ESPN NFL

For relatively unusual reasons, we spent a fair amount of time last offseason discussing the issue of Matt Kalil's weight.

It seemed that Kalil was a 6-foot-6 athlete who had to work to maintain an offensive lineman's weight. During the run-up to the 2012 draft, Kalil was consuming a daily 6,500-calorie diet to bulk up and maintain a prescribed 310 pounds.

Most athletes -- not to mention you and me -- would prefer that "problem" over than the alternative. But this week, the Minnesota Vikings' left tackle reminded us just how much of a daily responsibility he has. He told reporters that a late-season illness, which forced him from a handful of practices but no games, was actually pneumonia. He couldn't eat for a few days and as a result lost between 15-20 pounds during that period. His weight dipped as low as 280 before he resumed offseason workouts.

Kalil is back up to 305 pounds and plans to play 2013 at 315 pounds.

Many more offensive linemen, including Kalil's predecessor with the Vikings, spend their careers fighting the reverse effect. They must work to keep their weight low enough to be effective.

But Kalil is not alone in his challenge. Look no further than the San Francisco 49ers' Joe Staley, who was a 250-pound college tight end before coaches shifted him to tackle. As this extensive feature from 49ers.com explains, Staley gained 50 pounds via eating to play the position and has now developed a detailed diet to maintain his weight.

That Kalil finished the 2012 season without incident is impressive. He played all 1,035 of the Vikings' official offensive snaps along with another 140 on special teams. As best as I can tell, that was the highest total of combined offensive/special teams snaps for any NFL player.

Think of it this way: Kalil finished the year weighing two pounds more than Alabama tight end Michael Williams, whom the Detroit Lions drafted last weekend. Maybe it's time for the Vikings to put in a couple tackle eligible plays for their red zone offense.

PHOENIX -- We've spent a fair amount of time discussing the Minnesota Vikings' attempts to fortify their offense around quarterback Christian Ponder, beginning with last year's decision to draft left tackle Matt Kalil and continuing this spring as they re-make their receiving corps. So when Ponder turned up Monday at the NFL owners meetings, close to his offseason training site in Arizona, it seemed fair to ask what he thought of the still-forming group of pass-catchers at his disposal.

Greg Jenningsjoins tight end Kyle Rudolph as potential high-level producers, but the question marks begin after that. Veteran Jerome Simpson was re-signed in hopes he has overcome the nerve damage that limited his 2012 season, and there are hopes for second-year player Jarius Wright and almost certainly a few rookies as well.

"Having a guy like Kyle, everyone knows our chemistry together and his ability as a player," Ponder said. "He was the Pro Bowl MVP. Him and adding Greg, he's obviously a great player as well. Jerome, he's going to be so much better having another year under his belt. I'm sure we'll take a guy or two in the draft, guys that can step up and play early.

"But having Adrian Peterson in the backfield helps. So I think we're really coming together as an offense."

It's tough to make a judgment on the Vikings' efforts before next month's draft. As we discussed last month, their most likely scenario all along featured a combination of free-agent signings and at least one significant draft pick. I have no idea if that means the first round or not, but this remains very much a work in progress.

I took a moment Wednesday morning to read through your feedback via Twitter mentions and the mailbag. Much of it centered around the departures of two key Minnesota Vikings players this week, and a few were represented by this comment via Twitter from @HinrichsRuss:

@espn_nfcnblog As season ticket holder - I can't help but feel the Vikings are cutting salary on orders from ownership. Other explanation?

— Russ Hinrichs (@HinrichsRuss) March 13, 2013

I understand where you're coming from. You've seen the Vikings trade receiver Percy Harvin, who received a six-year contract worth $67 million from the Seattle Seahawks. Right tackle Phil Loadholt received a premium contract extension Tuesday worth $25 million over four years, but minutes later the Vikings released cornerback Antoine Winfield and his $7.25 million salary. And at the moment, there are no indications the Vikings plan to host a free agent who would command a big salary.

Vikings fans earned the right to be suspicious during the tenure of former owner Red McCombs, who openly and deeply cut back expenses when it became clear he was not going to secure public funding for a new stadium. In this instance, all I can tell you is that a financial cutback would represent a 180-degree reversal from owner Zygi Wilf's previous approach. To think it would come less than a year after approval of $498 million in public subsidies for a new stadium would be downright conspiratorial.

I'm all for conspiracies, but we should at least consider the facts here. As Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com has noted, the Vikings have spent nearly $1 billion (in cash, not cap space) on player salaries since Wilf bought the team from McCombs in 2005. Their raw payroll figure of $922 million ranks second among all NFL teams over that span, a status that should at least give the Vikings the benefit of the doubt at the moment.

Some of that financial commitment stretches into the 2013 season. Defensive end Jared Allen ($14.2 million), running back Adrian Peterson ($11.5 million) and linebacker Chad Greenway ($7 million) are scheduled to earn a combined $32.7 million alone. That number would increase to $40.2 million if the Vikings don't adjust the salary of defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who is scheduled to earn $7.5 million.

There is an indisputable drop-off from that point, but is that based on a budget limitation or is it the quantified version of general manager Rick Spielman's oft-stated philosophy? The Vikings committed last season to young players, who in most cases were highly drafted, at quarterback, left tackle, free safety, cornerback and place-kicker. They quite simply aren't eligible yet for big contracts.

Spielman said Tuesday that "the philosophy here is putting an emphasis on signing your own back." If that's the case, the Vikings eventually will spend big on contract extensions for quarterback Christian Ponder, left tackle Matt Kalil, safety Harrison Smith, cornerbacks Chris Cook and Josh Robinson and place-kicker Blair Walsh. In the overall arc of team-building, the Vikings are at an inexpensive stage.

It's true that Spielman referred to the departures of Harvin and Winfield as "business moves," but I assume he meant it in a way to dispute that personal issues were involved in either decision. Finances might have played a role in the Harvin trade, but only in the context that the Vikings must not have felt comfortable paying him a major contract given the behind-the-scenes misgivings they must have felt. And as we discussed Tuesday, the Vikings had part-time plans for Winfield in 2013 that wouldn't have merited a $7.25 million salary.

For the moment, we're left to assume that the Vikings' current spending habits are a function of their philosophy rather than a cause of it. We'll know soon enough.

Minnesota rookie offensive tackle Matt Kalil is headed to his first Pro Bowl, the Vikings announced Friday.

The move came because Washington Redskins tackle Trent Williams will be unable to play in Sunday's all-star game in Hawaii after suffering injuries in a night-club altercation early Friday morning in Honolulu. Williams was not arrested and is not under investigation in the incident, police said.

Kalil, 23, was the fourth overall pick in the 2012 draft and is the seventh Viking selected to this year's Pro Bowl. He was part of an offensive line that paved the way for Adrian Peterson, who ran for the second-highest single-season total in NFL history.

I'm going to throw out a number, and I want you to keep your composure and hold your breath until I'm through explaining it. It will require reading more than one paragraph before reacting, but I know you can do it.

As Minnesota Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson romped through their defense this season, the Green Bay Packers brought down an extra man down to the line of scrimmage on only 24 percent of his rushes (13 of 55), according to ESPN Stats & Information. On the rest, they attempted to stop the NFL's top offensive player with a standard front of seven (or fewer) players.

Now hold up. Before you accuse Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers of gross negligence, consider what happened on those 13 plays against an extra run-defender in "the box." (ESPN Stats & Information defines "the box" roughly as 2 yards outside of the tackles and about 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.)

On those 13 carries against eight or more Packers defenders in the box, Peterson averaged 6.9 yards per rush. Based on this sample size, at least, the Packers' schematic commitment to stopping Peterson wasn't their primary problem.

So what was? Why did Peterson, even in the midst of a career season, torch the Packers so thoroughly in two regular-season games? Remember, Peterson averaged 204.5 yards per game against the Packers and 120.6 against everyone else. And what, if anything, can the Packers do to slow him down Saturday night at Lambeau Field?

Speaking to reporters this week, Packers players mostly blamed undisciplined gap integrity for allowing Peterson to pop off big runs that ballooned his total against them. Indeed, Peterson had seven carries of at least 20 yards against them that totaled 249 yards. He averaged 3.3 yards on his other 48 carries.

Still, those seven big runs won one game in the season series and had the Vikings in position to steal the other as well. Whether the yards come in big doses or in a steady stream, they are the biggest threat to the Packers advancing in the playoffs.

"We ain't giving up 200 again," linebacker Clay Matthews told reporters this week. "... We'll do a better job this weekend."

According to Matthews, the Packers need to "play a little smarter in regards to scheme" against Peterson.

"We had the right calls," Matthews said. "We just need to be a little smarter as far as where we fit and being a little more accountable and reliable as far as what we do. There were a couple of times where perhaps if we were playing somebody else, we might be able to fall inside somebody else's gap, but with this team, they'll make you pay."

An amateur review of Peterson's big plays reveals several examples of Matthews' point. Left outside linebacker Erik Walden got caught inside on a run away from him in the second quarter on Sunday, so he was out of position and lost contain when Peterson broke it back the other way for an 18-yard gain. Cornerback Tramon Williams, meanwhile, lost contain on a 22-yard run in the first quarter, taking on fullback Jerome Felton's inside shoulder while Peterson broke to the sideline.

"Guys need to hold their leverage," safety Morgan Burnett told reporters, "not being nosy, trusting that your next guy will be there to make the play. ... If one guy is supposed to contain, you've got to keep that contain."

Indeed, Peterson has hurt the Packers mostly on runs he has broken outside of the tackles and down the sideline, or at least outside of the hashmarks. As the chart shows, 205 of his 409 yards have come on 15 carries outside of the tackles. He averaged 5.1 yards on carries that remained between the tackles.

"It would be nice if we could keep him inside and not let him bounce to the edges," Matthews said. "His speed helps him get to the outside and turn it up, especially on those generally smaller DBs back there."

It would be wrong, however, to suggest this is all a matter of maintaining gap and lane integrity. The Packers’ tackling against Peterson has been weak at times, albeit in some cases because players were slightly out of position. According to Pro Football Focus, the Packers missed 10 tackles against him in two games. And in some cases, they were simply blocked well by the Vikings.

Linebacker Brad Jones, for instance, tried to grab Peterson's arms and ultimately missed the tackle on Sunday that would have stopped that 22-yard run after about 4 yards. And on Peterson's decisive 26-yard run in the fourth quarter, Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph pushed Matthews away and finally to the ground. Left tackle Matt Kalil down-blocked on defensive tackle Mike Daniels, and Felton got enough of Jones to knock him away.

The Packers' best bet, frankly, is to minimize Peterson's carries. One way to do that, of course, is to establish a big early lead. Absent that, maybe we're back to the original issue of adding extra men to the box.

As recently as two weeks ago, the Vikings demonstrated a willingness to rely more on quarterback Christian Ponder if the defense dictated it. In Week 16, the Houston Texans slowed Peterson enough (86 yards on 25 carries) that Ponder took 38 drop-backs in a game the Vikings led throughout and eventually won 23-6.

Would consistent eight-man boxes against Peterson cause the Vikings to shift more responsibility to Ponder, who has played well lately but has never started a playoff game or in any game in temperatures under 40 degrees? Matthews wasn't saying, of course, but he did offer this nugget: "If we can limit those carries and force Ponder to beat us, that's the plan we'll want to play."

That's the goal, of course. We should all, however, be glad that it's not our job to figure out how.

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Thursday was Adrian Peterson day at ESPN.com. We brought you Jeffri Chadiha's Hot Read profile of Peterson's pursuit of history, a ranking of the top 10 individual seasons in NFL history, a chance to rank those seasons yourself and a photo gallery.

To that list, let me add a nod toward the Minnesota Vikings' offensive line and the role it has played in Peterson's season. (We've already noted the performance of fullback Jerome Felton in several posts.)

The Vikings are one of four teams that have started the same five offensive linemen for all 15 games this season. Two of them, center John Sullivan and left tackle Matt Kalil, have had Pro Bowl-caliber seasons. (Sullivan earned a first-alternate status and Kalil is a second alternate.)

Over the past two weeks, I've checked in with all five starters -- Sullivan, Kalil, right tackle Phil Loadholt and guards Charlie Johnson and Brandon Fusco -- for their thoughts on what this season has been like for them. Here they are, in their own words:

Left tackle Matt Kalil

"Adrian is a great player and explosive runner, and obviously one of the hardest workers in our locker room. It's been fun. It's been fun all year. Every game, you get that highlight run. It's been special to see.

"I take a lot of pride in it. The offensive line as a whole, I think we take pride in him rushing for over 150 yards per game like we've done so many times this season. We're definitely very prideful of it, and it will be an even bigger accomplishment if we can get him to break that [Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record] this week."

Center John Sullivan

"The best part is the success we've had rushing the ball has helped us win. It's nice when we're able to break long runs. But a lot of times, they've come early in games, and we've been able to set the tone for a successful day on offense.

"Blocking for a guy who is a home-run threat is awesome. I loved it in the St. Louis game [in Week 15]. He was able to crease the line on that 82-yarder early. I was able to see that no one was going to catch him. So you can just start walking. As an offensive linemen, it's pretty nice when the play goes so well you can just walk down to kick an extra point."

Left guard Charlie Johnson

"It's been fun, especially coming off last year. There weren't a lot of fun times last year. To be able to come out even as a team and have a little bit of success and be a part of what Adrian is doing, that's what you hope for.

"Adrian is the definition of a downhill runner. Being new here last year, I hadn't been around that before. It takes some time to adjust.

"People are always asking what Adrian might do for us after the season. This sounds like a cliché, but I'm just doing my job. I get paid pretty well to do what I'm doing. But at the same time, I'm not going to turn anything away."

Right guard Brandon Fusco

"For a lineman, there is a lot of pride in seeing your back get near 2,000 yards. It obviously hasn't happened much in the history of football. Blocking for Adrian is amazing. He's a great player, a special player. It's really special to see him, after the injury he had, come back and perform like he did. We take to heart everything he does. We've got his back and he's got ours. I'm just glad he is on our team. He makes us look good with his cuts. I'm really happy for him.

"I come from a small school [Slippery Rock]. When I got here, I had never really seen a player like him. It was just, 'Wow,' at first, to see how athletic and special a player he is. He makes all the reads and the cuts and all the quick decisions he makes, it's just amazing.

"His cuts are hard. I never seen a back cut so hard. He's so physical. He's a big running back. He's a downhill runner. He's not afraid to run over you, either. That's what is so special about him. He's pretty much a fighter rat running back. He'll fight for a yard for anything. We like that."

Right tackle Phil Loadholt

"It's been a lot of fun, and we're always pulling for him to keep doing what he's doing.

"He gets to the hole as fast as I've ever seen. Not only that, but he has good vision to make cuts and things like that. You just look at it and see his anticipation. It makes our job that much easier and makes you want to work that much harder for him.

"He is always letting us know how much he appreciates us after every big game, practice and everything. He's always letting us know. He has always been a guy that respects what we do and understands the relationship.

» NFC Season Wraps: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five things to know and my 2012 all-division team:

Division MVP: If your definition of this award is the player who has the most impact on his team's winning percentage, then our MVP is Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. If your MVP is the player who had the best season, then it's Minnesota Vikings tailback Adrian Peterson. I lean toward the first definition, so Rodgers is the choice. He was the one elite constant in an injury-ravaged season that limited most of the team's top players. Rodgers has helped cover for 24 missed games by defensive back Charles Woodson, linebacker Clay Matthews and receivers Greg Jennings and Jordy Nelson. Along the way, he helped receiver Randall Cobb approach stardom and fed 13 touchdown passes to former No. 4 receiver James Jones -- and he still is leading the NFL in passer rating (106.2). Rodgers might not have matched his 2011 MVP performance, but he was the most important player on the division's top team. Peterson has had a career year by all accounts, but he has actually been more productive in the Vikings' wins than their losses. Quarterback Christian Ponder's play has been more closely tied to the Vikings' winning percentage. Honorable mention: Lions receiver Calvin Johnson overcame a midseason spate of injuries to himself and most of his fellow receivers to set the NFL record for receiving yards in a season. Johnson has 1,892 yards and can become the NFL's most productive receiver on a per-game basis in a season with 104 yards Sunday against the Chicago Bears.

Biggest disappointment: The Detroit Lions brought back 21 of 22 starters from last season's 10-6 team and assumed their young nucleus would continue to improve. Instead, the Lions stumbled to a mistake-filled abomination of a year that will lead to a difficult offseason. Among the issues: They have effected a 23-point swing in their takeaway/giveaway ratio from 2011. Opponents have 10 touchdown returns via special teams, fumbles and interceptions. The Lions have committed a division-high 118 penalties. Quarterback Matthew Stafford has taken a step back, especially in his drop from 41 to 17 touchdown passes, and has an untenable $20.3 million salary-cap charge for 2013 that will have to be adjusted. Meanwhile, most of the Lions' defensive starters -- including both outside linebackers and their entire secondary -- are eligible for free agency after the season.

Draft help: By intent or chance, the Packers demonstrated this year that it's possible to draft for need and get immediate help despite annual warnings from football gurus that the approach is short-sighted. Disappointed with the performance of their 2011 defense, the Packers used their first six draft picks on defensive players. Five of them have been significant contributors. First-round linebacker Nick Perry had two sacks in six games before suffering knee and wrist injuries. Cornerback Casey Hayward has been one of the NFL's better cornerbacks, producing six interceptions and 26 pass breakups. Safety Jerron McMillian is a part of the nickel rotation, and defensive linemen Jerel Worthy and Mike Daniels have combined for 4.5 sacks. The Packers have also gotten a productive season from undrafted rookie linebacker Dezman Moses, who has four sacks. In all, the Packers rank No. 10 in the NFL in total defense (329.6 yards per game allowed) and No. 7 in scoring defense (19.9 points per game allowed). Their goal of injecting youth and energy has been accomplished.

Ponder's future: At his best, Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder has been efficient this season. At his worst, he has played like a career backup. But there are a number of factors suggesting Ponder will be back in 2013 as the Vikings' unquestioned starter. One is his recent upswing, which includes a 96.9 Total Quarterback Rating (QBR) in Week 15 and a 78.5 QBR in Week 16. Both were top-10 performances in the league during the respective weeks. Another is the relatively poor class of quarterbacks in the 2013 draft along with a limited set of options in free agency. This week, coach Leslie Frazier told ESPN 1500 this week, "I don't know any scenario that's going to come up to say, 'You know what? We need to be looking for a replacement for Christian in the offseason.'" Ponder is a good leader and has proved an explosive scrambler at times, ranking fourth among NFL quarterbacks with four rushes of at least 20 yards. But given the quarterbacks in Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago, it's difficult to project Ponder as anything more than the fourth-best quarterback in this division for the foreseeable future.

Whither Bears? The Chicago Bears opened the season with Super Bowl hopes and roared to a 7-1 start. Their 2-5 record since then has brought them to an organizational crossroads. They could still qualify for the playoffs, and perhaps they will make a run once they get there. But that wouldn't erase the issues that have arisen, most notably an aging defense that might lose middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, a pending free agent who has slowed noticeably at age 34. Meanwhile, the Bears' offense became a two-man team between quarterback Jay Cutler and receiver Brandon Marshall. They got almost no production from the rest of their pass-catchers -- Marshall has 72 more receptions than their second-most productive player -- and tailback Matt Forte was slowed by injuries. Forte had 12 runs of at least 20 yards in 2011 but has managed only six this season in about the same number of carries. Finally, the Bears slogged through a third consecutive season with a patchwork offensive line that still has more questions than answers. Whether or not they make the playoffs, the Bears will have to address those issues in order to be a more consistent team in 2013.

A few notes on the 2012 All-NFC North team below:

• As I did for the midseason team, I chose three receivers and deleted the fullback position. Vikings fullback Jerome Felton had a great season at his position, and there is no doubt he had a big impact on Peterson's performance. But through 15 weeks, Felton has played about 38 percent of the Vikings' offensive snaps. We have more flexibility with these teams than, say, Pro Bowl voters do. So I decided to take advantage and use the spot on someone who has been closer to a full-time player.
• This division is so deep at receiver that good players fell short despite the extra spot. The Lions' Johnson and the Bears' Marshall were obvious choices, and for the third position I chose the Packers' Cobb. I know how many touchdown passes Jones caught, but on the whole, Cobb has been the Packers' best receiver. Not only does he lead the team with 80 receptions for 954 yards along with 8 touchdowns, but he has also caught an NFL-high 78.4 percent of the passes Rodgers threw him according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). Cobb has been an exceptional open-field runner, piling up nearly half of his yards after the catch and forcing opponents to miss 15 tackles according to PFF.
• I considered dropping the tight end position as well so that I could add Jones and give us four receivers. But Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph has had a recognition-worthy season. Rudolph has more touchdown receptions (nine) than all NFL tight ends except the New England Patriots' Rob Gronkowski. He has a higher percentage of his team's total receiving touchdowns (60) than any other NFL player, the fourth-highest percentage in the past 20 NFL seasons. His other numbers (51 receptions for 473 yards) are less impressive, but you have to put them in context of the Vikings' passing offense, which ranks No. 32 in the NFL in terms of yards. Rudolph has actually accounted for a higher percentage of the Vikings' yardage (18.7) than Gronkowski (17.2).
• My original team had four defensive tackles, with Nick Fairley (Lions) and B.J. Raji (Packers) joining Henry Melton (Bears) and Ndamukong Suh (Lions). I thought that quartet represented the best four defensive linemen in the division for much of this season, even though none of them play defensive end. But late surges from veteran ends Jared Allen (Vikings) and Julius Peppers (Bears) made me rethink the decision. Peppers now has 11.5 sacks and Allen has 11. It's tough to leave players off an all-division team if they have double-digit sack totals. There are only 15 players in the league with 10 or more sacks at the moment.
• Once again, I eliminated a safety spot to give us extra room for an exceptional crop of cornerbacks. The Bears' Tim Jennings and Charles Tillman were no-brainers, and that still left the Packers' Hayward competing with teammate Tramon Williams and the Vikings' Antoine Winfield. I chose Hayward because of how consistently he has turned away challenges from the opposition. He was an obvious target as a rookie, but he responded with the NFL's fifth-most interceptions and third-most pass breakups.
• Finally, here are links to All-NFC North teams in previous seasons: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.

ESPN.com's midseason extravaganza continued Thursday with some Insider analysis from Scout Inc.'s Matt Williamson. You can see an updated list of his 50 top players as well as his all-rookie team.

You'll need an insider subscription to see both files, but I'd like to dive into Williamson's analysis of rookie play. Five NFC North rookies appear in some form, and while I don't think he left off anyone obvious, now is probably a good time to review our class of rookies now that everyone has played at least eight games.

We'll start with the players Williamson included and go from there. Players Williamson named to his first team are noted with an asterisk (*). Those he included as an honorable mention get a plus sign (+).

Player: Minnesota Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil*
Seifert comment: Kalil has solidified what was a position of weakness last season. You haven't heard much about him this season, and with left tackles, that's a good thing. Pro Football Focus (PFF) has debited him with one sack allowed this season.

Player: Vikings safety Harrison Smith*
Seifert comment: Smith has injected a level of energy and playmaking the Vikings haven't had at safety in several years. He's been credited with 52 tackles and has one interception, which he returned for a touchdown.

Player: Green Bay Packers cornerback Casey Hayward*
Seifert comment: Hayward has made three starts and leads all rookies with four interceptions and 13 passes defensed. It will be interesting to see what the Packers do when Sam Shields returns from a shin injury.

Player: Vikings place-kicker Blair Walsh+
Seifert comment: If it weren't for St. Louis Rams rookie Greg Zuerlein, Walsh would be the pick here. He's connected on 19 of 20 field goal attempts, including all five from 50-plus yards, and leads the NFL with 35 touchbacks.

Player: Packers safety Jerron McMillian+
Seifert comment: McMillian hasn't started a game, but has been part of the rotation at safety in the nickel defense. He's been a sure tackler and has one interception.

Player: Detroit Lions offensive lineman Riley Reiff
Seifert comment: Reiff hasn't been needed at offensive line, so the Lions have carved out an interesting niche as a sixth lineman/tight end to help their running game. He played on nearly half their snaps last Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Player: Lions receiver Ryan Broyles
Seifert comment: Broyles didn't have a reception until the Lions lost veteran Nate Burleson to a broken leg. Since that point, he has 12 receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns.

Player: Lions cornerback Bill Bentley
Seifert comment: Bentley started three games before a shoulder injury ended his season. It would appear he is in the mix to start next season.

Player: Chicago Bears defensive end Shea McClellin
Seifert comment: He has 2.5 sacks while playing on 44.2 percent of the Bears' snaps. That's about the playing time we expected the Bears to give him as a rookie.

Player: Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery
Seifert comment: Jeffery was emerging as the Bears' No. 2 receiver when he broke his hand in Week 5. At that point, he had scored two touchdowns among his 14 receptions.

Player: Vikings cornerback Josh Robinson
Seifert comment: Won the Vikings' nickel job, but did not elevate to a starting role when Chris Cook was lost to a wrist injury. That job has gone to veteran A.J. Jefferson. He has one interception, and the Vikings don't want to give him too much to handle.

Player: Packers defensive lineman Jerel Worthy
Seifert comment: Worthy has two sacks in eight games and has played 59 percent of the Packers' snaps.

Player: Packers linebacker Nick Perry
Seifert comment: Perry had two sacks in six games before wrist and knee injuries ended his season. He started five of those games, but was rotating with Erik Walden and Dezman Moses. All in all, the Packers' top pick had an incomplete rookie season.

For the second Saturday morning, I want to pass along some raw data collected during research for the Inside Slant podcast . To illustrate how the Cleveland Browns have taken a long-term approach to rebuilding, partner Mike Sando collected the combined snap counts for all 32 team's draft picks through six weeks this season.

The numbers are a bit skewed by the variance of total draft picks per team. It's also true that some teams have played five games and other six because of bye weeks. Still, it wasn't surprising to see that the Browns, at 1-5, have a higher total of snaps for their draft class than any NFL team.

You might be surprised to know, however, that before Thursday night's game in San Francisco, the team with the second-highest total snaps from draft picks was the Minnesota Vikings. (And that didn't include rookie place-kicker Blair Walsh, a sixth-round pick). Left tackle Matt Kalil and safety Harrison Smith were Week 1 starters, cornerback Josh Robinson is now in the nickel rotation, and tight end Rhett Ellison has played as a reserve in all six games.

The chart shows the gross totals for all four NFC North teams and their respective NFL rankings.

I guess there are several ways to interpret this data. Using draft picks from the start can be a compliment to the decisions made or an indictment of the preceding talent base. Generally speaking, however, I think the Vikings should feel good about starting 4-2 with rookies playing so many prominent roles.

The same goes for the Green Bay Packers, whose defense has benefited from all 983 snaps their draft class has played. The Chicago Bears' draft class, meanwhile, took a hit this month when receiver Alshon Jeffery fractured his hand. And the Detroit Lions took a well-chronicled long-term view with their first two draft picks, offensive lineman Riley Reiff and receiver Ryan Broyles. Reiff has played 34 snaps in the Lions' "jumbo" offensive set, while Broyles has 28 snaps (and one targeted pass) as their No. 4 receiver.

The psycho babblers call it "inductive reasoning." I consider it a chance to write about ducks on a football blog. We'll call it the Duck Test, and here goes: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.

Are the Minnesota Vikings the duck in our little analogy here? They have the record (4-1) of a playoff contender. They have a quarterback who has played with top-10 efficiency, thanks to some help from a receiver who is a legitimate MVP candidate. Their defense is tough against the run and hasn't been burned by the pass. Their special teams have directly impacted two victories and their schedule suggests the real possibility of seven victories by their Week 11 bye.

Our job is to determine at what point to apply the Duck Test. The Vikings are tied for the NFL's second-best record after five weeks. Are we ready to call them a legitimate playoff contender? Or do we need to see more from a team universally projected to finish last in the NFC North this season?

It's not an easy question to answer, and I'm not sure we'll get there in this post. Some of the team's most established veterans are pleasantly surprised by this start, after all, and everyone recognizes the perils of invoking deep truths in the second week of October.

"Looking at it in the offseason," defensive end Jared Allen said, "I couldn't have told you we were going to do this. I thought it was really going to be a year where each game was going to mean something. There were no expectations. I had no expectations. I mean, you always say you want to win the division and all that, but ..."

Indeed, preseason pessimism was based mostly on how many key positions were manned by unproven personnel. Entering the season, coach Leslie Frazier's career record was 6-16. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave had never been in charge of an NFL offense that ranked higher than No. 19 in points scored. Defensively, Alan Williams had just been hired for his first coordinator job.

Quarterback Christian Ponder had 10 career starts, and the Vikings were using rookies or first-time starters at seven positions: Left tackle (Matt Kalil), right guard (Brandon Fusco), tight end (Kyle Rudolph), nose tackle (Letroy Guion), middle linebacker (Jasper Brinkley), free safety (Harrison Smith) and place-kicker (Blair Walsh).

Frazier, however, suggested that a full offseason of chemistry building and scheme implementation smoothed over many of those rough edges. "I feel like we're about where we should be," he said.

Added Ponder: "We knew we had a good team going into this thing. I know everyone else is surprised that we're 4-1. What stinks is we should be 5-0. We had that close game against Indianapolis [a 23-20 loss in Week 2]. We've always had a good team."

Or, more precisely, the potential to be one. The big question is whether the Vikings are on a sustainable path. Is it possible for Ponder to continue completing 69 percent of his passes, while throwing an average of one interception per 79 attempts? Can Percy Harvin maintain his NFL-best average of 8.4 yards gained after each catch, via Pro Football Focus?

Do we think the run defense will keep limiting opponents to 3.2 yards per carry, tied for the second-best mark in the NFL? Can the pass defense knock away passes at its current rate of more than nine per game? And is Walsh good for 12 out of every 13 field goal attempts, along with an average of more than three touchbacks on kickoffs per game?

What you just read is a two-paragraph summation of why the Vikings are 4-1. And it fits neatly into what Frazier recently espoused as a sustainable vision for winning.

"I believe being able to play good defense, being able to stop the run and not give up big plays in the passing game, gives you a chance at being successful every week," he said. "If your special teams can do a great job in that area as well, where you can win that special teams battle, along with being able to run the football, and not turn the ball over, and when you get people playing eight- or nine-men fronts, being able to have a quarterback who can execute in those situations, I think that's a winning formula. I've seen it as a player and I've always believed it as a coach as well.

"I know there are some teams who buck that a little bit by putting up a lot of points and a lot of yards. But I just think in the long term, to be good in our league for a long period, and that's what we're hoping to be able to do, not just a one-year wonder or two- or three-game wonder, we want to be a football team that's going to be good for a long period of time. You need to be able to play good defense and we're doing that right now. The results are, we're on the upside from a win-loss standpoint."

Based on those standards, my sense is the Vikings' offense is positioned for continued efficiency with Ponder, Harvin and tailback Adrian Peterson. It is fair, however, to question whether it can play effectively from behind.

There is no reason to think the Vikings can't sustain their run defense, long a hallmark of Frazier's defenses when he was the Vikings' coordinator. But will teams eventually find holes in their pass defense? That's a reasonable possibility when you realize there are two rookies -- Smith and cornerback Josh Robinson -- among their top-five players.

The most encouraging development for the Vikings is that they are playing better than they did at the start of the season, which began with a shaky overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars and the loss to the Colts. Sunday's 30-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans was probably their most complete victory in three seasons.

That's when they first looked to me like ducks. Eventually, it won't matter how they're managing to look, swim and quack like them. Their record will say they're a duck and that's what they'll be. That point could be coming soon. I'm not ready to say they will make the playoffs, but we have at least seen evidence of how they could.

MINNEAPOLIS -- One of the smartest moves we've seen in the NFL this season is arguably the simplest. It can be accounted for with six syllables.

Let Percy do his thing.

There are a number of reasons why the Minnesota Vikings are 4-1 after Sunday's 30-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans. We've noted the progress of quarterback Christian Ponder as well as the emergence of a youthful energy on defense. After five games, however, I think it's fair to say the Vikings are an efficient team with the exception of one player who is performing at the highest level imaginable.

Coaches are getting the ball to Percy Harvin in the most obvious ways possible, and for the most part opponents have been helpless in their attempts to stop him. In the process of scoring two touchdowns Sunday, one via a dive play and one on a bubble screen, Harvin eluded or ran over seven would-be tacklers who had been unblocked and had direct access to him. He finished with 116 all-purpose yards on 10 touches, bringing his season total to an NFL-high 814 yards.

It all came on a day when tailback Adrian Peterson (ankle) and receiver Jerome Simpson (leg) were both limited for portions of the game, and against an opponent that appeared schematically well-prepared for the ways the Vikings get Harvin the ball. Sunday, five of his eight receptions came on throws at or behind the line of scrimmage.

"Show me a better player in the NFL right now that's doing more for his team," linebacker Chad Greenway. "You just can't find one."

(Related: Last week's post on Harvin's MVP candidacy.)

Indeed, Harvin has contributed at least 84 receiving yards to four of the Vikings' five games this season. In the fifth, against the Detroit Lions, he returned a kickoff for a touchdown.

Most of his offensive yardage has come in hard-earned and relatively small chunks, the kind that make any one highlight an unfair representative of his cumulative effect. But after he embarrassed the Titans on plays the Vikings have run "a million times" this season, Ponder said half-jokingly, rare accolades were flowing from the locker room.

"He is the best football player I've ever played with," Peterson said.

"For his size," said cornerback Antoine Winfield, "it's unbelievable the way he plays. Very physical. The best run after-the-catch-receiver I've ever seen. He runs like a running back."

Consider this sequence of plays Sunday:

1. From the Vikings' 39-yard line in the first quarter, Harvin provided a reminder of his sprinter's speed. He lined up as a traditional outside receiver, ran past cornerback Alterraun Verner -- the Titans' best cover man -- and caught a 45-yard pass in stride.
2. Four plays later, Harvin lined up as a halfback at the Titans' 4-yard line and barreled over right guard for a touchdown. Linebacker Colin McCarthy missed him after an inside cut, and Harvin ran over cornerback Ryan Mouton and safety Robert Johnson, who converted near the goal line, and then Verner.
3. In the third quarter, Harvin lined up in the right slot on a third-down play from the Titans' 10-yard line. At the snap, he drifted backward about 6 yards before catching a bubble screen pass. He juked past two defenders, safety Jordan Babineaux and McCarthy, just to get back to the line of scrimmage. He then accelerated past linebacker Akeem Ayers and into the end zone.

As best as I can tell, none of those seven players were blocked. Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil said there were "a lot of plays when we're not near him." And the Titans didn't appear surprised by the way the Vikings got the ball to Harvin. In a league where obvious athletic mismatches are rare, Harvin was just operating at a higher plane.

"Defenses are doing a good job of trying to be there," Ponder said, "but Percy is making plays."

According to Harvin, multiple opponents have told him they can't believe how strong and/or fast he is.

"I just laugh," he said, "and say, that's my job."

But imagine where the Vikings would be without a player who could perform this particular job. This season, according to ESPN's Stats & Information, more than half of his receptions -- 22 of 39 -- have come on passes at or behind the line of scrimmage. He's averaged 8.14 yards on those receptions.

Consider those numbers for a moment. An offense with a young quarterback and relatively few big-time playmakers has a unique talent who can turn the safest, most efficient passes into consistently big gains. Harvin is doing it with rare strength, speed and football instincts, recognizing that this offense needs every yard it can get.

"Around here," Harvin said, "we account for every yard. ... Yards are hard to come by. I want all of them."

So far this season, no NFL player has maximized his opportunities more than Harvin.

How simple it is.

Let Percy do his thing.

Most significant move: Following the lead of other teams around the NFL, the Vikings decided to go young at quarterback. The plan all along was to have Christian Ponder as the starter, but the surprise was letting veteran backup Sage Rosenfels go, leaving Joe Webb and McLeod Bethel-Thompson on the roster. Webb is making the transition from wide receiver to quarterback. Thompson is only 23 and hasn’t thrown a pass in the regular season. Webb has three starts and 152 pass attempts during his NFL career. The Bears and Colts found out last year it can be tough to go young at quarterback. The Bears lost Jay Cutler and their season was over. The Colts were without Peyton Manning and the season was lost with Curtis Painter.

Onward and upward: Starting wide receiver Jerome Simpson went on the three-game suspension list, so Leslie Frazier has to make sure he doesn’t have to look for receiver help during his absence. Veteran possession receiver Michael Jenkins was retained after a contract reduction and should fill the void. Keeping Devin Aromashodu gives Ponder a solid option in the slot. Percy Harvin is the team’s No. 1 receiver, but is sure to draw double coverage. The concern is what happens if there is an injury. Jarius Wright, the team’s fourth-round pick, is raw. Stephen Burton, a seventh-round pick from last year, is the fifth option.

What's next: Protecting Ponder is the key to the season. Right guard Geoff Schwartz has fought off a lot of injuries during camp. The backup corps of Brandon Fusco, Joe Berger and Patrick Brown isn’t the most distinguished. The significant improvement is having rookie Matt Kalil at left tackle and moving Charlie Johnson from left tackle to left guard. John Sullivan, a journeyman, needs to have a career year to make it all work. The Vikings also need a big year from right tackle Phil Loadholt.

Our Rookie Buzz series has had some hits and misses. It's lost two of the original four members to season-ending injury, but in the end, it appears that NFC North teams will be getting early-season contributions from a dozen 2012 draft picks, depending on health. Let's take a look at who the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings appear to be counting on:

Bears defensive end Shea McClellin
Likely role: Nickel pass-rusher
Comment: As we've discussed, the Bears could follow a playing-time model similar to what the San Francisco 49ers did with 2011 top pick Aldon Smith: Less than 50 percent, but hopeful of high production in small doses.

Bears receiver Alshon Jeffery
Likely role: No. 3 or No. 4 receiver
Comment: Has been productive in the preseason and is an especially big target down the seam.

Bears tight end Evan Rodriguez
Likely role: No. 3 tight end and/or H-back
Comment: Rodriguez has proved to be quick down the field and a nifty runner once he makes the catch.

Lions cornerback Bill Bentley
Likely role: Starter or nickel cornerback
Comment: Bentley's had a few roller-coaster trips on the Lions' depth chart, but if he is healthy he figures to be one of the Lions' top three cornerbacks.

Packers linebacker Nick Perry
Likely role: Starting outside linebacker
Comment: He's gotten almost every snap with the starters this summer, mostly to give him every opportunity to learn a new position. But his pass-rush skills are evident.

Packers defensive lineman Jerel Worthy
Likely role: Defensive tackle in the nickel
Comment: The Packers play their nickel defense more often than their base, which makes Worthy a quasi-starter.

Packers cornerback Casey Hayward
Likely role: No. 2, 3 or 4 cornerback
Comment: Like Bentley, he's made a few trips up and down the depth chart. But he has a chance to start soon opposite Tramon Williams.

Packers safety Jerron McMillian
Likely role: Nickel safety
Comment: McMillian is one of three players getting a chance to fill this role, competing against M.D. Jennings and Anthony Levine.

Vikings offensive lineman Matt Kalil
Likely role: Starting left tackle
Comment: This assignment has never been in doubt.

Vikings safety Harrison Smith
Likely role: Starter
Comment: He hasn't let go of a spot he earned midway through the preseason.

Vikings cornerback Josh Robinson
Likely role: No. 3 or No. 4 cornerback
Comment: Dealing with a concussion but has outplayed veteran Chris Carr to be the nickelback.

Vikings place-kicker Blair Walsh
Likely role: Starter
Comment: Has demonstrated a powerful and accurate leg this summer.

MANKATO, Minn. -- A youngster approached while I spoke this week to Matt Kalil. As Kalil discussed the challenges of his first training camp with the Minnesota Vikings, the youngster grabbed hold of his right leg and held on for dear life.

No, the young man wasn't Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder. He was the son of a team employee who got lost in a sea of players. But if all goes according to plan -- and to this point of the summer, there is no reason to believe otherwise -- Kalil will provide Ponder and the entire Vikings offense comfort and security for years to come.

A few days here at Minnesota State University, Mankato, revealed that Kalil has not been overwhelmed by the task of opening the season as the Vikings' left tackle. He has had his hands full during team drills against All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen, but what has the Vikings most encouraged is that Kalil has set aside individual defeats in the name of progress.

"He's had his moments where it's been a little bit tougher against Jared," coach Leslie Frazier said, "but he's won some battles as well. He has not backed down. … He comes back well … and doesn't hold his head down. He doesn't pout. He ends up responding in the right way. That lets you know this guy is going to be a pro. He's not going to be sulking and forgetting about another play coming up."

Kalil's arrival is part of a stabilization of the Vikings' offensive line, one that has allowed them to practice almost exclusively with the five players who now almost certainly will open the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The only competition was at right guard, between second-year player Brandon Fusco and veteran Geoff Schwartz, but Schwartz reportedly has been set back by the development of a sports hernia.

So rather than spend time rotating competitors in and out of the lineup, the Vikings have the opportunity to develop some continuity as the preseason begins next week. It wouldn't be possible without Kalil, whose time against Allen this summer has at least given him a look at almost everything he'll see from opponents this season.

"Jared is a real explosive guy but he's also good with his hands and good with all of his different moves that he does," Kalil said. "It's just better for me to face a guy like that and try to see everything. Bull rush, inside move, outside move. He does it all. There's nothing I won't see in games that I haven't done against Jared."

If anything has stood out to me, it's Kalil's energy and athleticism. Perhaps it's rookie naïveté, but Kalil takes his practice blocks as far downfield as he can, often ending 10 or more yards past the line of scrimmage on a run. You'll also notice him chasing plays aggressively as the ultimate security blanket.

"It's definitely an emphasis for me to finish downfield," Kalil said. "[Offensive line coach Jeff] Davidson makes a good point. You never know what can happen. You can grab a fumble or be there if something bad happens. It's always good to get downfield to be there or try to make that last block. Basically, the more effort, the better."

MANKATO, Minn. -- Often we spend more time obsessing over what's missing rather than noticing what's right in front of our face. So it goes, I think, with the group of pass-catchers the Minnesota Vikings have assembled here at Minnesota State University, Mankato.

I think we can all agree that their wide receivers don't match up with the elite groups you'll find elsewhere in the division. But by all accounts, they have a tight end who could be as good as any player at his position in the NFC North.

Kyle Rudolph is in many ways a perfect target for a young quarterback who could use a security blanket in the early stages of his development. Quarterback Christian Ponder will look often for play-making wide receiver Percy Harvin this season, I'm sure, but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Rudolph finishes the season as his most frequent target.

Why not? Rudolph is 6-foot-6 with 34-inch arms and bigger hands (10 3/4-inch) than new Vikings left tackle Matt Kalil (10 3/8th). I know we've had fun with discussion of long arms and hand size relative to left tackles, but for a tight end it means Rudolph has extraordinary range to reach and catch the ball. He's a balltrap that last season dropped only one of the 37 passes thrown his way, according to ESPN Stats & Information. He caught 26 of them, including three touchdowns.

"He's a guy that has a chance to be special," coach Leslie Frazier said when we spoke Thursday morning. "He works very hard and is very talented, there's no question about that. But the way he can catch the football is second-to-none. … His catching radius is amazing. If Christian gets it close to him, he knows that Kyle is going to come up with the football. That gives him a lot of confidence."

If you follow Rudolph or Ponder on Twitter, you know the spent a good portion of the offseason together -- not only at the Vikings' facility, but also in social settings. You might think it's silly, but it stands to reason that their friendship will only enhance Ponder's confidence in throwing Rudolph's way.

"It was kind of like we came in as freshmen together," Rudolph said after the Vikings' morning practice. "We naturally formed a bond. This team, it's been very well-documented how young we are, but we all get along really well. We have a good group of friends on the team that almost reminds us of when we were in college."

But Rudolph is thinking big, too, after spending the offseason watching video of the NFL's top tight ends. He has tried to emulate the way Tony Gonzalez creates separation at the top of his routes, and he also watched how the New England Patriots' Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez play off one another.

"I've got a full season under my belt, and then an entire offseason to rep all the stuff that we're installing now," Rudolph said. "Going into last year, installs were all new. Now it's just review, and you're able to work on more things other than just learning the plays."

The Vikings will be a run-oriented team as long Adrian Peterson is on their roster, so I'm not sure we can project a monster season for Rudolph from a statistical perspective. And we should also note that he'll eventually share some time with veteran newcomer John Carlson, who at the moment is nursing a sprained knee.

Carlson is a nice, professional tight end. But in my travels already this summer, more football people have asked me about Rudolph than any player on the Vikings' offense not named "Ponder." I'll get more of a chance to see him over the next few days, but already there is some buzz about him. Rudolph has a chance, as they say, to have a chance.