Minnesota Vikings 3rd in NFC North Team Page	Select Team AFC EAST Buffalo Bills Miami Dolphins New England Patriots New York Jets AFC NORTH Baltimore Ravens Cincinnati Bengals Cleveland Browns Pittsburgh Steelers AFC SOUTH Houston Texans Indianapolis Colts Jacksonville Jaguars Tennessee Titans AFC WEST Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs Oakland Raiders San Diego Chargers NFC EAST Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles Washington Redskins NFC NORTH Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Minnesota Vikings NFC SOUTH Atlanta Falcons Carolina Panthers New Orleans Saints Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFC WEST Arizona Cardinals St. Louis Rams San Francisco 49ers Seattle Seahawks

A reserve for four seasons in Baltimore, Taylor will be the main man in the Vikings' running game. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

2006 Schedule Date Opponent Date Opponent Sept. 11 at Washington (M) Nov. 12 GREEN BAY Sept. 17 CAROLINA Nov. 19 at Miami Sept. 24 CHICAGO Nov. 26 ARIZONA Oct. 1 at Buffalo Dec. 3 at Chicago Oct. 8 DETROIT Dec. 10 at Detroit Oct. 15 Bye Dec. 17 N.Y. JETS Oct. 22 at Seattle Dec. 21 at Green Bay (T) Oct. 30 NEW ENGLAND (M) Dec. 31 ST. LOUIS Nov. 5 at San Francisco (M) Monday (T) Thursday Breakout Player Kenechi Udeze, DEFENSIVE END Back from left-knee surgery, which ended his 2005 season after only three games, Udeze is primed to fulfill the promise he showed -- a five-sack rookie year -- after the Vikings made him the 20th pick in the 2004 draft out of USC. During the off-season Udeze not only rehabbed his knee but also dropped 25 pounds, to 268, and worked on improving his quickness. "Kenechi looks fast, man," says cornerback Fred Smoot. "People are going to be impressed watching him come off the edge this year."

It's a clean slate (well, almost) for a new coach who has big plans for the offense and for keeping the players in line

THE BELIEF Tranquility reigns. Talent rises to the surface. The cruise boat scandal of 2005 is old news, and the Randy Moss circus is two years gone. New coach Brad Childress will bring good citizenship and double-digit wins in one tidy package. Brad Johnson will steady the quarterback position in his twilight years, behind a line that's potentially as good as any in the game. The defense won't get you beat. The Vikings will build on last year's strong finish (seven wins in their last nine games), and this time they'll return to the playoffs instead of falling one game short.

THE REALITY So much for tranquility. One day during training camp Childress was telling a reporter, "One of the things I've been hired to do is create an atmosphere of structure and accountability." Four days later, on Aug. 15, veteran wideout Koren Robinson was arrested and charged with six counts, including drunken driving and fleeing police. A court date is set for October.

It was a jolt of reality for the Vikings, for whom the summer had been built on a theme of renewal. Robinson, who with the Seahawks in 2004 was suspended for four games for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy, said in early August, "New staff, new system, even new uniforms. We all understand it's time to be accountable." Robinson now knows only too well. The Vikings cut him last Saturday -- hours after safety Dwight Smith was cited for alleged indecent conduct.

Childress, 50, a no-nonsense coach with a push-broom mustache and gym-teacher shorts, was hired by image-conscious owner Zygi Wilf to get back to the playoffs and to win with class. The question now is whether such blows to the latter will affect the former. "We all know that winning is the cure-all," says Johnson, who's entering his 15th NFL season.

The loss of Robinson dents Childress's offense, a version of the West Coast that he ran as the coordinator in Philadelphia for the last four years. It means the steady Johnson (65-43 as an NFL starter), who replaced injured -- and now departed -- Daunte Culpepper last year, will have to spread the ball around more without a frontline receiver. Second-year man Troy Williamson, for example, will be expected to improve substantially on his 24 catches of a year ago.

Then there is Chester Taylor, the former Ravens backup to Jamal Lewis. The Vikings are asking the free-agent Taylor to ascend to the role of featured running back. In four years he has carried 20 times or more in only four games. But he and Johnson will have the benefit of a line with huge upside. Left guard Steve Hutchinson was signed from Seattle for a cap-choking $49 million over seven years, right guard Artis Hicks was obtained in a trade with Philadelphia, and center Matt Birk returns after missing all of 2005 with injuries that required surgery on both hips.

Childress hired Mike Tomlin from the Bucs to install the Tampa Cover 2, but the coordinator suffered a setback when the first-round draft pick, linebacker Chad Greenway out of Iowa, suffered what's believed to be a torn left ACL in the opening preseason game and was lost for the season. But four-year veteran E.J. Henderson had played well enough in camp to keep Greenway on the second team.

On both sides of the ball, turning the page -- the Robinson incident notwithstanding -- should truly help. "Last year was not fun for anyone," says Birk. "People paid for their mistakes, and now it's behind us." -- Tim Layden

Issue date: September 4, 2006