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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

*This live blog is accessible through the web, your iPhone/iPod Touch (Details) or Blackberry (Details)*

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.

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.