Bad news Monday for the Minnesota Vikings.
One day after a
35-14 mudhole-stomping of the Arizona Cardinals that left some of us (myself included) thinking the Vikings had the look of a
potential Super Bowl contender, a big cog to the team's highly-touted defense is on the shelf.
Defensive tackle
Pat Williams, one-half of the famed Williams Wall, suffered a broken scapula that will keep him
out from two to six weeks. He was playing only thanks to a court order that
put off an NFL suspension that would have kept him and fellow tackle
Kevin Williams out for the rest of the regular season.
Jimmy Kennedy,
signed by the Vikings when they thought they may lose both starting tackles to suspension, should see increased playing time with Pat Williams out.
This certainly doesn't have the impact that losing both Williamses would have had, but it could not come at a worse time for Minnesota. The Vikings need one more win to seal up the NFC North title, and they have to deal with the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday at the Metrodome. It won't be easy to do that without a key part of their
top-ranked run defense.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
