NFL Season Opener Week’s Got Me Thinkin’ Bold Prediction Time

Ladies and gentlemen, it is finally here: That week that has me and countless millions of NFL football fans as giddy as little kids on their first trip to the zoo. Season kickoff week.

 

 

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10 Bold Vikings Predictions That Could Actually Happen

With all the hype surrounding the Vikings this offseason, here are 10 predictions that could actually happen starting from mildest to boldest.

I will forewarn you, some prior Vikings knowledge will probably be required to truly appreciate these predicitions, but I’ve tried to give as much detail as possible as to where some of these ideas come from without being too longwinded.

These are now set in stone. I can’t take them back and I’m fully prepared for the backlash when (not if) I get some of them wrong.

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The Sportmeisters NFL Season Preview: NFC North

By Derek and Ryan of The Sportmeisters

With the NFL season fast approaching, Sportmeisters Derek and Ryan break out the crystal ball and forsee the future of all 32 NFL teams. Today, Derek and Ryan look at the NFC North, and discuss how they got to their respective decisions. What follows is a transcript of that discussion.

Ryan:

• Chicago Bears: 13-3
• Green Bay Packers: 9-7
• Minnesota Vikings: 7-9
• Detroit Lions: 5-11

Derek:

• Minnesota Vikings: 11-5
• Green Bay Packers: 10-6
• Chicago Bears: 10-6
• Detroit Lions: 2-14

Ryan: Derek, we definitely have some big discrepancies here in the NFC North.

Derek: Ryan, the NFC North will be extra competitive this year, as all four teams have made major upgrades. Even though Detroit is in the league, there is a strong chance for three of the four teams to be over .500.

Ryan: I don’t think its going to shape out that way, and the Brett Favre experiment will backfire, while the Jay Cutler era starts shining in Chicago.

Derek: Chicago went out and traded for their first real ‘Franchise Quarterback’ in over 20 years. Jay Cutler and a revitalized Brian Urlacher will lead the Bears, and Greg Olsen, Matt Forte, and Devin Hester will have MONSTER years.

Ryan: Absolutely, I am completely sold on the Bears in 2009, making strides reminiscent of their 2006 team, with the most complete team since 1985.

Derek: I’m going to disagree. I think they will lose key divisional games to Green Bay and Minnesota, as well as games vs. Pittsburgh, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Arizona that may hold them out of the playoffs for a third straight season.

Ryan: I’ll agree on Pittsburgh taking down Chicago, but I expect victories over the rest except for Atlanta and Minnesota.

Derek: Speaking of Minnesota, they have now gone out and signed Brett Favre to run the offense and with him at the helm, RB Adrian Peterson may see a few less eight-man fronts, or it could be the other way around and because Peterson is so good, Favre may have his receivers one on one and be able to torch the defense.

Ryan: No way Derek! Favre is going to bust completely for the Vikings. He’s still hurt, he’s missed all of the preseason, he has no respect from his team right now, how can people call this team a Super Bowl contender?

Derek: Even the great Favre won’t be able to win them all, and losses to Pittsburgh, Arizona, Carolina, Green Bay, and Chicago will make this a close race at the end of the year.

Ryan: I feel an under-performing team falls to 7-9, punctuated by losses to Green Bay, Chicago, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and the New York Giants. Then, finally, the Brett Favre era will be over.

Derek: Let’s move on to Brett Favre’s old team, the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay went out and hired a new Defensive Coordinator and will go with the 3-4 this year, moving DE Aaron Kampman to OLB. They have looked sharp so far this preseason, but not as sharp as their offense has looked.

Ryan: I LOVE the 3-4 defense Derek, and Green Bay is adjusting amazingly to it, and I think that will be a huge factor in their 2009 season, helping load some of the work off of the offense.

Derek: Being led by QB Aaron Rodgers should lead them to wins over Chicago, Minnesota, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Detroit, Cleveland, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, and Baltimore.

Ryan: I see one of those games as a loss, but they will still finish second in the division, fighting for the wild card.

Derek: Finally, Detroit will be at the very bottom again, but they won’t repeat their 0-16 season.

Ryan: The Lions have gone to great pains to remove the stench of last year, and behind a new Coach in Jim Schwartz, and a team filled with a lot of new blood, I think five victories is a realistic stretch.

Derek: At best, they get two wins, against St. Louis and San Francisco, as neither team has the secondary to stop Megatron, WR Calvin Johnson, and that’s better than 0-16.

Ryan: I have a little more confidence than you in Detroit, and possibly better success in picking the NFC North.

Minnesota Vikings Thinking Super Bowl In 2010

Unless you live under a rock, or you have no way to receive updates on the world of sports, you most likely know that Brett Favre is now a member of the Minnesota Vikings.

This move has received some negative and positive from the “so called” experts on ESPN. Truth be told, I can’t seem to stay on ESPN anymore because of how biased they are towards east-coast teams. Ever notice how it’s basically the Yankees, Giants, and Knicks?

I could care less what people think about the Vikings bringing in Favre. Minnesota’s quarterback situation before they brought in the future hall-of-famer was shaky and brought upon a lot of questions.

How is it an even argument of whether or not Minnesota should have made the move? To me, this is ridiculous. This is a match made in heaven. Could the timing be any more perfect?

Minnesota has arguably the best team they have had since 2000 where they went to the NFC championship only to lose by the score of 41-0 to the New York Giants.

The Vikings have impressive amounts of talent on both sides of the ball. Their offense has a leader in Brett Favre at the helm, Adrian Peterson to carry the ball, and three studs in Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, and Visanthe Shiancoe to receive Favre’s bullet-like throws.

Where do I start on defense? Minnesota has had the best run defense for the last three years. This is no easy feat to accomplish. The Vikings consistenly put out a great front seven. This year’s front seven will be led by pro-bowlers Jared Allen, and Pat and Kevin Williams.

The Vikings weakness is their secondary that seems to give up at least two or three big pass plays every game. Expect for this problem to be fixed in 2009. Minnesota has two young studs in Madieu Williams and Tyrell Johnson at safety. They also have emerging star, Cedric Griffin and whily veteran, Antoine Winfield to start at cornerback.

Like I said, Minnesota has a lot of talent on both offense and defense. This team has plenty of skill to get them to the Super Bowl in 2010. There have been worse teams that have made it to the Super Bowl. For example, last year’s NFC champions, the Arizona Cardinals.

Minnesota, in my opinion, are one of the top three teams in the NFC today, maybe even the top two. New York and Philadelphia seem like the only teams that could give the Vikings a true run for their money next season.

The Eagles signed Michael Vick and he should bring a lot of success to their style of football. Am I the only one who thinks the Vikings mainly signed Favre to match the Eagles signing of Vick?

I will not go out on a limb by saying that the Vikings will make it to the Super Bowl, but it seems as though this is their year to do so. Minnesota is due for a deep run in the playoffs.

Brett Favre, during his press conference said that his daughter wants him to return for one more chance at a Super Bowl ring. It seems like this is a scene from a movie where the old-timer comes back to a contender and brings them the trophy they have been wishing for for years.

Brad Childress has been reported as running the wildcat during practice for weeks now. Teams like the Miami Dolphins of last year have had success running this unique style of play. Percy Harvin could take his game to a whole other level with the wildcat formation.

The Vikings are a tough team to read. Some games they lose to opponents they should beat, and other times they defeat teams that nobody thinks they have the slighest chance against.

2009-2010 schedule:

Week one: Minnesota Vikings vs. Cleveland Browns, Result: Vikings (win)
Week two: Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions, Result: Vikings (win)
Week three: San Francisco 49′ers vs. Minnesota Vikings, Result: Vikings (win)
Week four: Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings, Result: Vikings (win)
Week five: Minnesota Vikings vs. St. Louis Rams, Result: Vikings (win)
Week six: Baltimore Ravens vs. Minnesota Vikings, Result: Vikings (win)
Week seven: Minnesota Vikings vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Result: Vikings (lose)
Week eight: Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers, Result: Vikings (lose)
Week nine: BYE WEEK
Week 10: Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings, Result: Vikings (win)
Week 11: Seattle Seahawks vs. Minnesota Vikings, Result: Vikings (win)
Week 12: Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings, Result: Vikings (win)
Week 13: Minnesota Vikings vs. Arizona Cardinals, Result: Vikings (lose)
Week 14: Cincinnati Bengals vs. Minnesota Vikings, Result: Vikings (Win)
Week 15: Minnesota Vikings vs. Carolina Panthers, Result: Vikings (Win)
Week 16: Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears, Result: Vikings (Lose)
Week 17: New York Giants vs. Minnesota Vikings, Result: Vikings (Win)

If the season happens to go down like this, the Vikings would wind up with a very impressive record of 12-4. This would get them a bye week in the first round of the playoffs in all likely-hood.

I am confident that the Vikings are in for a big year in 2009. With the team they have there is no telling what kind of things they can do.

Let’s just hope that whatever they do it involves a Lombardi trophy.

Favre, Vick, Cable: Hiss, Boo, Bah!

Michael Vick is a an Eagle. Brett Favre is a Viking. And Oakland coach Tom Cable is a pugilist. What type of reception can these three expect when they travel to enemy territory this season?

Wow! What a whirlwind of activity the last two weeks have been. A questionable signing, questionable behavior, and a questionable retirement have conspired to form a perfect storm of NFL lunacy.

First, Vick signed a two-year deal with the Eagles, making him the highest-paid, ex-highest paid quarterback in football. Clearly, it was in Vick’s best interest to sign with a team represented by an animal mascot. While PETA didn’t condone Vick’s signing, they did verify Vick’s assertion that “flipping the bird” causes no pain to animals.

Then Raiders coach Tom “The Bay Area Bomber” Cable reportedly punched assistant coach Randy Hanson, an allegation that, if proven to be true, would be the first instance of accuracy of anything thrown by a Raider in the last five years.

Finally, Brett Favre trumped the magnitude of those stories by signing with the Vikings, just weeks after indicating he would stay retired. Apparently, Favre’s word is as good as a Magic 8-Ball’s.

Favre further alienated Packer fans by stating that “true Packer fans” would understand his motivations and machinations. Fans responded that a “true Packer” would understand why he’s now an outcast in Green Bay.

Not that anyone should feel sorry for Favre. Should football not work out, again, he’s got that acting career to fall back on. Hollywood insiders are whispering that Favre’s in line to star in the next Batman movie, playing Batman’s villainous arch-nemesis, “The Waffler.”

So, where does that leave each team? Besides with less credibility? Well, for one, it leaves them open to ridicule from fans and public address systems of opposing teams. So, Vick, Favre, and the Raiders can expect to hear it loud and clear when they travel to some of the more hostile locales on their 2009 schedule.

When the Eagles travel to FedEx Field on October 26th to face the Redskins, you can best believe the speakers will be blaring ABBA’s “Take a Chance on Me,” with Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” sure to follow.

Not only will the “Hogs” be represented in Washington, so will the “Dogs,” as Vick will certainly be teased with animated barks and cat calls.

And of course, you know some clever fan in Oakland’s Black Hole, where the Eagles face the Raiders in Week 6, will display a poster of a dog staring down Vick, with the words “Fido vs. Phi-Do.”

In the case of the Raiders, Cable’s punch is pure overkill. Obviously, there’s already enough material of which to ridicule the organization without coaches duking it out in a hotel room. Actually, Cable’s punch is decades too late; someone should have KO’ed Al Davis long ago.

As would be expected, Cable has refused to comment, or even acknowledge, the incident. Of course that’s no surprise, because the first rule of “Fight Club” is “you do not talk about Fight Club.”

Anyway, Oakland’s first away game on the slate takes them to Arrowhead Stadium, home of division rival Kansas City and their vocal fans. There, you can expect to hear Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” or LL Cool J’s “Momma Said Knock You Out.”

And since Cable slugged a coach named “Hanson,” wouldn’t Hanson’s “MmmBop” be an extremely fitting tune?

Minnesota opens the season in Cleveland Stadium, home of the Dawg Pound, where fans, upset at not getting a chance to rail on Michael Vick, will apply all their energy towards welcoming Brett Favre.

Cleveland fans have been known to toss foreign objects at opposing players, so Favre can expect to dodge a fair share of batteries, dog bones, beverages, and, in Favre’s case, probably the most apropos projectiles in NFL history, yo-yos. All of this as the Beatles “Let it Be” sets the mood from the PA system.

And it won’t get any easier for Favre when the Vikes head to Lambeau Field on November 1st. There, if Favre is, in fact, still playing, he can do so while the Packer faithful get a sarcastic kick from the sounds of the Captain and Tennile’s “Do That to Me One More Time.”

And to really get under Favre’s skin, Metallica’s “Unforgiven,” “Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me,” and U2′s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” would really have the former Packer second-guessing himself. And Tupac Shakur’s “I Get Around” couldn’t make him feel any better.

For those Packer fans still a little uneasy about criticizing the iconic Favre, Poison’s “Talk Dirty to Me” would point them in the right direction.

Finally, in the closing number, which would surely have all of Lambeau singing along, the speakers could blast Motley Crue’s “Shout at the Devil.”

Brett Favre’s a Viking, Stunning

I am being facetious with that headline, of course, though I am absolutely stunned by the reaction to Brett Favre’s signing with the Vikings.

Why all of the hating?!

Oh my gosh, Favre turned his back on the Green Bay Packers! Sorry, Packers fans, no he didn’t; Ted Thompson made it perfectly clear that the Packers wanted to move on to the Aaron Rodgers era, despite Favre’s wishes. And by your tacit approval and support of Rodgers, you all moved on as well.

You didn’t move on? Did you show any outrage over Thompson’s handling of the whole Favre affair? Did you stop going to games? Nope.  Guess what then, you moved on! 

Was I thrilled watching Favre vacillate back and forth on his decisions to play or retire over the last two years?

No, of course not, but it’s his decision, made much more difficult by you and Thompson who made it pretty clear that Favre was considered old baggage and no longer wanted.

The Packers turned their backs on Brett Favre well before he reciprocated.

Why did he have to be so secretive?! Are you kidding me?

He’s in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, not LA or Miami. He can’t blend into the scenery, he is the scenery! Any time Favre burped, you had two reporters who told you what he had eaten.

How come it’s okay for Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to sneak off in order to avoid paparazzi, but when Favre does it, it’s a major crime? Wake up people, your rampant desire to know all and learn all about Favre, is the reason he has to do what he does.

He skipped training camp and screwed the other quarterbacks who were working so hard!  Wow, and that’s the first time a major veteran has skipped training camp, right? Ever heard of Michael Strahan or other guys who were in “contract negotiations” and didn’t go to camp? 

This was all by design; why would Favre want to go through two a days just for kicks? Sure, he could have used the time bonding with his new teammates, but it looks like he did plenty of bonding already based on all the emails, texts, tweets, and voicemails his hopeful Viking teammates sent him, begging him to join them in Minnesota.

I feel a little bad for Tavaris and Sage, but guess what, play like a Hall-of-Famer and maybe your teammates will give a little more respect.

All in all, this is a story of supply and demand.

The Vikings needed an experienced veteran quarterback and Favre needed the opportunity to stick it to Ted Thompson. Both sides got what they wanted.

Was it worth it?

We’ll see, but Vegas improved the Vikings odds of winning the Super Bowl from 18-1 to 12-1 and the Vikings sold 3,000 additional season tickets on Day 1 of the Brett Favre era.

Sounds pretty good to me.

For Brett Favre and Minnesota Vikings, It’s Super Bowl…or Bust

For the Minnesota Vikings, the 2009 season has the potential to be spectacular—or spectacularly awful.

It all hinges on the dinged-up right wing of the greatest passer in the history of the NFL.

Ten days ago, without any inside information from anonymous sources within the Minnesota Vikings locker room, I wrote the following:

Sadly, I don’t think this is the end of Brett Favre. After all, Michael Jordan retired three times. Compared to MJ, Brett’s got one more “un-retirement” left.

Like catching fish in a barrel…proof’s here, in case you don’t believe me.

In two years’ time, Brett Favre has gone from being one of the most beloved athletes to one of the most polarizing, thanks in large part to his on-again, off-again retirements, and his desire to play against the Green Bay Packers after playing for them for 17 years.

I feel for the die-hard Packers fans. I’m a longtime Denver Broncos fan, and if John Elway had decided to come out of retirement and play for the Oakland Raiders or Kansas City Chiefs 10 years ago, I would have been livid.

Vikings fans, I feel for you too. The hype and expectations associated with Favre donning the purple and yellow will ultimately exceed the results, I’m afraid.

What are the expectations? Simply put, if the Vikings don’t make it to the Super Bowl with Favre under center, then his addition would qualify as a failure. There is no other way to say it.

The Vikings were 10-6 last year and won the NFC North division with Gus Frerotte and Tarvaris Jackson handing the QB position. They have one of the most dynamic running backs in the NFL in Adrian Peterson. Their offensive line is strong. Their defense is one of the best at stopping the run.

To top it off, the Vikings’ schedule doesn’t appear to be challenging.

With all that working in their favor, the Vikings then add the most prolific passer in NFL history to their team.

Of course, the Brett Favre the Minnesota Vikings get in 2009 isn’t the same guy who had five straight seasons with 30 or more TD passes (1994-98). He faded down the stretch last year and needed surgery on his right biceps this summer.

On top of being fresh off of biceps surgery, Favre also revealed that he has a tear in the rotator cuff of his throwing shoulder.

Other than that, he’s perfectly fit and capable of leading a Super Bowl contender for 16 games!

At least the Vikings have some depth at the QB position now, just in case Favre’s shoulder doesn’t last the season, or something else happens.

Sage Rosenfels, acquired by the Vikings back in February for a fourth-round draft pick and then signed to a two-year extension, will back up Favre.

Jackson, who went 3-1 in the Vikings’ final four regular season games last year and was the “QB of the future” in Minnesota not that long ago, will seemingly be released later this week, making John David Booty, who has supposedly performed well in training camp, the No. 3 QB.

How the 2009 season plays out for the Minnesota Vikings and Favre is anyone’s guess, but only one outcome will make fans believe this saga was worth the time and energy spent on it.

Anything short of a Super Bowl berth, and this chapter in the Brett Favre legacy and the history of the Minnesota Vikings will be forgettable.

He’s Back: Brett Favre Joins the Minnesota Vikings

Go ahead and block out Monday evening, Oct. 5, on your schedule. That night, the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers tangle for the first of two scheduled meetings this season.

The small side story involved will be Vikings quarterback Brett Favre taking on his former team for the first time.

That’s right. The end to the summer soap opera has come with a very predictable outcome. Favre, the former Packers and New York Jets quarterback, has reached a deal with the Vikings. The contract reportedly will pay Favre $12 million this year with an option for next season.

Favre, 39, is expected to immediately take over as the team’s No. 1 quarterback, bringing an end to the competition between quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels (ankle), an offseason addition.

These two will now duke it out for the top backup duties, and Minnesota could ultimately look to part ways with one of them. Neither has stood out in training camp or the preseason, and Minnesota reportedly began actively recruiting Favre Wednesday, Aug. 12, after a rough practice for both. Rosenfels looked better in the team’s preseason game, but it came against the Indianapolis Colts, who held out their four starting defensive backs.

Favre had offseason surgery on his throwing shoulder, and his health was the key issue holding back his potential of joining the Vikings. He still has a slight tear in the rotator cuff of his right shoulder, but he has let the Vikings know about it.

It is safe to assume Favre—and Minnesota’s medical team—believe his arm is where it needs to be health-wise for him to have a productive season on the gridiron.

He joked earlier this summer that he knows Minnesota’s offense so well that he would be able to coach it; Vikes’ offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell was quarterbacks coach and offensive assistant with the Packers for six years of Favre’s Green Bay tenure. Learning the system and terminology shouldn’t take Favre much, if any, time. On the other hand, he’ll still have to build up a rapport with receivers Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice and rookie Percy Harvin.

In an ideal world, Favre would be a game manager for Minnesota and be allowed to pick and choose his spots with the football. However, we all know Favre won’t be that for the Vikings, who many thought were a “Favre away” from being the Super Bowl favorite in the NFC. While he has all-star running back Adrian Peterson behind him, Favre is likely to still go to the air often in this modified West Coast offense.

While fantasy football league participants may be worn out with the Favre soap opera, he still needs to be considered as a fantasy option this year in deeper leagues or as a backup. Favre should be considered as a midrange No. 2 fantasy option in typical 12-team leagues.

In the Jets’ first eight games (through Week 9) of last season before his shoulder became a factor, Favre posted decent numbers and was the 13th best fantasy quarterback in KFFL.com’s combination scoring format.

In that window Favre averaged 226.5 passing yards and 1.88 touchdowns per game, which is serviceable. However, he also averaged 1.5 interceptions, tied for the second most in the league in that time period; if your league deducts points for interceptions, Favre’s value obviously drops.

“Brettsota”: Will Happen This Season in Minnesota

Finally the long and twisting road has come to an end. After reports that a deal with Brett Favre was done had come out Monday.

After an offseason that saw more trips to Hattiesburg, MS then ever in history. The news media camped on his front lawn to see if he would play again.

First he was in and then out. Then he needed surgery then he said no surgery only to have surgery in the end.

The on and off love affair between the Minnesota Vikings and Brett Favre has mostly dominated this offseason in the NFL.

Only blimps on radar to take our minds off of ‘Brettsota’ (just like a Hollywood couple) were who would sign Michael Vick and would Plaxico Burress go to jail.

Now on Aug. 18, 2009 the Green Bay Packers fans hearts are breaking. Over a player they have said they do not want.

At the same time they did not want him to play against them. It’s kind of interesting that Packers fans would whine and cry so much over a player they do not want anymore.

This whole offseason Packers fans have felt betrayed by a player they did not want anymore. It only severs them right if they are looking up at the Vikings in the standings all season long.

As Favre enters Minnesota a conquering hero like Caesar in to Rome a lot will be riding in two NFL cities.

What if Favre is able to take the Vikings to heights they have not been seen in Minnesota since 1976 their last Super Bowl appearance. Most notably a Super Bowl appearance this season and they do not even have to win the game.  

The Packers would be forced to fire General Manager Ted Thompson and Head Coach Mike McCarthy. This is the duo who did not want to see Favre return last season.

The Packers did not make the playoffs last year after finishing one game from the Super Bowl the previous year. True it was not Aaron Rogers fault (the quarterback tapped to replace Favre) since Green Bay had no defense.

Now with Minnesota getting Packers legend Favre after they won the NFC North last season the Packers could find their backs against the wall. If the Vikings improve on last season and go far in the playoffs the blame would have to fall on Thompson and McCarthy.

The same can be said about the Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress if the Vikings fail to reach their new lofty expectations. This season could be seen in Minnesota as “Super Bowl or Bust” and it could be that Childress will have to be Favre’s Brutus.

One thing can agreed upon is that the NFC North is a very winnable division for Favre to join. Whereas the AFC East was not very winnable division with the likes of the Patriots, Dolphins, and Bills each getting better.

The NFC North was a division the Vikings won last season with a quarterback not nearly as good as Favre even now in his 40’s. If the Vikings could go 10-6 without a proven quarterback think what they could do if Favre is healthy.

Looking at the division Green Bay has defensive concerns from last season. The Packers could not stop anyone on defense last season. If the offense struggles in year two under Rodgers and the defense cannot fix last season’s problems it could be a long year in Packer Land.

The Chicago Bears have to find offense and brought Jay Cutler in to do the job. Whereas the defense has been solid in Chicago the offense has been found lacking.  If the Bears cannot find wide receiver and Cutler does not live up to his talent level the Bears could finish third in this division.

Last, the Detroit Lions a team that failed to win a game last season. While they are going to be greatly improved this season they will not challenge for the division title this season.

That leaves the Vikings and Favre. The thing is that all the pressure will not be on Favre it will be spread out amongst Adrian Peterson, the Vikings defense, and Brett Favre.

Favre will not have to win games all by himself in Minnesota. The bulk of the load will be on Adrian Peterson.  As long as he can run the Vikings will be in any ball game.

With Favre at quarterback the running game should be even better since teams will have to respect the passing game of the Vikings. Something they really have not had to do the past few seasons.

Looking ahead at the Vikings schedule they start out with three very winnable games. Games they can and should win.

They open with the Cleveland Browns on the road, next comes the Lions, then the San Francisco 49ers.

They get the Packers at home for the fourth game and should win it.  With a quarter of the season gone the Vikings could be 4-0.

The next four games are harder but a spilt is possible. First is a game against the St. Louis Rams at St. Louis and should be a win. Next is a home game against the Baltimore Ravens and then on the road against the Pittsburgh Stealers and they could lose both or spilt.

The last game, the eighth game is away against the Packers. Favre returns to his long standing home. It is a winnable game.

If the Vikings can head in to the Week nine bye week with a 5-3 to 6-2 record they will be in great shape. If they can do better they will win the division going away.

The third quarter of the season features winnable games against the Seattle Seahawks, Arizona Cardinals, Lions and Bears. The Vikings could be 10-2 after ¾ of the season.

The final quarter of the season has some good late season test with games against the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants. Sandwiched in between those two games are winnable games against the Cincinnati Bengals and the Bears.

The Vikings could finish with a 12-4 season or even better. They should at least equal last season’s 10-6 mark but should improve it.

That cheer you are hearing in Green Bay, Chicago, and Detroit is from Minnesota. The first chance to see Favre in the purple of the Vikings will Aug. 21, 2009.

That’s right this Friday and it will be against the Kansas City Chiefs. Then the preseason will move to Houston to face the Texans and finish at home against the Dallas Cowboys.

 

Sage Rosenfels is the Wrench in Brad Childress’s Quarterback Plan

The Preseason is here! Time for position battles and the glorious return of football! An exciting thought for most people, unless your name is Brad Childress. After Brett (aka: washed up, worthless quarterback) Favre gave old Chilly the shove-off, he was forced with only two options at quarterback: Sage Rosenfels and Tavaris Jackson.

As much as I would love to say John David Booty is in the competition for the starting job, I really just can’t see him making a push until at least next year. Childress went into training camp telling the fans and media that the starting quarterback job was up for grabs.

Lie! We all know Childress is partial to his pet project that is Tavaris Jackson.

Then a wrench got thrown into his plan. Sage Rosenfels performed well against tough competition. Childress said that he would give each quarterback two preseason starts. Lets take a deeper look into that thought.

Sage Rosenfels started against the Indianapolis Colts. They are not a powder puff team or defense by any stretch. His next start would be against the rising Houston Texans. 

Jackson, on the other hand, would be starting against the Kansas City Chiefs and the Dallas Cowboys. Neither of the two previously mentioned teams are really known for their defense. In fact, they are pretty much non-existent.

The plan looks obvious to me. Start Rosenfels against the tougher teams so he can struggle and start Jackson against the easier defenses so he can shine and Chilly can look justified in a decision to start the season with Jackson.

There is only one problem: Rosenfels performed extremely well running the offense against a tough Colts defense in his first game as a Viking.

I said it in an article I wrote when the Vikings made the trade for Sage and I will say it again: HE IS UNDERRATED!!! In case you have an inclination to see where I am drawing that conclusion from take a look at the article; it has all the numbers you should need. It’s called: Sage Rosenfels: Underrated?

I said it then and I will say it now, Tavaris Jackson is a professional backup at best. He is a bust for a draft pick. We now have Sage Rosenfels and all he needs is a chance to show what he can do with some talented wide receivers and a great running game to boot. That’s all he ever needed and something he never got.

Does anyone remember what happened when Tom Brady went down with an injury? A back up by the name of Matt Casell came in and did a heck of a job. Just like Rosenfels, all he needed was a chance to showcase what he can do. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

I think Sage Rosenfels will force Brad Childress into a “foot in mouth” situation. The situation being that he may force the hand of the Vikings head coach into realizing his blunder in picking Jackson. He may force Childress to see the truth and that truth is the Vikings starting quarterback should be Sage Rosenfels. The job should be his to lose, not to earn.

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