New Orleans Saints vs. Minnesota Vikings Preview

Adrian Peterson Looking To Carry The Load

Vikings Fans Are Looking For Revenge

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    It has been more than seven months since the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings battled for the NFC championship.
saints_fans95.jpgScott Threlkeld/The Times-PicayuneIt will be an emotional game for the New Orleans Saints and their fans Thursday night.

Since then, barbs have been traded, criticisms levied, taunts fired.


Minnesota Vikings Coach Brad Childress accused the Saints of taking cheap shots at quarterback Brett Favre.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe called out Saints safety Darren Sharper for dirty play.

Sharper, in turn, hinted that the Saints would be targeting Favre's ankle.

The Biggest Game Of The Vikings 2010-2011 Season

Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said his defense could continue to send messages to opposing quarterbacks, "starting with No. 4 (Favre)."

Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, meanwhile, called Williams' remarks "meathead comments."

The trash talk and verbal volleys only add to the anticipation for Thursday night's regular-season opener between the teams at the Superdome.

It's one of the most-hyped rematches since Ali-Frazier.

NFL Kickoff?

More like the NFL Tick-off.

And it might be more physical than the Thrilla in Manila.

Saints' players spent Sunday afternoon downplaying their newfound rivalry with the Vikings. They stressed this will be just another game on the schedule. They insisted there'll be no more trash talking or extracurricular action than any other week.

Visante Shiancoe Looks To Quiet The Superdome Early

And they fooled no one.

Thursday night has all the earmarks of a blood bath. The Vikings believe they, not the Saints, should have won Super Bowl XLIV. They are convinced they gave away the NFC championship game. They are going to arrive with horns on their helmets and chips on their shoulders.

"I think it will all take care of itself from our standpoint and their standpoint, " Childress said. "You better play this game from an emotionally aroused level. I don't have any illusions that they will. All you want to make sure is you give your best shot, and that's what I want from my players."

Childress on Sunday did not back down from claims earlier this summer that he believes the Saints intentionally tried to hurt Favre in the NFC championship game.

Jared Allen Looking To Get His

"What I hate to see are late hits or attempts to hurt anybody, " Childress said. "I don't think there's a place for that in the game."

Later on Sunday, Saints defensive end Will Smith scoffed at the notion.

"Everybody knows that's nonsense, " Smith said. "We play to the whistle. We played like that all year and didn't hear anybody else complain."

Defensive tackle Remi Ayodele said the Saints have never tried to intentionally hurt a player, including Favre. On the play in which Favre injured his ankle, Ayodele said he even tried to let up on the quarterback at the last minute.

"Watch the film, " he said.

Brett Favre Looks To Pour On The Points

"You don't ever want to hurt another player, but I just think it was taken out of proportion because it was Favre and it was that game. But if you look back on the rest of our games, it was kind of the same deal. ... We did that every game."

Defensive end Anthony Hargrove just rolled his eyes when asked about the play.

"If the league doesn't want the quarterback to get hit, maybe they should just give him a flag, " said Hargrove, who was fined $5,000 for a late hit on Favre in the NFC championship game.

"We're not going to change how we play. We're going to come after every quarterback we play. It's about sending messages all season."

To Favre's credit, he didn't buy into Childress' claims. "It's physical, " Favre said. "It's football. I'm not going to get caught up in that."

What both teams likely will get caught up in is the emotion of the night.

There's going to be a pregame parade in the French Quarter.

The Dave Matthews Band and Taylor Swift will perform concerts.

They are going to drop banners at the Superdome on Thursday night: One for the NFC South Division title; one for the NFC championship; and another for the Super Bowl XLIV title.

The atmosphere is going to be electric. And the action is only going to intensify once they kick it off.

Report From Vikings Training Camp

August 10, 2010

Where are all of the Vikings Skill Players? Harvin is in Eden Prairie, Favre is still in Hattiesburg living it up with the high school kids, AP is not at camp [Albert Young although is looking good] , and overall the Vikings team has not resembled fully.  This gives Vikings fans even more reason for anxiety and heart attacks because our best three players have started a trickle down effect of skipping out on camp, commencing with Favre at the top. I mean, seriously, The Vikings cannot be projected for the Superbowl if we can't even see their pre-season play. This is the time to get down the new plays, work out the kinks in your game [AP fumbling] , and prepare for the Saints come regular season. Where are these star-studded superstars? Have they lost focus on the big picture, winning the Superbowl in Dallas?  Speculation has to lead you to believe that the Vikings camp is not so tightly organized and that problems will start budding if we don't see the return of our full roster, Favre included. Realistically, with Favre we are a Superbowl favorite, without Favre; we are a wild card favorite, BIG difference. So when will Favre end this onslaught of indecisive waffling? Come, the end of training camp August 14 or perhaps on the 1st regular season game Vs The New Orleans Saints? Well, enough prediction, This is what we do know about the Vikings Training Camp progression:

The Good:

• Chris Cook.  Cook went into camp as a long-shot to win anything higher than a fifth cornerback spot, but now, after a few stellar days, he looks like a legitimate threat to claim at least the nickelback role.  Observers are in love with his size, athleticism and ability to go up and get the ball.  Judd Zulgad said he is the best-looking rookie in Vikings camp.  It would be fantastic to have a young, talented corner playing outside, allowing Antoine Winfield to move inside or, perhaps, to safety.

•   Percy Harvin got hurt over the weekend, and has now left the team because of a death in the family.  Sidney Rice is on the PUP list with a bad hip.  These unfortunate situations opened the door for other receivers to get reps, and former Gopher Logan Payne has been the one to take advantage of it.  Judd Zulgad tweeted that Payne is “catching everything.”  He’s still a very long-shot to win a spot on the roster, but stranger things have happened.

• Chris DeGeare.  Once again, injury has paved the way for a younger guy to get reps with the first team.  In this case, the younger guy is rookie Chris DeGeare, who stepped in at left guard after Steve Hutchinson hurt his shoulder.  DeGeare reportedly looked good in his time at Hutch’s position.  Considering Hutch’s age and the injuries he’s suffered the last couple years, it would be reassuring to have a capable guy to step in should something bad happen.  And just in general, with Artis Hicks now gone, the Vikes need all the offensive line depth they can get.  It may be too early to declare DeGeare a legit threat to Anthony Herrera at right guard, but Brad Childress did say that DeGeare will get snaps at that position.  Clearly, Chilly wants someone to push Herrera.

• Toby Gerhart.  Toby had an eventful first couple of days.  He signed late and showed up a day late to camp, which irritated the veterans and his coach.  Once he did get on the practice field, a couple people noted that he tends not to play through to the whistle.  Perhaps wanting to test Toby’s mettle, Pat Williams flattened him during a drill.  Toby took it like a man and moved on.  We’ll see.

The BAD:

• Everson Griffen.  A Twitter follower of Judd Zulgad’s asked him which version of Everson Griffen showed up at camp (Griffen being a guy who is sometimes known for a lack of motivation).  Zulgad’s reply, “The one playing third team right end.”  This doesn’t mean anything yet.  But, if Griffen is still playing third team right end by the end of camp…well, then we’ll know we don’t have a new starting defensive end on our hands.

• Joe Webb. Those wishing to anoint Joe Webb the future of the Vikings may have been at least somewhat alarmed by the 0-8 performance he put on during drills the other day.  Pretty much every assessment of Webb is the same:  he has a strong arm but his accuracy is brutal, and he is a long, long way from ever being an NFL quarterback.  The lesson?  OTAs and mini camp mean nothing.  Of course, camp doesn’t mean everything either.  Webb could still rebound.  But, for now, he looks like a wide receiver playing quarterback.

Top Reasons Why Brett Favre Isn't Going To Retire

God I love that Sports Quote Video.










Oh right Brett Favre. Is He still around?! Yes and now he's approaching 40 years and has had three total ankle surgeries, and constant concussions and beatings. So What Keeps Him going, watch to Find Out:





Top Ten Reasons Favfe Shouldn't Retire:

1. He's Still Got It:

2009 was a banner year for Favre.

The 19-year veteran and future Hall-of-Famer threw for 33 touchdowns and 4,202 yards, in addition to posting career highs in both passer rating (107.2) and completion percentage (68.4 percent). Favre also threw the fewest number of interceptions in a full season, seven, in his career. He was a top 5 quarterback last year and held the crown for winning drives and clutch throws. What 40 year old in sports can take a team on his back a lead them to a NFC Championship game. Nada, Exception being Brett.

The Downside, is his history of injuries. With The Jets in 08 he tore a bicep and with the Vikings he clocked his third ankle surgery. But, The Silverfox is known to fight through injury for his love of the game is greater than the pain.

2. Sidney Rice

After two decent seasons in the league, the South Carolina product had a breakout year in 2009 with Favre behind center. Rice was No. 4's favorite target, with the pair hooking up for over 1,300 yards and eight touchdowns.


The Three Year Veteran is a developing Larry Fitzgerald, and is a formidable deep threat with asoft hands and a good vertical. Not only, Sidney But Berrian, an experienced veteran, will continue to produce consistently and Percy Harvin, now on his second year, is going nowhere but up. with a great nucleus of receivers who all have talent, speed, and good hands who wouldn't want to be the quarterback.

3.Adrian Peterson

He's gained over 1,300 yards in each of his three seasons in the NFL, bringing his career total to nearly 4,500. Peterson has scored 40 touchdowns over that span, including 18 last season. He's averaged an astounding 4.9 yards per carry for his career.

AP is a bomb waiting to go off....you can't contain his explosive running game because you better bet every play he's looking to take it to the house. With Ap and Brett Teams have to game plan not just for one of the best quaterbacks in the league, but also the future Hall of Famer Adrian Peterson. And don't worry about his fumbling issue. With his tenacity and what it cost us last year, especially vs the Saints in the NFC Championship game, he won't be fumbling come this season.

4. The Vikings Are Super Bowl Contenders

The Vikings, with addition of Chris Cook in as the 33rd pick in the 2nd round [remember we traded our 30th 1st round pick for a Detroit 2nd round pick and 4th round pick]. Have no holes that I can see in our defense. Our run game is practically a gridiron dynasty, like the purple people eaters of the late 70's. On Offense Brett has some of the best bigs in the business protecting his left side and the side are no pushovers.

Peterson and Rice are only the tip of the iceberg on a roster that includes the likes of seven-time Pro Bowl guard Steve Hutchinson, fellow Pro Bowler Bryant McKinnie at tackle, and another deep threat in receiver Bernard Berrian.

And that's just the offense.

Usually overshadowed by the aforementioned names, the defensive side of the ball has made incredible strides over the past few years in Minnesota.

Led by a stout defensive line that includes Jared Allen, Pat Williams, and Kevin Williams, the new Purple People Eaters allowed the 10th-fewest points per game last season (19.5) and was sixth in total yards against per game (305.5).

If opposing offenses are lucky enough to get beyond the front four, fearsome linebackers E.J. Henderson and Chad Johnson.

To Sum it up, Favre has weapons at his disposal and he doesn't have to win it by any means by himself.

5. His Pure Love Of The Game

Brett Favre plays football with pure joy. Ever since he started in Mississippi, he's never let the game change his game. He plays with the same free spirit and Wiley that he does in his own backyard. Truly he's still in the game because he loves it and can't imagine his life without it. To retire, would to strip himself of his joy and exonerated image that football gives him. Brett can't leave the game, because the game can't leave him.

6. To Not End His Career On An interception

What prideful superstar wants to leave the game on a heartbreaking interception that would crack his own legacy whether he likes it or not. Obviously Brett doesn't want people to remember him as a shaky gunslinger that couldn't run five yards for the win.

7. He Doesn't Have Anything To Do In Mississippi

Brett's one of those carefree- humble guys but he also loves the excitement and limelight that each NFL season presents. Anyways, what is there to do in Mississippi? Fish, mow your lawn, then what. Just settle down on a farm with the wife and kids. That doesn't sound like a worthy alternative to playing NFL football and contending for another Superbowl with the Vikings.

8. Vikings Fans Love Him!!

His Jerseys are selling like hotcakes, he sells out pre-season games for us, we need him to win a Superbowl!! Purple pride nation appreciates and loves Brett and his roller coaster he's put us on. We still want to ride, Brett please stay.

9. He Gets Another 20 Million

For doing something you love and having the role and stature of a veteran and leader on a very good football team should be reward enough. In addition, he takes 20 mil to the bank, and can feel more at peace come retirement time.

10. To Beat The Saints Next Year

All of Minnesota has Drew Bress and Tracy Porter on our titlists. They made our winter just that much more filled with despair and unhappiness as sub-zero temperatures rolled in on our beautiful landscape. I'm sure Brett would love to come back and just massacre the Saints in the 1st regular season game of the year. That could be so sweet, if it were to be true. And set the tone and mood for the rest of the year.