Only the die-hards thought Minnesota was playoff worthy in 2014. I admit, early in the season I was one of them. It was not so much that I thought the Vikings were awesome, rather, I saw possible holes in Chicago, Detroit, and Green Bay. Jay Cutler was shaky. Detroit struggled running the ball and had bad personalities on a good defense. The Packers offensive line was suspect in places, and their defense still not very good.

I was thinking 9-7-0 might be in the hunt for the NFC North title.

Not this year. Both Green Bay and Detroit stayed strong, and now they are both 11-4-0 and fighting this week for a division crown. Each will make the playoffs.

While Minnesota struggled with the loss of Adrian Peterson early in the season, Chicago came out strong with a 2-1 start that featured a win at San Francisco. The Bears offense featured the free-throwing Cutler, Matt Forte as one of the most versatile backs in the game, and two over-sized star receivers in Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffrey.

But it was a Midwestern mirage.

The Bears now are 5-10, one game behind the Vikings in the standings, and the 7th-worst overall record in the NFL. Minnesota, at 6-9, is tied with four others (St. Louis, New Orleans, Atlanta, and New York Giants) for the 8th-worst record. Depending on today's outcomes, it appears we could draft anywhere from 7th to 12th in the 2015 NFL Draft.

Minnesota is 6-4-0 versus the NFL outside of their division. They are 0-5-0 within it.

The Purple will come out eager to avoid being blanked in the NFC North. I confess, I would much rather beat the Bears than be awarded a higher pick in the upcoming draft. Given the lack of recent success of players like Matt Kalil, Cordarrelle Patterson, and other note-worthy early picks it appears we are not as savvy at drafting as first assumed.

Despite losing their last two games, Minnesota has played better offensively. Teddy Bridgewater has brought excitement back to the quarterback position. Now he is only 290 yards away from a 3,000 yard season in which he started as the 3rd-stringer. His passer rating is up to 84.9, which is miles better than either Matt Cassel or Christian Ponder could produce. Of course, it is short of the 94.1 rating opponent's have against Minnesota.

Matt Asiata needs 60 yards to pass Jerrick McKinnon for most rushing yards on the team. It is near certain that the 2014 rushing leader for the Vikings will have less than 600 yards. I wonder what the over/under was for team rushing when the season started with AP in the backfield? 2000?

It is paramount that Minnesota put some effort into securing a running game for 2015. If Bridgewater is to survive a rebuilding offensive line, he will need an alternative to the pass. Adrian Peterson, along with his struggling PR and large contract, would still be an elite running back should he be allowed to play again. But will he ever play for us again?

The loss of Peterson is by far the best excuse for our losing season. He is one of the most productive running backs of all-time. His trouble with the league for mistakes he made has tarnished a great career. Minnesotans are divided on wanting him back. But most of us can sense we are not even going to have that choice... are we?

*Running back Melvin Gordon from Wisconsin is projected by some to be a 8-15 draft selection

Greg Jennings leads in receptions with 56. Most likely he will also be the receiving yardage leader with less than 800 yards. In a land of Randy Moss, Cris Carter, Anthony Carter, Sammy White and so on... that is not good. Charles Johnson has been the most dynamic of the no-name group that supports Jennings. Jarius Wright has his moments. Patterson is now mostly relegated to the bench.

*Wide receiver DeVante Parker of Louisville knows Teddy very well and is expected to be drafted early.

The defense has improved this year, that is clear. It is hard to get too excited about a defense that just surrendered thirty-seven points in their last game. But Minnesota is playing better defensively than they have in a long time.

Linebacker has become a growing concern for the faithful fans. Defensive back Robert Blanton will end up leading the team in tackles. He has 106. The leading linebacker for tackles is Chad Greenway with 93 in 12 games. Jasper Brinkley has 73 tackles in 10 starts. Rookie Anthony Barr has 70 tackles in 12 starts.

*Inside linebacker Bernardrick McKinney of Mississippi State will be available in round one.

Finally, defensive back seems to not be a bad word for the first time in a very long while. Safety Harrison Smith has proven to be a solid anchor to the secondary. It appeared that cornerback Josh Robinson improved. It was evident that cornerback Xavier Rhodes is a keeper. Captain Munnerlyn was up and down. Blanton at minimum makes a lot of tackles.

*Cornerback Trae Waynes of Michigan State might be taken in the mid-first round.

And so we watch the final game hopeful for our first divisional win. We do not like Chicago. We keep an eye on our young players. We prepare to say goodbye to others.

And wait another year.....

Skol.