The curious case of Bernard Berrian

2009 was not a good year for Bernard Berrian – except when he looked at his bank account.

In his sixth NFL season, the Vikings wide receiver posted his lowest receiving yardage total (618) since his second season in 2005 – a year when he started just two games. He also posted his lowest yards-per-catch average (11.2) of his career, and his lowest touchdown total (two), his lowest number of catches of 20 yards or more (five) and 40 yards or more (one) since 2005.

This was quite a contrast from his 2008 debut with the Vikings. While Berrian didn’t catch a lot of passes (48) in 2008, he was extremely productive when he did, as evidenced by his stats of 964 yards, seven touchdowns and a fantastic 20.1 yards-per-catch average.

So what happened to Berrian in 2009? And why did he turn into Bobby Wade?

Based on what I read all season, there were basically three theories given to explain what happened.

1. Hamstring injuries robbed him of his speed and his effectiveness much of the season.

2. Because his first hamstring injury kept him out of the final three preseason games, he missed out on valuable bonding time with Brett Favre and so he and #4 never developed the kind of chemistry Favre enjoyed with Sidney Rice and Percy Harvin.

3. Berrian sucks.

I don’t buy reason #2 and I certainly don’t think Berrian sucks. To my untrained fan eyes, the difference in Berrian from 2009 compared to 2008 were the hamstring woes. For any player whose main asset is supposed to be his speed, lingering hamstring issues have to be a killer. And it sure seemed that way for Berrian, who often had trouble getting separation from opposing defensive backs.

That Berrian wasn’t quite right was also apparent in the way the Vikings used him most of the season. Rice became the Vikings deep ball threat. And when the Vikings threw the ball to Berrian, it was usually on short slants and screens, which seemed odd because this is hardly Berrian’s forte. He isn’t a physical guy and he doesn’t get a lot of yards after the catch. It was almost like they were throwing him the ball out of pity and to keep him in the game.

As it turned out, Berrian’s ineffectiveness didn’t hurt the Vikings offence much. However, that doesn’t mean a return to the 2008 Bernard Berrian (or the 2007 Berrian) wouldn’t be a plus for the Vikings.

For one, if Rice, Harvin or Visanthe Shiancoe are lost for any significant time because of injury in 2010, an effective Berrian could pick up the slack and ensure the Vikings offence doesn’t miss a beat.

Secondly, with Chester Taylor possibly on the way out, the Vikings will have to replace his 40-plus catches and his presence as a dangerous receiving threat on third downs that opposing defences must account for. Again, an effective Berrian could be that guy and soften the blow of losing Taylor.

Finally, if an opponent decides to focus their coverage on someone like Rice or Harvin and shuts them down on a particular day, Berrian can be a go-to-guy (see the NFC Championship game) in the passing game that makes opponents pay for using that strategy.

Just imagine what the Vikings passing attack will look like in 2010 with an improving Adrian Peterson, Rice, Shiancoe and Harvin simply maintaining their levels of production from 2008, plus the 2007-2008 version of Bernard Berrian?

This isn’t the most pressing issue facing the Vikings in 2010. But it is an issue and if Berrian can return to his 2007-2008 form (or even eclipse it), it could help offset some of the team’s other shortcomings.