Adrian Peterson Stiff Arms A Saints Defender

Saints Hold Off Vikings 14-9 To Open Season

Brett Could've been Doing This

          On a night that the city of New Orleans celebrated last season's accomplishments, the 2010 version of the Saints began their title defense with a 14-9 win over the Vikings on Thursday.

The Saints wasted no time in finding the end zone, scoring just 2:04 into the game. Brees hit Devery Henderson from 29 yards out, whipping the Superdome crowd into a frenzy and putting the defending champs up 7-0 before Favre and the Vikings' offense even touched the ball. Minnesota's first points of the game finally came in the second quarter on a Ryan Longwell field goal, cutting the deficit to four points. The Vikes took the lead later in the quarter when Visanthe Shiancoe hauled in a 20-yard Favre touchdown pass. A missed extra point by Longwell gave Minnesota a 9-7 lead at halftime.

New Orleans took control in the third quarter, finishing off an 11-play, 69-yard drive when Pierre Thomas plunged over the goal line to put the Saints back on top 14-9. Favre and the Vikings were unable to get back on the scoreboard and the Saints hung on for their first win of the new season.

Brees finished 27 of 36 for 237 yards and one touchdown while Favre went 15 of 27 for 171 with a scoring strike and one interception. Adrian Peterson was the game's leading rusher with 87 yards; Thomas led New Orleans with 71 yards on 19 carries. 

Brett Favre Is Back But For How Long

      Brett Favre was retrieved from his farm in Mississippi by three teammates, practiced with the Minnesota Vikings the next morning and then met media. This will be my final season he was heard to exclaim.

Can Brett Endure The Whole Season?

What's funny about that, aside from the obvious, is that he thought the most common reaction would be, "thank goodness". He mentioned that his family will be happy that after his twentieth season he'll be out of pads and a helmet, and thought the rest of America would share that sentiment.
For some reason he didn't realize that the first and most popular reaction would be, "We'll believe it when we see the signed papers filed with the NFL." Of course even that didn't keep him from returning from retirement in 2008 to play for the New York Jets. Favre has not yet grasped the fact that we love it when he plays football, just not when he talks about NOT playing football.
Much has been said and written about why he finally caved in to Steve Hutchinson, Ryan Longwell and Jared Allen when they landed on his doorstep this week. From what they are willing to reveal and what Favre said at the media conference, he was still not sure he was good enough to make a Super Bowl run and doubted his ability to make everyone happy.
Veterans of twelve-step programs say they are taught that addicts-alcoholics are all egomaniacs with inferiority complexes. Both parts of that dichotomy were on display during our third annual "Is He or Isn't He" summer ritual.
The quarterback's insecurity makes him fearful he'll disappoint his team of the moment. Add a rehab from surgery to that and it becomes overwhelming for him.
It's hard for us to understand that an athlete like Favre could ever doubt himself.  He admitted he had to grow to believe his teammates, over the course of the day and a half they spent with him, when they told him he didn't have to replicate last season, one of the best in his 19-year career.
The final straw, according to Favre was when one of the three-some asked him to return as a persdonal favor. He realized his fear of failure was not theirs and that one little "yes" from him would make them very happy.
Meanwhile, agonizing about his own insecurities puts the needs of his team a distant second. He gives little thought to the rituals of a team that makes no exceptions but for him, in demanding that training camp is required.
He doesn't think it's his job to let the coaches know if they are designing schemes for him or backups. He thinks that a few words upon his late arrival at camp makes it all right for him to toy with the heads and hearts of two men who want to take his place if they only knew whether he would return.
 He's special, after all and of course he's right. There are different rules for someone like Favre. But he doesn't have to take advantage to this extent. The fact that he does so without dwelling on consequences, stems from his all consuming insecurity.
Other than the Packers and their GM Ted Thompson, no other team has told him to stick his ridiculous indecisiveness and put it where the sun doesn't shine. So it's back to work for Brett Favre and supposedly only one more try at football glory  Here's a video clip from the press conference. 

The real question Minnesota Vikings fans are pondering is if Brett Favre will be the starting quarterback for the whole season this year without getting injured, and if he does have a remarkable season like last year than would he stay for another year?Well, we all know that his bum ankle isn't tested yet and we won't really know if Brett can make it through the while season even if he doesn't get sacked a lot because of his enigmatic ankle. We know Brett is tough and can play through pain but just to what extent is his ability to maneuver outside and in the pocket affect his game? So, all we can do is say that he will give it 100% like he has for his previous 19 years and try to bring us to the Superbowl.
We all know that Brett Won't quit if he has another outstanding year like last year, how can he when he's still a top quarterback. Get Your Brett Favre Minnesota Vikings Jersey below and get ready for a Minnesota Vikings Superbowl Season.
   

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.

Vikings' corners see math problem

Which Corner backs Will Start? Winfield and Griffin like last year? Abdullah and Winfield? Sheppard and Winfield? Or Maybe a mixture of all four? We all know that Antoine Winfield is our number one corner back ,it just depends on who will win the second and slot covering positions?This is now the big focus on the Minnesota Vikings Roster Preparation for the regular season.

Cedric Griffin

Antoine Winfield

Husain Abdullah

Lito Sheppard

     

       The Saints like to use four receivers at a time, so being shorthanded could be an issue in the defensive

backfield    The Vikings have only three healthy cornerbacks on their active roster. The New Orleans Saints like to use four wide receiver sets.

It doesn't take a math whiz to realize the numbers don't work in the Vikings' favor.
But that is the predicament they face in their season opener Thursday against a Saints team that finished No. 1 in total offense and No. 4 in passing last season.
"It could be tough," Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield said. "Of course we're kind of short-handed, but that's football. We'll go out there and play with the guys that we have."
That group consists of Winfield, veteran Lito Sheppard and second-year player Asher Allen, the team's primary nickel back. Rookie Chris Cook was poised to start at right corner, but he suffered a knee injury in the third preseason game and could miss several games.
Their shortage of healthy corners forces the Vikings to explore different options. Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier didn't even rule out getting some help from Cedric Griffin, who returned to practice this week after missing all of training camp while recovering from anterior cruciate ligament surgery. Griffin injured his knee covering a kickoff against the Saints in the NFC Championship Game in January. The team put him on the 53-man roster and he has practiced on a limited basis this week.
"The fact that he's out here practicing gives us some hope," Frazier said. "We're just trying to ascertain over the next couple days is it a real possibility. We're going to give it another day and see how he does [Tuesday]. But he has already done far more than we expected when we decided to put him on the 53."
Frazier admitted it's probably too late in the week to sign another cornerback, so they need to find the solution inside their own locker room. One possibility could be safety Husain Abdullah, who got limited playing time as the nickel corner last season.

It wouldn't be surprising if Abdullah plays a significant role, possibly even as a starter at safety. Abdullah said he's done "a little bit of everything" this week in practice.
Safety Jamarca Sanford is bothered by an ankle injury and is better suited in run support. And last season's No. 1 strong safety, Tyrell Johnson, expressed doubt that he will start.
"I don't really know, I doubt it though," he said. "But all you can do is handle your job, your responsibilities."
Sheppard admittedly didn't make many plays in preseason games, but he blamed it on a lack of opportunities. That shouldn't be a problem Thursday.
"You know what you're in store for," he said. "We know what the situation is going into this game. We just have to be professionals and be prepared for it."
The Vikings are hoping a consistent pass rush on quarterback Drew Brees will help their secondary. The Vikings were credited with one sack and four quarterback hurries against Brees in the NFC title game.
"[Pressure] is always important when you're playing against that guy," defensive tackle Kevin Williams said. "I think he's one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league. If we're going to win any kind of way -- whether we have 100 [defensive backs] -- we have to make him move and not let him get settled in the pocket."
The Vikings also need to be effective on third down. The Saints converted only three of 12 third-down opportunities in the playoff meeting. The Vikings can't afford to give that offense extra chances.
"They have so many weapons and can put up so many points on you so fast," Winfield said. "If we can get off the field like we did last year, we'll be good."
If not, their depth problem at cornerback could get magnified. The Vikings fully expect New Orleans to come out throwing the ball with their four-receiver sets.
"I'm sure they are reading the papers and looking on the Internet, seeing we have only three corners," Winfield said. "So we can expect that."

   Get Your Brett Favre Jersey The Season Opener Vs The New Orleans Saints is on September 9 only, four days from today. Below are jerseys of all the vikings players on the 2010 Roster.

Back-Up QB Questions Test Brad Childress’ Patience

Coach Brad Childress Of Minnesota Vikings

    We finally found out what it takes to make the eternally-deadpan Brad Childress lose his patience with reporters.  Just ask him one too many questions about his back-up quarterback.
Apparently, the #2 QB situation was all reporters wanted to talk about during Chilly’s Sunday press conference (not the practice squad?).  At some point, it all got to be too much for Chilly, who dropped his familiar droning, quipping, analogizing facade for a moment and let his true exasperation leak out.
“I’m done with the backup quarterback. I’m done with it,” Chilly snapped.  “You guys, if that’s all you’ve got to write, good Lord. We’re talking about the two highest scoring offenses in the league last year playing each other. Let’s talk about the game, instead of Joe Mauer’s backup.”
The Joe Mauer line needs explaining.  Apparently, earlier in the press conference, Chilly compared the back-up quarterback role to that of a back-up catcher.  I really don’t think I need to point out the absurdity of this comparison.  If Joe Mauer gets hurt, great as he is, the Twins are still going to be contenders.  But if Brett Favre gets hurt and Tarvaris Jackson has to take the field?
I can’t even write about what that would mean.  It makes me too sick to type.
And it makes Childress sick too, which is why he doesn’t want to address it.  Basically, he is in denial.  And his defensiveness shows that, deep down, he really is nervous that the decision to trade Sage Rosenfels will blow up in his face before it’s over.
If he thought Sunday was bad, wait until something does happen to Favre, and T-Jack comes in and stinks up the place.  Then we’ll see a real barrage.  I don’t know what Chilly will do then.  Maybe tear his clothes off and howl.

Vikings Deal Rosenfels And Reynaud To Giants

Sage Rosenfels

Madieu Williams

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Giants have acquired QB Sage Rosenfels and RB Darius Reynaud from the Minnesota Vikings for undisclosed draft picks.

A person within the league who is familiar with the trade confirmed the Giants have dealt for Rosenfels to back up Eli Manning. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not officially been announced.

The Giants lost backup Jim Sorgi with a shoulder injury and he was placed on injured reserve, leaving untested Rhett Bomar as the only other quarterback.

Rosenfels was third string behind Brett Favre and Tarvaris Jackson in Minnesota. He is entering his 10th NFL season as a backup quarterback.

The Vikings acquired Rosenfels from Houston in a trade before last season and signed him to a two-year deal worth $9 million to compete with Tarvaris Jackson for the starting job.

At the time, Rosenfels was thrilled to be coming to a team giving him a legitimate shot at winning the job for the first time. After an offseason of working out and learning the system, however, Rosenfels' big shot was dashed when Favre waltzed in to take over.

Rosenfels spent all of last season as the No. 3 quarterback behind Favre and Jackson.

``If it's true sad to c you go sage good QB great teammate,'' Vikings receiver Greg Lewis tweeted on Friday night. ``Good luck in new York.''

There was a brief glimmer of hope for Rosenfels this summer when Favre was considering retirement. Once again, that ended after the first preseason game, when the Vikings flew three high-profile teammates to Mississippi to persuade Favre to return for one more year.

Time was running out for the 32-year-old Rosenfels, who clearly grew more frustrated with his position on the team.

He had an impressive preseason opener at St. Louis, completing 23 of 34 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns. But he was just 8 for 17 for 92 yards with one TD in the next three games combined, and coach Brad Childress said after the preseason finale that Jackson would be Favre's backup again this season.

The move means that the Vikings likely will keep rookie Joe Webb as the third quarterback.

Sorgi signed with New York as a free agent after six seasons as Peyton Manning's backup in Indianapolis.

Vikings announce cuts

The Vikings have announced their full cuts to get down to the 53-man roster. With the trade of Sage Rosenfels and Darius Reynaud, the Vikings needed to cut 20 players today. They announced them shortly before 5 p.m.

CUT LIST
FB Ryan D’Imperio: Is an ideal candidate for the practice squad with athleticism but raw skills as he makes the transition from linebacker to fullback.

DT Tremaine Johnson: He was trying to make it at a very deep position for the Vikings.

CB Marcus Sherels: Size matters at cornerback and Sherels lacked it. He flashed at time, but was also beaten at times.

CB DeAndre Wright: Had a decent preseason, but the numbers weren’t in his favor.

RB Ian Johnson: Didn’t stand much of a chance to make the 53-man. Might be considered for the practice squad again.

WR Freddie Brown: He was just a camp body from the time he was called into Mankato.

G Thomas Austin: He might be able to start his pursuit of the ministry early, if he isn’t the running for a practice-squad spot.

TE Garrett Mills: His inability to stay healthy has ultimately cost him. Flashy pass catcher, but undersized blocker.

T Chris Clark: His very obvious pass-protecting troubles early in the preseason came back to bite him.

DE Mike Montgomery: Signed in the offseason from the Packers, he never got past the third unit on the depth chart and it was obvious he wasn't going to make the team.

G Adrian Battles: A long shot from the start, since the Vikings drafted Chris DeGeare to be the primary backup at guard and replacement for the departed Artis Hicks, who signed with the Redskins in the offseason.

WR Logan Payne: He caught everything in sight in training camp, but a rib injury sidelined him the last week-plus -- opening the door for veterans Greg Camarillo and Javon Walker to jump past him on the depth chart. Don't be surprised if he's signed to the practice squad if he clears waivers.

PK Rhys Lloyd: He was given a $200,000 signing bonus, which led many to believe he would make the team. But lack of consistent deep kickoffs cost him a roster spot.

WR Javon Walker: Had the Vikings kept Walker on the roster, his entire 2010 salary would be guaranteed. Don't be surprised if he gets re-signed so the team can have the flexibility to release him again when Sidney Rice comes back at midseason.

OT Drew Radovich: Not a huge surprise, since he's been cut each of the last three seasons after Vikings training camp.

S Colt Anderson: He seems like an ideal candidate to bring back on the practice squad.

WR Taye Biddle: Even with a receiving corps depleted by injuries, he didn't show quite enough to make it.

T Patrick Brown: The Vikings opted to keep Ryan Cook over Brown. Cook has a little more versatility, but Brown could be a practice squad guy again.

WR Marquis Hamilton: He was probably one of the easier decisions. Despite relative consistency, he didn't flash often enough.

LB Nate Triplett: If the former Gopher comes back on the practice squad, it will be because of special-teams promise.

The Vikings didn't make any announcement yet about the status of CB Cedric Griffin, so he may be ready to start practicing Sunday and would be eligible to play if that's the case.

The Vikings can start forming their eight-man practice squad Sunday afternoon, but it wouldn't be surprising to continue shaping the 53-man. Surprising cut are Jevon Walker and Logan Payne but nothing is ever definite in Minnesota is it now?!