Vikings favorite to win NFC North

"Ask Vic" will publish on Monday and Thursday through the offseason.

Greg from Eau Claire, WI
How does the Vikings adding Yannick Ngakoue impact the NFC North? Are the Vikings the number one competitor to the Packers in the division?
I think the Vikings are the favorite to win the division.

Dan from St. Peters, MO
Vic, last season, the Packers had multiple wins where they jumped out early in the first half and then held on for dear life in the second half. In an effort to keep it light, I would joke with my friends the offense ran out of scripted plays, but I wanted to get your opinion on why a team might fall into this habit.
It's the way professional football is played: Get a lead and then protect it.

Lane from Orlando, FL
Do you think Jon Rahm has the right temperament and attitude to win a lot of majors or will the mental aspect of the game always prevent him from being an all-time great?
I think he's the best player in the world. I don't get the temperament thing. I think he has just the right amount of verve to keep his game sharp. I love big-guy, short-swing power.

Lance from Phoenix, AZ
The Jags finally traded Ngakoue. I just don’t understand why they did. A second-round pick? Why not just force him to play on the tag and tag him again next year? It’s not like this organization has a good reputation or has shown any competent behavior in years.
Le'Veon Bell? The Jaguars did the right thing. Get what you can and move on. Ngakoue was a distraction.

Dave from Savage, MN
Vikings fans are pretty excited about the Ngakoue trade. The Vikes sure seem to pay a lot of high-end salaries for what has been a very good but not a dominant defense. Can you give us a scouting report on how he fits with the Vikes?
Pass-rushers fit with all teams. Ngakoue will allow Mike Zimmer to run the pressure defenses that are Zimmer's trademark. The Vikings have to get back to making defense and the running game their calling card. Kirk Cousins makes plays but he can't carry a team as Aaron Rodgers has carried the Packers.

Richard from St. Augustine, FL
Are the Vikings in salary cap hell in the foreseeable future with the Ngakoue trade, especially with the cap situation uncertain for 2021?
They're headed for a cut and gut but, again, '21 will likely be a reset year. It could even be an uncapped year.

Jeff from Miami, FL
Your comment on running backs with power dictating defensive schemes raises another question. Why don't we see more two tight end/one running back formations which could also dictate a "heavy" defensive scheme but still allow for passing offense?
We do see that kind of formation, except the second tight end is often split from the formation or sent in motion across the formation. What I'm describing is likely what the Packers have in mind for Josiah Deguara.

Ross from L'Anse, MI
Had Rodgers been judged solely by and on his rookie season -- even his raw throwing ability -- wouldn’t he have been labeled a bust?
My information is Aaron Rodgers came to the Packers with a sore shoulder. The Jaguars' former GM told me a shoulder injury was the reason he dropped Rodgers on the Jaguars' board.

Kevin from Eau Claire, WI
Vic, did you see CBS Sports' list of the top 10 QBs in 2020? Rodgers is better than Stafford, Brady and Wentz, right?
That list ranks Mahomes, Jackson, Wilson, Prescott and Watson as the top five quarterbacks in the NFL. Hmmm, where have I seen that before? As I've written, I would rank Rodgers at No. 6.

Nick from Aloha, OR
Are the Packers a "one player away" team? And who is the one player that could put them over the top?
No team is one player away unless they can guarantee none of the other players won't be lost to injury or experience a decline in performance. The 2008 Jaguars thought they were one player away, so they traded away picks to move up and draft the same guy twice, only to find neither player was the answer and players on whom they were counting declined significantly in performance. Final result: 5-11, new GM and headed for rebuilding.

Min Shik from Seoul, South Korea
Did you anticipate the spark of Colin four years ago to grow into what we see today?
No, but it doesn't surprise me it did.

Bill from Racine, WI
Vic, is there a historical allegory for placing a weapon in a child’s hands and driving him across state lines to commit ideological murder?
I remember a sports writer, who would become one of the giants of our industry, being dropped off at Steelers training camp by his mother, but "Hey, mom, can you take me to Kenosha to shoot some liberals?" is beyond any kind of historical comparison. "Don't forget your rifle in the trunk, son. Here are your bullets. Shoot straight."

Dave from Franklin, WI
Packers fans were screaming for McCarthy to be fired, saying his scheme was out of date. They got their wish. So now why are they screaming when the Packers are drafting to fit this new scheme?
When confronted by scheme questions, Coach Noll would say, "What you're really asking is why didn't we win?" It's been my experience a lot of fans really don't know what they want. They imagine plays that can't even be run with the personnel or the formations available to their team. In my radio show in Jacksonville, a caller went into a diatribe about the need for the Jaguars to run more play action. I got the sense the caller didn't even know what play action is, so I asked him, "What do you think play action is?" He hemmed and hawed a little bit and then described what was, in effect, a scrambling quarterback."

Braden from Milwaukee, WI
New NFL stadiums (Dallas/ LA/ Vegas/ Atlanta) look incredible. I imagine rookies walking onto the field for the first time and it gives them goosebumps. Lambeau is special to us fans because we know the history and it's our team's stadium. Do you think rookies are in awe when they step into Lambeau without knowing the history? College stadiums have become so massive; do you think there are any NFL stadiums that are just blah to players, or is being on an NFL field special enough?
When the Steelers moved into Three Rivers Stadium in 1970, they were in awe of their new digs. Previously, they played in ancient Pitt Stadium and trained at a dilapidated county fairgrounds. All of a sudden, they felt like an up-and-coming NFL team, which they were. Atmosphere can do that for a team. In those days, not all NFL facilities were first class. The Vikings' played in what might be the worst ballpark at which I've ever covered a game. The Bills were still playing at War Memorial. There was nothing special about RFK or Baltimore's Memorial Stadium. The LA Coliseum was on the verge of becoming a dump, Soldier Field was about to get a second-rate makeover and the Patriots were building a glorified high school stadium in Foxboro. Several other stadiums were just as bad, including pre-renovation Lambeau Field. I was stunned at how unimpressive Lambeau was in my first trip there. In contrast, all of today's NFL facilities are first class, from the team's headquarters to the stadium in which it plays. They're all awe inspiring.

Jordan from Waterloo, IA
I’m not sure of any legal ramifications, but if ever there was a time to leverage the team's popularity and offer shares with proceeds funding the programs Mark Murphy highlighted, this is it.
I'm not sure the SEC would approve. Let's begin by leveraging our hearts.

Isiah from Little Chute, WI
I am having a hard time with social media becoming the new judge and jury. Do I shut up and listen to the Black Lives Matter movement or do I speak up so individuals aren't sentenced to excessive punishment?
Speak, but not above the din. It's the line between measured and manic.