plays but it will come down to whether the Vikings want to keep paying him his current price. If not, it could lead to a contract squabble and they'll be forced to go searching for a new solution at quarterback. Suffice to say the Vikings feel like a team that has peaked and the belief they're going to be that much better in 2019 is a bit too optimistic.

Time, as always, will tell.