Very optimistic column by Reusse. Hard not to get excited for the season. It's worth a full read but I have some exerpts below: http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikings/99515279.html



Do you agree with his analysis of the team?

Well, while we're assuming everyone is healthy, and improved.

1 to 5. So EVERY position group we're good at? I'd give our safeties a 2 based on last year. Receivers a 4. Offensive line a 3. Corner probably a 3 with Griffin, potential to be a 4.



Or a terrible coaching mistake and Brett Favre last second choke job special.

and the three blown calls in OT

The thing that amazes me is that it is REUSSE that wrote the article. He is one of the most cynical Viking writers out there. I thought I would have never seen the day when he predicted we'd go all the way. I can't help but get cautiously optimistic. (Sorry, that's the best I can do after all these years of heartbreak!)

DLine - 5 Agreed. Fat Pat might slip a little and Edwards is inconsistent, but this is an impressive front 4
LBs - 3. Greenway very good. Leber OK. EJ coming off of 2 season ending injuries, the last one devastating
CBs - 2.5. Winfield getting old and coming off an injury plagued season. Griffen decent if not spectacular when healthy but coming off a devastating injury. Sapp a decent backup. Lito old and coming off an injury but will be interesting to watch. Allen and Cook young and unproven
S - 1. Might be the worst safety duo in the NFL


OLine -2.5. Sullivan in terrible, Herrera is decent at best. Loadholt unproven. McKinnie totally inconsistent and terrible against great rushers like Peppers. Hopefully Hutch can return to form after a subpar year. Come to think of it, 2.5 is probably generous.
RB - 4.5. Can't give a 5 just because of the fumble issues
WR - 4.5 Berrian injury prone. Rice has to prove last year wasn't a fluke. Harvin has to move past the migraines. But this is a dangerous group if healthy
QB - 4 (obviously assuming Favre returns). We can't expect the same performance as last year. And we know his history in the playoffs (except for 1 year). But if he's anywhere close to last year's performance, should be a great year for him.

Average = 3.4. Above average but not great.

Prediction 10-6. win 1 playoff game in wildcard round, lose in the divisional round to the Falcons.

the falcons? really? What have they done to prove they're better than us. If we went 12-4 last year and return almost all of our starters (Technically Favre isn't back yet) why can't we do the same thing if Favre comes back. How do we get so much worse to lose to a team that didn't even make the playoffs last year and has a pretty bad secondary itself?

VikingPaul73, don't you think you're being a little harsh?


I've always said that we've got one of the most underrated Linebacking corps in the nfl. IMO EJ and Greenway are poised for pro-bowl seasons (if EJ truly is 100% like he says). Even though EJ has been knocked out the last 2 seasons, I would hasten to call him injury-prone. He snapped his femur. That's not something that can be played through, or even could have been prevented (other than sanford not running into his leg). Leber is above average, doesn't make any stupid mistakes, and fits our scheme well.

For that reason, I'd give our Linebackers a 4.

I'd agree with you on this one until Griffin gets back. He brings a lot to the table, and when healthy is a pretty good CB.

I say 2.5 until Griffin comes back. 4 after.

Seriously? a 1? The secondary that held Drew Brees to 197 yards? They're also one of, if not the youngest pair of safeties in the NFL. They're improving and I'm happy with the progress that they have made thus far. I expect a lot more out of them this season than I did last, but they're still young and learning.

I give them a 2.5. They have a lot to prove.

Sullivan and Loadholt are very young. You can't ever expect much out of a first-year starter. Both Loadholt and Sully were first-year starters, and I expect them both to make big improvements over the offseason. McKinnie's lack of consistency scares me a little bit. He can be an All-pro LT when he wants to be. Hopefully we can get that issue sorted out. Herrera is above-average, and I'm expecting some big improvements from him as well. One of the main problems with our O-line last season was that most (if not all) were injured for the majority of the season, and they weren't on the injury report. I realize that the NFL is tough, and guys play with injuries all the time, but it really cripples the team when every single player has injuries they're trying to deal with.

Provided everyone comes back healthy and improved, I will give our line a conditional 4. 3 if everyone comes back just healthy.

Berrian injury prone? I blew out my hamstring in High School, and it took me a little over a year to get me fully back to playing condition. I'm surprised he could still play at all. Why does Sidney have to prove that AN ENTIRE YEAR was not a fluke? He was a 3rd year WR, and that is typically when they start to be productive in the NFL. He doesn't have anything to prove. He's going to be a great WR for us for a long time. Percy only missed 1 game due to the migraines. Granted, 1 is 1 too many. He's one of our most promising draft prospects, and will likely improve over last season.

We have potentially 3 pro-bowl caliber WR's, and the best receiving corps in the NFL. They get a 5 from me.

Would you not rate his performance last year a 5? I would. He had one hell of a season, and I look forward to his return this year.

Here's what I took from the article:



That sounds like a "Favre is definitely returning" to me.

Does Reusse know something nobody else does? Or have I been living under a rock since yesterday afternoon?

That's the general consensus. I highly doubt Reusse knows for sure. Everything has been speculation at this point. Funny thing is, I didn't start believing the hype until I read that his wife reportedly renewed her Minnesota gym membership. Favre likes to do the opposite of what people say. I'm still one of those skeptics that thinks he could very much pull the rug out from under everyone and call it quits. I won't breathe a sigh of relief until he's in uniform.

i watched nfl live, espn 1st and 10, and nfl total access and most are expecting the packers to win the north and make a run to the superbowl. that doesnt sound logical after the vikings beat the packers handily twice last season and the vikings will have pretty much the same team back. while the packers couldnt protect rogers very well last season and there 3-4 defense is still in the embryonic stage. the packers defense didnt fair very well against the better teams. also the vikings receivers should be on the same page even more with favre this season after playing with him a year. our secondary should also be healthier and i cant see our run blocking being as poor or AD fumbling as much.

Of course, that embryonic 3-4 defense was first in the NFL against the rush, 5th against the pass and 6th overall ... all in their first season in the 3-4 under a very capable defensive coordinator in Dom Capers. About the only teams to really exploit them were the Cardinals and us.

That being said, the Packers acquired exactly no one during the offseason and had a lackluster draft. In addition, Aaron Kampman is gone, Al Harris is coming off a severe ACL tear, and 35-year-old Donald Driver had surgery on both knees. I just don't see why the pundits are putting them so high, except that they've all got man-love for Aaron Rodgers.

They seem like a solid contender to make the playoffs. Nothing more.

It just struck me that Reusse wrote it like it was a certainty, with a date and everything. Other writers include the "it seems like a foregone conclusion" caveat.

But then I checked the web for Brett Favre news, and there was nothing new. So yeah, it appears he's speculating.

The renewed gym membership seems to be a good sign, though.

It happens every year. For some reason, journalists and reporters love the packers. I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'd rather us be the "comeback kid" as opposed to the "hunted".

The Packers offense is good. Rodgers is a good QB. I wouldn't put him up there with Brees,Manning and Brady. But he's talented. Their O-line improved at the end of last season,but they still allowed sacks. They have a good Running game. Grant is a solid back that will get you 1,000 yards. WR is a bit unproven past Jennings and Driver (who I think will have a serious downturn this season) Jones and Jordy Nelson hasn't done anything spetacular so their WR core is a bit weak this season. Finley is a solid Tight End.

Packers defense is good. Good stats wise against most teams except,as J.Kapp 11 pointed out.the Cardinals and the Vikings. Both teams had great veteran QBs. So against most teams the Packers will do good except elite QBs

So I think the Packers are a playoff contender,but if Favre comes back,no way are they winning the division

and the Cowboys

I was just going to bring up the Cowboys but someone beat me to it. I've said this before, but I just don't see how someone can put the Packers in the category of a playoff contender with what they have done with Rogers. Sure they have put up some nice statistics, but they are not playing championship ball, not yet anyways. Sure anything can happen, but I just don't see a reason to place them ahead of the Vikings.

Don't forget fellas we still got a horrific schedule with that bye week after the third game but Yeah I don't get why everyone thinks the Packers are going to win the division I mean Brett Favre is not even on that team. He's on Minnesota and even if he were not to come back i don't think the Packs got a chance to win in fact I honestly believe the Bears can creep up behind the Packers.

Agreed on the Bears, but I like our early bye.(sort of) We might need the rest after an emotional, hearts out battle against the Saints. Also, We play the Jets the week after the bye. In New Meadowlands Stadium. A game that will be hard fought. The bye could give us the 'extra pep' needed to beat them and set the pace for the rest of the year. Then we play a vengeful Cowboys team at home, then the Pack and Pats on the road. It could play to our advantage. I emphasize the word could

the cowboys 0-line needs to get alot better protecting romo. we exploited it in the playoffs. i also dont see dez bryant having a randy moss type of year this season. i will be suprised if the cowboys win the east.

I remember thinking about how bad our schedule looked this year, but I just checked, and our SOS (strength of schedule) is right in the middle - tied for 14th (with the Bears) at .508. The Packers are tied at 22 with opponents pct at .488. Not a huge difference.

I expected us to be near the top in SOS, though I guess our 2 games against the Lions always skew things...

saints, vikings, packers, cowboys, and eagles should all be playoff teams in the nfc i just which other team it will be.

chargers, bengals, ravens, colts, and jets in the afc...................and ?

saints and vikings are definately the elite teams in the nfc until proven differently. packers and cowboys are still a question mark if they will make the playoffs. they should, but they have stiff competition within their divisions.

49ers in the NFC. Pats or Texans in AFC

yup 49ers. Im not feeling the Eagles this year I think the Redskins will get ahead of them. Just how I think the Falcons will surpass the Saints. In the Afc I agree and I will put the dolphins in that last spot I think.

Ha, I was just about to say the same thing regarding the Eagles (and Falcons).

The problem for the Vikings is that most of the difficulty is in the first eight games.

You've got New Orleans, the Jets, Dallas, New England, Green Bay and Arizona -- six playoff teams -- in the first half. One of the other teams we play in the first half is Miami, a likely playoff contender. Then we play Green Bay again in game number 10.

So our schedule, while not overall tough, has the potential to put us in a playoff hole if we don't play well early in the season. An early stretch of poor play like last year's Arizona-Carolina-Chicago stretch could really hurt us. But if we could get through the first eight games 6-2 or better, we could be in for a truly memorable season.

i also think the nfc north will be a dog fight. i bet the lions and bears end up being alot better than most think this season.

I've been thinking that since the draft. The packers didn't really help themselves much during the offseason, but they're always good competition. The bears and lions got MUCH better. This could be a nail biter of a divisional race!

I wouldn't be surprised if the Vikings,Packers and Bears finish with a better record than anyone in the AFC or NFC West

Nor will I. It should be a fun season to watch.

I am very surprised to see this kind of optimisim from Reusse, but I don't disagree with his conclusions. I believe that 95% of NFL success is driven by the talent, health and effectiveness of the players in the trenches, and from that standpoint the Vikings are solid ... top 5 on the D-Line, and with a year of experience for youngsters Sully and Loadholt and a healthy Hutchinson, the O-Line should be easily top 10 if not top 5.

Combine that potential with the natural chemistry of returning 22 starting players, and there is plenty reason to be optimistic for the Purple's 2010 prospects.

LEAFMAN THE PURPLE FAN