Quotulatiousness

September 9, 2010

Vikings-Saints preview

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 08:49

The 2010 NFL season starts tonight with a rematch of the NFC Championship between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints. Last time the teams faced one another, the Vikings had all the advantages, except in turnovers, and that was what eventually decided the outcome. A late interception prevented the Vikings from attempting a field goal for the win, and the Saints got the ball in overtime, driving for the winning score.

The Vikings need no further encouragement than the opportunity to prove that the Championship game really was a fluke. Not all the same players will be on the field tonight: Sidney Rice had surgery that has him sidelined until the middle of the season, and other players are still recovering from injuries (Cedric Griffin and rookie Chris Cook for the Vikings, and Darren Sharper for the Saints).

The stakes aren’t as high as last time, but each team wants to set the tone for the new season.

Of course, it being the official kick-off of the new season, the game is getting a lot of analysis. I’ll summarize what most coverage is saying:

  • Quarterbacks: Drew Brees is still one of the top five in the league. Brett Favre is 87 years old. Edge: Saints.
  • Wide Receivers: New Orleans loves to play four wide: Minnesota only has four receivers on the entire roster, and their best one is recovering from surgery. Edge: Saints.
  • Running Backs: New Orleans has Reggie Bush, a very elusive, dangerous back. Minnesota has some guy who’s best known for fumbling the ball. Edge: Saints.
  • Offensive line: New Orleans won the Superbowl. Minnesota didn’t. Edge: Saints.
  • Defensive line: The Vikings may have a few guys who are well known, but they only sacked Drew Brees once in the NFC Championship. New Orleans nearly disassembled Brett Favre into separate pieces. Edge: New Orleans.
  • Defensive backfield: Finally, an area of weakness for the Saints. They’re not fielding the same four guys as last season. Minnesota had to round up the vagrants down at the bus station to man their corner and safety positions for this game. Edge: Saints.
  • Special teams: Minnesota just traded away a top punt return guy to the Giants. Brad Childress may have to suit up for punt return duties. Edge: Saints.

As you can see, the media is pretty uniform in their opinion. The game is being played in New Orleans, which is a very loud stadium. The Vikings don’t have a chance to win. That’s why I think it’ll be the Saints who’ll disappoint their fans in the opener.

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