VikesCentric: Turner's offense is primed for production

We've heard it all before: Norv Turner is a successful offensive coordinator with a championship pedigree, but as a head coach, his teams have struggled in the playoffs. Well, if that's true then it's great he is the offensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings, and is prepared to add another notch to his OC belt with this Vikings high-octane offense.

When criticizing the Turner hire as the Vikings offensive coordinator, some fans may confuse Turner's head coaching record (118–126–1, including 4-4 in the playoffs) with his time as an OC for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins, San Francisco 49ers, Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys, where he helped win two Super Bowls. In his defense, head coach and OC require different skill sets, and the fact that he has all that head coaching experience can only help him assist first-time head coach Mike Zimmer.

"Norv's great," Zimmer said. "The players love, not only his personality... he coaches very, very hard, but he has a fun side about him, as well. He's very demanding. He's been in so many different situations throughout the course of his career. It's great for me because I go in and talk to him about head coaching responsibilities all the time and during the course of football games we talk quite a bit about situations going on. It's been very, very fortunate for me to be able to hire a guy like him."

What's not to like? In fact, those might have been Turner's exact thoughts when he considered taking the Vikings job and looked at the offense he would inherit. Upon seeing Cordarrelle Patterson on the roster, he set to drawing up a number of plays for him. With Adrian Peterson (the best running back in the game) in his backfield, we can only imagine how that sent Turner's mind to work.

St. Louis Rams head coach Jeff Fisher, who has known Turner since 1980 when Turner coached him as a defensive back for USC, said he knows that Turner is enjoying the tools he has to work with in Minnesota.

"I am very familiar with Norv and what he does," Fisher said. "He always does an outstanding job. I would say Norv is probably walking around with a smile on his face right now because of the players he is working with. It's a very, very explosive offense, and the longer they work together, the better they're going to be."

We saw glimpses in the preseason of what we can expect during the regular season, although that offense was pretty basic. But historically, Turner offenses rely on some explosive downfield passes, which open shorter underneath routes and some room for a running back. Turner likes to throw to his tight end and also exploit a pass-catching running back. That too is a simplistic overview until you start plugging in the players and their specific talents. Let's take a look:

We are told that Peterson has been working on his pass catching out of the backfield—something former Turner disciple LaDainian Tomlinson made a career out of. Talk to Peterson and you will hear that he could always catch the ball, just never had to do it much and has gotten better at it. The proof of that will be in the pudding, as we'll see if AP is taken out of the game on passing situations and replaced by Matt Asiata or rookie Jerick McKinnon, each of who can catch and run and also provide blitz protection.

Prediction: This season Peterson will rush for 1,600 yards, catch 45 passes (a career high) and have 14 touchdowns (one of them receiving).

Tight ends flourish in Turner offenses, and Kyle Rudolph is poised to take advantage of that. He came into camp leaner and faster and ready to be a leader, and Rudolph likes to lead by example. It seems like the preseason looks Rudolph got just scratched the surface of what he'll be asked to do this season, but if the long, catch-and-run touchdown he scored in the preseason is any indication, he'll get in the endzone often.

Prediction: If Rudolph can stay healthy (a caveat that applies to every NFL player), he will eclipse his Pro Bowl season of nine touchdown passes with 10 scores on 70 catches for 700 yards.

Turner was clearly drooling over Cordarrelle Patterson went he first saw him in OTAs; now on the precipice of the regular season, he is likely licking his chops. Patterson, like Percy Harvin and maybe even Randy Moss before him, is a unique talent in a Vikings uniform, and his OC recognizes it. Patterson will not have another season of the "Reverse Randy Ratio," rather Turner will feature him until double team schemes try to take him away.

When the Patterson double teams come look for Greg Jennings to benefit. He saw a lot of double coverage last season, as the team's passing game did not have opposing defenses shaking in their boots. Jennings and quarterback Matt Cassel did form a connection last season, and, as two of the more senior members on the team, appear to be able to count on each other.

Prediction: Now as a secondary target, Jennings will catch 65 passes for 750 yards (roughly matching his 2013 numbers) but will improve in the touchdown category with five scores.

The Vikings offensive line is basically still intact from 2012, the year Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards, and Zimmer likes that continuity. That also means they are two years older, and for veteran left guard Charlie Johnson (30 years old), his age could be a concern. Johnson is flanked by former pro bowler Matt Kalil, who along with the rest of the line had a down year last season. (Plus Kalil put this performance on tape recently.) In addition, right tackle Phil Loadholt sprained an ankle this preseason but is ready to tee it up on Sunday. There are some question marks with this unit.

Prediction: As the line goes, so goes the offense, so it is a big year for them. And that's what they will have.

If the No. 1 key to how well the Vikings perform this season is the play of the defense, than key No. 1-A is how the quarterback performs. Because Matt Cassel has been given the keys to an offense that should run like a Formula 1 racecar, and he need only steer it in the right direction (although that's easier said than done).

Prediction: Providing Cassel leads the team to some early victories and remains at the helm this season, he will have 25 touchdown passes (if I added correctly above) versus 12 interceptions.

To me it comes down to Peterson. Cassel can hand off to Peterson and the box won't be crowded as often for him when he does. Cassel has two great safety valves in Rudolph (a huge target) and Jennings (a crafty veteran who knows how to get open) when Patterson isn't open deep. There are playmakers all over this offense and the defense will have some trouble figuring out what's coming.