Posts tagged Minnesota Vikings
Week 4, 2010: New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins
Sep 30th
3 weeks of NFL sure goes by fast. It only seems like last week when I was analysing the Baltimore Ravens picks from the 2010 draft. We’ve been blessed in that we’ve had some great games so far, and I’m sure there are many more to go, after all the season is still young. So this week I’ll be heading to the Sun Life Stadium where I believe the Patriots v the Dolphins will provide one hell of a contest.
Sun Life Stadium
NFL Is Back In Abundance
Sep 10th
Special Report from Joshua Modaberi:
After seven months away the NFL was back last night with the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings in a repeat of last years NFC Championship match.
The Saints came out on top in that encounter which they won in overtime 31-28. New Orleans then went on to win their first Super Bowl against the Indianapolis Colts in Miami 31-17.
Sean Payton’s side continued from where they left off last season by beating the Vikings 14-9.
The NFL is a bit like a London double decker bus – having been away since February, this weekend in the UK there are still another five games on TV.
Joshua Modaberi has caught up with Kevin Cadle from Sky Sports and Dan Arkush from Pro Football Weekly to discuss the remaining television fixtures over the opening weekend.
Kevin Cadle on
Carolina @ NY Giants Live on Sky Sports 4 Sunday from 17.30:
“I don’t think you can look past the New York giants in this one, they are going to be opening the brand new stadium.
“Eli Manning is probably coming off his best season ever as a pro. Wide Receiver Steve Smith really came out and did a great job last year receiving the ball and Ahmad Bradshaw has established himself as the number one running back.
“You are still going to have to look at what the Giants are going to do defensively and that will be the key to their season. On Sunday they are going to have to go out there and do something with Carolina’s dynamic duo – they had two guys running 4,000 yards last year so you know they are going to be looking to run the football against the Giants.”
San Francisco @ Seattle Live on Sky Sports 4 Sunday from 21.00:
“We don’t know a lot about Seattle, right now you don’t know if Pete Carroll thinking is as a head coach of this particular team.
“What kind of team are the going to have, you have Justin Forsett as the top running back, and he’s only about 5’6 on a good day. With Seattle I think the betting will be out for them until teams can see exactly what they emphasise and what they are doing on both the offensive and defensive edge.
“As for San Francisco we know all about them, Mike Singletary has put a stamp on that defence and the defence is going to get better and better.
“Offensively I think the San Francisco organisation has done a tremendous job as far as trying to assist the role of Alex smith. Last year they brought in Michael Crabtree and now this year you have two new offensive linemen who where the top two draft choices – so they are trying to do whatever they can to get things in order for Alex Smith to be as successful as he can possibly be.”
Dan Arkush on
Dallas @ Washington Live on Channel 4 Monday from 00.55:
“Dallas in terms of pure talent probably have the most talented team in the league. That doesn’t necessarily mean they will get to the Super Bowl by any means.
“I think in this game they match up well against their opponents the Redskins. Nobody can really get a firm reading on what the deal is going to be with Washington.
“They have a new head coach in Mike Shanahan, who was a very successful head coach with the Broncos. By all accounts he seems to be heading in the right direction with the Redskins. Donovan McNabb is another great addition to Washington, but I think Dallas is going to win this game with the Super Bowl in Dallas they are going to want to have a good season and get off to a winning start.”
Favre Back, Harvin Out For Now
Aug 20th
We’re sure you’ve heard that Brett Favre is back, almost certainly for his final year (his words, we’re not hanging our collective hats on that bet). He joined training camp earlier this week and will be a Viking until a last minute interception puts them out of the playoffs.
More seriously, after making it back to training after condolence leave Percy Harvin left the field yesterday in an ambulance after suffering a heavy migraine. Harvin has struggled with migraines for a long time now, and it’s speculated that they have been brought on by stress but the fact is that there can be many causes that start them.
Percy Harvin is an exciting young player to watch and the Vikings and the NFL as a whole are better when he’s playing so we with wish him all the best and hope to see him back soon.
Brett Favre… Not Coming Back This Time
Aug 3rd
It was the beginning of June when I took my First Look at the NFC North and said this about Favre:
…that’s all I’ll talk about him until we get a “Yes” or “No” from the man. Sometime in late July, I guess.
So he’s a week late, but it does sound pretty final and I’m sticking with that assumption for now. Of course, I won’t be at all surprised to see him turning out in September.
The Vikes will have to go forward with Tavaris Jackson now, and as harsh as this seems based on a single player change, I’m moving the Vikings behind the Packers in the North. They were close in my mind, and Favre was the difference based on his 2009 play. Without him they will struggle, and nothing against T-Jack, but he’s younger and less experienced and won’t make things happen in the same way. It is still close though, and the Vikes still have a great defense and one of the best running games in the league. I’m still watching…
Predictions (made 3rd August 2010)
| # | Team |
| 1 | Green Bay Packers |
| 2 | Minnesota Vikings |
| 3 | Chicago Bears |
| 4 | Detroit Lions |
Image Credit: shgmom56
Thirteen, Forty-five, Ninety-Seven…
Jul 26th
No, that’s not a snapcount. It’s a countdown to some key dates in the forthcoming NFL season.
In thirteen days the Bengals face the Cowboys in the Hall of Fame game. It’ll be the first chance to get a look at Dez Bryant, Jermaine Gresham and the other rookies. Antonio Bryant in a Bengals uniform and the always entertaining Chad Ochocinco.
In forty-five days, the mouth-watering matchup of the Minnesota Vikings at the New Orleans Saints. That’s a heck of a way to open the regular season and a game I suspect we’ll be staying up for it.
And in ninety-seven days we’ll be at Wembley (for the forth year running!) as the NFL comes again to the UK. This year the Broncos visit the 49ers. We get to see Alex Smith, Frank Gore and the rest of Mike Singletary’s 49ers as well as the Broncos. We’ll be keeping an eye on both of these teams in the build-up to October 31st.
Coming up in the next few weeks we’ll gear up for our in-season mode, which features predictions on every match as well as in-depth looks at three matches a week. Before then we’ll make our predictions on the post-season and keep our eyes on the big stories and how they’ll affect our predictions.
Keep visiting!
First Look 2010… NFC North
Jun 3rd
There are no easy divisions to predict but the NFC North is one of the toughest. Last year neither Graham or I saw the Vikings being as good as they turned out to be. Neither of us saw the North sending two teams into the post-season either but it turned out to be the case. Although we all called the Lions to prop up, the Bears were a disappointment and again caused us to get it wrong.
Let’s take an early look ahead to the 2010 NFL season…
NFL News Round-up Friday 25th Sep
Sep 25th
Philadelpia Eagles
Donovan McNabb will miss this Sundays game. Quarter back duties will again be taken by Kevin Kolb, with an impressive back up team of Michael Vick and Jeff Garcia.
Minnesota Vikings
Adrian Peterson will most likely play with his back injury after talking it down. -
“God willing, I will be out there playing. Not a big deal at all.”
NFL News Round-up Saturday 12th Sep
Sep 12th
Oakland Raiders
Richard Seymour has still not reported into the Raiders. He has now reportedly been issued with a letter threatening season long suspension unless he reports by Tuesday. There would seem to be more to the story than meets the eye, but I guess we will have to wait until we hear Seymour speak.
Minnesota Vikings
An appeals court has cleared Pat and Kevin Williams (no relation) to play in Sunday’s clash with the Cleveland Browns, and for the rest of the season.
More >
Thursday News Round-up
Sep 3rd
As we head towards the final pre-season games we should be approaching a stable point where injured players can be rested and final plans put into place. At MacTalksNFL we will be keeping an eye on the state of things running up to the regular season.
Favre to miss Final pre-season game
News today that Brett Favre will not be on the field to face the Dallas Cowboys on Friday. Vikings Head Coach Childress said – “I don’t see the upside” and I have to agree with him. Why open him up to potential injury?
Favre Looks to Be Just What the Vikings Need
Sep 2nd
I quite enjoyed the whole Brett Favre saga over the off season, but I know many didn’t. To me it filled the holes in the news stories quite well and smoothed the frustration of the wait for the start of the season.