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PREVIEW

The Minnesota Vikings are just one win away from clinching the NFC North. Brett Favre has had a season to remember but there is still a ways to go before this fairytale ends. A step towards the final goal comes tonight as the Vikings go on the road to face the defending NFC Champion Cardinals.

Brett Favre v/s Kurt Warner is the underlying story in this one. The two veteran leaders in the game. Warner sat out the loss last week as he was recovering from a concussion but the Cardinals have won 6 of their last 8 games. Their offense is still among the most dangerous in the league and they can load up the points in a hurry. Boldin has stepped up in recent weeks racking up 261 yards over the last 3 games to form a 1-2 punch with Larry Fitzgerald (75 catches, 826 yards, 9 TDs). If both these guys can get going tonight then it will be a long night for the Vikings.

The Arizona offense should be okay and the end result will unfold based on how their defense holds up. It is no easy task to stop one of the NFL’s most balanced offenses. A heavy dose of Adrian Peterson added on to the task of defending Farve connecting with Sidney Rice. Thus far, no team has had an answer for the Vikings when they are rolling with all their weapons. Rice has been phenomenal over the last 6 games and ranks 3rd in the NFL with 964 receiving yards to go along with 4 TD’s. Farve is statistically having one of the best season of his entire career. (crazy eh??) He has completed 70% of his passes for 2,874 yards with 23 touchdowns and just 3 picks with a QB rating of 112.1. I haven’t even touched on what Adrian Peterson does for this team but basically it becomes a pick your poison situation for opposing teams.

Arizona has played down to weaker opponents this year and stepped up for this big games. Tonight is one of those big games and the Cardinals should come out fired up. Though they have home field and a nice streak in their favor, Minnesota may just be too much for them to handle on this night.

My Prediction: Minnesota Vikings 34 – Arizona Cardinals 31

Join me as I live blog this game on The Score – Link

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PREVIEW

After sitting through some blowouts on Sunday, tonight’s game comes loaded with probably the most compelling storyline to date this season. Brett Favre may not be shouting it from the tree tops, but if there was one game he had marked off on his calendar when he signed with the Vikings it was this one. And don’t think Aaron Rodgers is going to just sit back and let this be the Favre show either. He wants to show the fans and the front office that he is still the right guy for the job in Green Bay.

Last week, Favre led his team to a win in a thrilling game that ended with one shot to the endzone. The catch was overshadowed by the throw, but that’s just the way it goes when Brett Favre is on your team. Even though, once again he became the story of the game, playing on the Vikings gives him a luxury that most QB’s don’t have – Adrian Peterson. Peterson, arguably the best RB in the game will get a chance to do a lot of the damage tonight breaking through the weaker Packer line.

The Packers are not talked about much but aside from the ugly loss to the Bengals, they have managed to hold their own. Aaron Rodgers completed 13-of-23 passes for 269 yards including big plays down the field to Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. The Packers D is going to have a much bigger challenge tonight after giving up a lot to the hapless Rams.

Everyone watching the game will be focused on the Brett Favre drama but the main advantage the Vikings have in this one is Peterson. Favre will have his moments, but I don’t think he will be the primary reason the Vikings get the win tonight.

• Vikings over the Browns: Adrian Peterson puts up a stat line of 25 rushes for 180 yards and Brett Favre makes the headlines?? Sports stations need to stop riding his jock and focus on the real story. Peterson has all the makings of the best we have ever seen but lets see how far he can take it before going into LT mode.

• Saints over the Lions: 6 TD’s for Drew Brees! It was against the lowly Lions but still quite the feat. He passed the ball to whoever was in sight keeping the Lions on their heels. It was a WOW performance and puts him on pace to shatter his performance from last season which was great in itself.

• Colts over the Jaguars: The Colts were expected to win this but it wasn’t pretty. The Jags held their own but it was Peyton’s Day. Peyton Manning tied the franchise record for victories and Jim Caldwell won his NFL debut as a head coach. The game came down to two defensive stops in the 4th and the Colts defense pulled it out. Now lets just hope they can build on that performance and back up what the offense is doing on the field.

• Eagles over the Panthers: The birds were thrown an assist in this one thanks to the colossal choke job performance given by Jake Delhomme. The Panthers worked the phones quickly and word is they are bringing in ex-Eagle, A.J. Feeley to run their QB spot. There was a casualty from the game and it wasn’t Delhomme’s ego but rather Donovan McNabb’s rib. McNabb took to his blog on Yardbarker to speak of his injury and the addition of an old counterpart in Jeff Garcia.

• Cowboys over the Buccaneers: The Cowboys beat the Buc’s handily after getting off to a shaky start. Thing is, they are supposed to beat teams like the Bucs who got a feel good performance from Cadillac Willaims. The real test for Romo and the team will be come next week when they play at their new home v/s the Giants.

• Jets over the Texans: The Texans are many people’s sleeper pick this year but Rex Ryan and the Jets made quick work of them in week 1. Sanchez looked like the real deal making something of not much. On the flip side, Schaub couldn’t put together anything even though he has one of the best WR’s in the league- Andre Johnson, as a target.

• Broncos over the Bengals: This game was a snooze-fest until Gus Johnson woke us all up with a call that will be remembered as much as the catch by Brandon Stokley that prompted it.
  

• Ravens over the Chiefs: Flacco showed he has what it takes last season but had to perform in Week 1 to prove he is legit. Mission: Accomplished! He threw over 300 yards and was helped out by the Baltimore D that only gave up 188 yards to the Chiefs. Considering I am expecting the Cheifs to end up last in the NFL when all is said and done, putting up a 28 spot against the Ravens was pretty impressive and maybe they will pull out a few upset wins along the way.

• Falcons over the Dolphins: It didn’t take Tony Gonzalez long to have an impact on the Falcons, catching five passes including a 20-yard TD. The Dolphins didn’t do themselves any favors by coughing up the ball 4 times as the offense looked flat for the entire game. Very uncharacteristic of the team that had the lowest number of TO’s last season, the Dolphins were one of the surprise team from last year and may be too hung up on that instead of looking at what they need to do this year.

• Seahawks over the Rams: I picked Seattle in my survivor pool this week and was expecting the Rams to put up some kind of fight. Instead.. they laid an egg and failed to get on the scoreboard. Matt Hasselbeck looked really good after 2008 was a write off due to injury. Jim Mora’s new approach paid off early and should continue to do so as this team should easily win their division building on games like they had in Week 1. As for the Rams, the problem starts at QB and the answer is not Marc Bulger.

• Giants over the Redskins: The Giants may be good enough to beat the Redskins but that will be hard to replicate against the other teams in their division. Didn’t see much of this game but I did catch the rumble that Santana Moss got in. With all the physical play in football its actually surprising you don’t see more of this…
  

• 49′ers over the Cardinals: Probably the biggest upset of week 1, the Card’s rolled over and looked nothing like the team that went to the Super Bowl this past season. Their offense seemed off but their D showed some promising signs. The 49′ers on the other hand can take away a lot of positives form this game and build on them this season which should be one of their best in years.

• Packers over the Bears: New team but same Jay Cutler that ended the season in Denver. He was an interception machine with 4 of ‘em in the opener but the team managed to stay in the game right til the waning moments. Favre Who? Aaron Rodgers set the tone for the season with a 50-yard rainbow to Greg Jennings to seal a come-from-behind victory and assure Packer fans that there is more to look forward to than booing Brett when he returns to GB

• Patriots over the Bills: It was too good to be true as the Bills came back to reality on a blown return. While all eyes were on Tom Brady for his first game back, the Bills dominated the game without much help from star WR Terrell Owens. Brady may have looked shaky but once the Bills gave him an opening it was over. The game was nothing like what most may have expected but the outcome was exactly as planned.

• Chargers over the Raiders: The second game of MNF double-header kept the excitement from game 1. Both teams struggled to do anything to start and were trading turnovers for the most part. The second half picked up and the Raider fans definitely played a part in urging their team on as it remains one of the craziest home crowds in the league. Tomlinson was a no show for the Chargers but it was no problem as Darren Sproles and Rivers did their thing and just enough to squeak out a win.

*BONUS* – Suzy Kolber races Tom Brady to the Locker Room

*BONUS* – Johnny Lee Higgins has some crazy Helmet Head going on….

There are three days left to the next Bills game and I sit with a pile of season preview magazines, to learn a little bit more about game. I also got something about Fantasy Football to catch up with the stats. After 2 games and some reading, I have my first impressions:

1. It’s so different from basketball. Seems to be much more a team sport than basketball ever will be. First, the number of players on the roster is huge. And the starting line-up includes 11 players on each side. Also, you don’t see one player doing all the action, while the other 10 just stare at him in awe (yeah, I’m hitting at you, LeBron).

2. You can score by a field goal which is worth 3 points or by a touchdown for 6 points. Field goal is scored by kicking the ball through the goal post. A touchdown is when you run the ball or catch it in the opposing end zone. You can also recognize a touchdown, by all these celebrations and chest bumping by the offensive team. There is also a 2 point safety, when you’re responsible for the ball becoming dead behind your own goal line.

3. You cannot just try to push the ball forever until somebody steals it from you. You have 4 attempts – they are called downs – to advance 10 yards. Yeah, they measure in yards. After growing up in metric system I have a new challenge of figuring out how long a yard is. Anyways, if you don’t manage to advance these 10 yards, the ball goes to the other team. It’s called turnover. Finally a familiar term for a basketball fan!

4. You can try to run with a ball or pass it to a teammate. Although, you can pass only once each down and only from behind the line of scrimmage (the line in the middle).

Update: From Nat – you can pass more than once in a play as long as the other passes are lateral (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_pass) and the line of scrimmage being the position on the field that the players line up for that play rather than the line in the middle. See, I’m still learning.

5. Foul? No it’s not a foul, it’s a tackle! The defensive players piling on the poor dude with a ball, forced to the ground, are stopping the offense completely within the rules. Small wonder, they have this funny armor underneath their jersey and the helmets.

6. Which was my team, again? Well, if you still didn’t learn your colors, there should be a logo on the helmets.

7. The steals are called interceptions. It looks like Chris Paul in action, you catch a forward pass and run with the ball for your life. Warning – don’t try to dribble the ball!

8. If you have long hair, you will look like Uruk-hai in the helmet!

9. Where’s the ball? Oh yeah, it must be in the hands of the player who attracts the biggest attention from the opposing team.

10. The players are HUGE. Broad shoulders, heavily muscled legs and, I swear – I saw a beer belly or two!

11. You think, it’s hard to be constantly abused, pushed to the ground and laying underneath 5 other players? Well, ask Brett Favre – it must be some real fun, because he keeps coming back for more!

I know I must be stating obvious for the veteran fans, but I’m a complete beginner and, man, am I having fun with this! It’s like watching the world through the eyes of a child once again.

Just when the dust had settled and everyone thought he was going to remain retired, Brett Favre is back. He signed a $12 million (are you kidding me?) contract with the Minnesota Vikings and is expected to play in their pre-season game this coming Friday.

He changes his mind more than a kid in a candy store and his retirement act is getting old (just like him). In the last 2 years, he probably made more headlines than his previous 16 combined and each time its more about the man not about Football (maybe it always was?). For the second straight off-season, he played games with the media, toyed with people’s emotions, and eventually made his “heroic” comeback. This time around though, he landed with a NFC team – That has GOT to piss off the Cheeseheads.

Another guy who couldn’t be too thrilled about this is Sage Rosenfels, who going into training camp thought that the starting QB job was his. This move and the $12M price tag that comes with it essentially assures that come Week 1, Brett Favre will be the starting QB for the Vikings.

Everything about the move spell “PR” move rather than a football decision for the Vikings. I personally don’t see it working out well but for the fans in Minnesota, who have been deprived of anything resembling a team – Get out your horn’s , you going to need ‘em when the Cheeseheads come to town.