Vikings' passing options increase

The Vikings return 11 offensive starters, so it's pretty clear who's being counted on to fix a talented unit that lacked creativity, clarity at quarterback and a knockout punch in the closing minutes of close games in 2013.

No, not head coach Mike Zimmer. On this side of the ball, Zimmer's best fix was having the self-confidence to essentially farm the job out to Norv Turner, his offensive coordinator and a 30-year NFL coaching veteran.

Turner believes in his system, which he's been growing since first putting it in play as Jimmy Johnson's offensive coordinator in Dallas in 1991. But Turner also was among the first to point out that he's not exactly starting from the bottom rung with an offense that includes receivers Cordarrelle Patterson and Greg Jennings, tight end Kyle Rudolph, an offensive line that has been intact the past two seasons and, oh yeah, running back and former league MVP Adrian Peterson.

"Their offense did a lot of good things," Turner said. "When I looked at tape, I thought there were a lot of things we could build on. They were [13th] in the league.

"I just thought there were things that we could do to help spread it out a little bit. Some things we could do to get more people involved."

Those "some things" include forward passes that go farther forward in a numbered route tree that's more complex and deeper.

Bill Musgrave, Turner's predecessor, ran a rudimentary West Coast scheme that was more conservative, one-dimensional and slow to incorporate the athletically elite but raw Patterson as a rookie last season. He also, to be fair, served at a time when the Vikings were devoted to Christian Ponder, whose inconsistency is the reason he's now the No. 3 quarterback.

When Turner left the Los Angeles Rams for his first coordinator position in Dallas, he meshed elements of John Robinson's power running game with Don Coryell's legendary route-numbering system. Turner played for Robinson at Oregon and coached under him at Southern Cal and the Rams. As for Coryell's passing staples, Turner learned that under Ernie Zampese, a Coryell disciple who was offensive coordinator with the Rams.

"Norv is Norv; his system is proven," Rudolph said. "He won two Super Bowls [in Dallas]. And he's been coaching longer than we've been alive."

Peterson didn't play a snap in the preseason but already has called Turner's offense the best he's played in. It also helps, of course, that quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Teddy Bridgewater were efficient, productive and careful with the ball during an undefeated preseason that saw the Vikings rank first in fewest pre-snap penalties (six) and tie for first in fewest giveaways (one).

"I think Norv does a great job of simplifying things," Cassel said. "I've felt very comfortable going into every game knowing what I'm supposed to do with the ball."

Turner has been demanding of the players since the first time they were assembled. But he's now satisfied that they have a "good understanding" of the offense.

"I think it's shown up enough in preseason that when we do things right, we can be an explosive team," Turner said. "We obviously haven't played our best player yet, so I think he'll also bring something to the entire package. I look forward to it."