I have some interest in Minnesota’s passing game. Norv Turner is running that offense now, and I think that will help. (They also probably won’t use Christian Ponder this year, and that’s also a plus).
Turner has put together good passing offenses in recent years. In each of the last two years, his teams have scored 26 TD passes versus only 4 TD runs. Not that Turner will forget about Adrian Peterson, but he’s a coordinator who won’t ignore the pass.
In each of the last two years, one of the big breakout receivers has been in Turner’s offense. Danario Alexander two years ago in San Diego, and Josh Gordon last year in Cleveland. Now Turner has a breakout candidate in Cordarrelle Patterson, and he looked good in the first preseason game.
Over the last six years, Turner’s offenses have averaged 269 passing yards per game, with an average of 29 touchdowns (and 15 interceptions) per season.
| NORV TURNER'S PASSING OFFENSES | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Yards | Pct | TD | Int |
| 2008 | San Diego | 251 | 65.3% | 34 | 11 |
| 2009 | San Diego | 282 | 65.1% | 29 | 10 |
| 2010 | San Diego | 297 | 66.0% | 30 | 13 |
| 2011 | San Diego | 289 | 62.9% | 27 | 20 |
| 2012 | San Diego | 225 | 64.0% | 26 | 15 |
| 2013 | Cleveland | 273 | 55.7% | 26 | 20 |
—Ian Allan