Sidney Rice's Hip Is Improving, But When We Returns To The Vikings Is Still Uncertain

Sidney Rice's hip is improving, but when he returns to the Vikings is still uncertain

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Sidney Rice Will Miss The First 6 Games Of The Season

While Childress was offensive coordinator there.
Asked about his comfort level with receivers Bernard Berrian, Percy Harvin, Greg Camarillo and Greg Lewis, Childress said he's "completely comfortable."
Injury update: Left tackle Bryant McKinnie says the dislocated finger he suffered against the Saints is fine and he will play this week. The gory photographs of his treatment that he posted on his Twitter account last weekend were not for the squeamish.
McKinnie was injured early in the fourth quarter against New Orleans. He said he would have been able to return, but the Vikings never got the ball back.
Baby steps: Though his knee is feeling "strong" after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in late January, cornerback Cedric Griffin says he's not rushing his return.
The Vikings considered playing Griffin against the Saints but ultimately placed him on the inactive list.
"This is something I'm doing for my career, more than just the first game or second game," Griffin said. "I'm looking out for my interests as well. We're taking our time."
Last year's starter said the process is day to day, and he believes he will play "whenever the coaches feel I'm good and whenever I go express my feelings (that I'm ready)."
Quote of note: "If you go to the ground, you have to come up with the football. Period." — Childress, on Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson's apparent touchdown catch with 24 seconds left at Chicago on Sunday that was ruled incomplete despite clear possession of the ball. Johnson left the ball on the ground as he popped up, giving the Bears a 19-14 victory.
Brian Murphy contributed to this report.

Toby Gerhart Minnesota vikings 3rd Down Back

A week after arthroscopic hip surgery, Vikings wide receiver Sidney Rice has been placed on the reserve/physically unable to perform list.
This means Rice will miss the first six games of the season, after which the team will have three weeks to activate him for practices or place him on injured reserve. The latter would risk losing Rice for the entire year.
Coach Brad Childress said last week he expected at least eight weeks before realistic discussions of Rice's return.
Rice said on Twitter that he would return to the Vikings' Winter Park facility on Monday.
Rice's move to PUP came in light of the Vikings' efforts to trim the roster to 75 players for Tuesday's deadline.
The team waived tackle Bill Noethlich, receiver Marko Mitchell and linebacker J Leman. The Vikings have to cut to 53 players by Saturday.
Injury update: Running back Toby Gerhart, a second-round pick out of Stanford, returned to practice after missing Monday because of a knee injury.
Also missing in action were cornerback Chris Cook (knee), center John Sullivan (calf), defensive tackle Jimmy Kennedy, wide receiver Logan Payne, safety Jamarca Sanford and tight end Garrett Mills.
Percy Harvin strolled into practice a couple of minutes late. At this point, his everyday attendance is a victory for the Vikings after he missed most of the preseason with migraine headaches.
'Big game' for Webb: Rookie quarterback Joe Webb said he's confident in his place

Percy Harvin Confirms Sleep Apnea

Percy Harvin Minnesota Vikings WR

Minnesota Vikings receiver Percy Harvin confirmed to reporters Monday that he is being treated for sleep apnea, a condition that might have triggered his increasing frequency of migraine episodes this summer. Harvin said the diagnosis came when he was hospitalized after an Aug. 19 collapse during a Vikings practice.

Harvin (via Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer Press): "They'd just barge in the room and be like, 'Harvin, you OK?' I'd say, 'I think so.' [They said] 'Well, your heart just wasn't beating.' I was like, 'What do you want me to do?'"

Indeed, doctors determined his heart was stopping and then re-starting during the night, a common symptom of sleep apnea. He now sleeps with an oxygen device and said he feels a "100 percent difference" when he wakes up in the morning.

Whether this cures his migraines, slows them down or merely helps him sleep better, Harvin appears to be in a better place than he was a month ago.

Continuing around the NFC North:

• Vikings owner Zygi Wilf's enthusiasm hasn't dampened following a Week 1 loss at New Orleans. According to Judd Zulgad of the Star Tribune, Wilf said: "We built a team that we expect to go all the way. We're not holding back right now. ... We pretty much feel that we're all in. We're going to try our best to fulfill our goal."
• Tom Pelissero of 1500ESPN.com: "Sidney Rice expects to remain on crutches for a couple more weeks, and the Minnesota Vikings' top receiver said on Monday he hasn't set a target date for returning to practice following last month's hip surgery."
• Lori Nickel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel lists these veteran agent running backs as available if the Green Bay Packers look for outside help to replace Ryan Grant (ankle): Willie Parker, Ahman Green, Justin Fargas and J.J. Arrington.
• Because the Packers spent the entire game at Philadelphia in the nickel, A.J. Hawk did not receive a single defensive snap, notes Kareem Copeland of the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Inside linebackers coach Winston Moss: "If I was in that same situation, I would be upset if I didn't play and I was going into an opening game ... and I had a very good preseason. I would have wanted to play. I'm sure a highly competitive guy would have wanted to play. I would use it as -- if I have to do whatever it takes and do more to stay on the field as much as possible, I've got to do whatever it takes. That would be my attitude."
• The Packers plan to re-sign defensive lineman Jarius Wynn to replace the injured Justin Harrell (knee), confirms Jason Wilde of ESPNMilwaukee.com.
• The Detroit Lions agreed to terms with former Chicago Bears cornerback Nate Vasher, notes Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com. Vasher could replace injured nickelback Aaron Berry.
• Lions coach Jim Schwartz called backup quarterback Shaun Hill "one of our biggest offseason acquisitions," writes John Niyo of the Detroit News.
• Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford on his series of injuries in the NFL: "Pretty perfect hits. Guys dropped me on my shoulder pretty hard both times. I'd call them weird, freaky injuries more than anything." Michel Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press has more.
• Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is willing to gain yards on the ground, notes Bob LeGere of the Daily Herald.
• Michael C. Wright of ESPNChicago.com questions the Bears' decision to match Lions receiver Calvin Johnson in single coverage on the play that nearly beat them Sunday.
• Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz made a number of concessions Sunday for his still-developing offensive line, writes Dan Pompei of the Chicago Tribune.
• Sean Jensen of the Chicago Sun-Times: "Devin Aromashodu started the 2010 season the way he ended the 2009 season: as the Bears' hottest receiver."

Vikings Work Out Receivers, Chris Cook Returns To Practice

Chris Cook

The Minnesota Vikings began the 2010 season with only 4 wide receivers. At this same time a year ago, the Vikings roster boasted 6 receivers and the receiving corps was a strength of the team. In an attempt to bolster their battered wide receiver group, the Vikings will work out a number of players this week. However, head coach Brad Childress was vague when explaining whether or not the team would sign a new player this week.
“It’s a thing that we do every week,” Childress said. “We usually bring people in to try to get a look at them. We’ve had numbers of people through here to look at, whether it’s the offensive line [or] whether it’s in the secondary.”
According to Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the players visiting Winter Park for a workout include former Patriot Sam Aiken, former Eagle Reggie Brown, former Packer Ruvell Martin, and former Raven Demetrius Williams. None of these options is great as there is good reason they all have “former” listed before their names.
Speculation remains that the Vikings are interested in disgruntled Chargers wide receiver Vincent Jackson, but that option becomes more unlikely everyday. Jackson’s contractual demands and pending suspension make him less attractive to a team looking for an immediate impact. A third option would be bringing back Javon Walker who was cut by the team after the preseason.
On the other side of the ball, rookie cornerback Chris Cook returned to the practice field on Monday. After injuring his knee in the team’s 4th exhibition game, the 23-year-old out of the University of Virginia is still not 100%, but he was able to participate in individual drills. Childress was hopeful the rookie will be back on the field soon.
“He just went through some individual periods,” Childress said. “He doesn’t look completely comfortable. As always, it’ll be how he comes back in and treats and how he shows back up tomorrow.”

Time For The Vikings To Go Big At WR?

Vincent Jackson

   As rumors continue to swirl that the Vikings are in the market to trade for San Diego wide receiver Vincent Jackson, team officials spent the weekend setting up visits for four free agent receivers at Winter Park.
The Vikings plan to look at Sam Aiken (Patriots), Reggie Brown (Eagles), Ruvell Martin (Seahawks) and Demetrius Williams (Ravens) as early as Monday. The visits were first reported on Fox and ESPN's pregame shows Sunday and the door also appears to have been left open for veteran Javon Walker to return. Walker was let go in the Vikings' final roster cuts on Sept. 4 after he joined the team late in the preseason.
The flurry of activity came only two days after Vikings coach Brad Childress told reporters he was not thinking about adding to a wide receiver group that is only four deep and combined for four receptions in the Vikings' 14-9 season-opening loss Thursday night at New Orleans.
Quarterback Brett Favre attempted to take the blame for the fact that none of his wide receivers had more than one catch saying he wasn't sharp enough on some passes. But there was little doubt Favre missed the presence of the 6-4 Sidney Rice, who turned into the quarterback's favorite target last season as he had 83 catches for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns.
Rice is expected to miss at least half the season after having hip surgery. Bernard Berrian, who is 6-1, has big play ability but had only one catch for 3 yards against the Saints.
Jackson would be the most attractive of any available receiver because he would give Favre a Rice-like presence. The 6-5 Jackson had a career-high 68 receptions for 1,167 yards and nine touchdowns last season. However, there are questions regarding his availability that will need to be cleared up before any team pursues him.

    Jackson, a restricted free agent, remains unsigned and has not reported to the Chargers because he isn't happy with his contract situation. Things get murky because Jackson has been suspended for the first three games of the season for violating the NFL's substance abuse policy. San Diego also placed him on the roster exempt list, meaning he could end up missing six games to start the year.
The NFL contends that Jackson should have to sit out the entire six games even if he is traded; the NFL Players Association says the six-year veteran shouldn't have to miss those final three games if he is with a new team.
    There have been multiple reports that an arbitrator will hear the case Thursday morning and if the ruling goes in Jackson's favor he could be moved quickly. If he is forced to sit out six games, his attractiveness to the Vikings decreases in a big way because Rice might return shortly thereafter.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in August that the Vikings had made a call to check on Jackson's availability but "immediately balked" at his demands. That would be the same $50 million, five-year contract, with $30 million in guarantees, that caused Seattle to stop talking to Jackson's reps after they received permission to do so.
      The Jackson-to-Minnesota rumors picked up again when reports circulated that his agents had a deal completed Sept. 4 with a team they would not identify. The Union-Tribune said this time the agreement was believed to be for one year and $7 million plus incentives but that it fell through because the unknown team could not come to an agreement with the Chargers.
If Jackson had signed and reported by the 5 p.m. deadline Sept. 4, he could have served his suspension and his time on the roster exempt list concurrently but the league no longer sees it that way. The Vikings, who probably will have Favre for only the remainder of this season and are trying to make another deep playoff run, became the likely candidate as the unnamed team when the Rams and Seahawks were eliminated as the potential suitors by the Union-Tribune.
   One of Jackson's agents, Jonathan Feinsod, and Vikings officials have both declined to comment on whether the team is interested. Even if Jackson doesn't end up with the Vikings, it appears the team could have a fifth receiver on its roster when it plays its home opener on Sunday against Miami.

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Vincent Jackson: Chances Increasing For Vikings To Acquire Pro-Bowler

Bernard Berrian Might Be Traded Away For Vincent Jackson

San Diego Chargers' Wide Receiver Vincent Jackson

For those that have not been following the Vincent Jackson suspension/trade talks, allow me to fill you in really quick.

Vincent Jackson of the San Diego Chargers is currently facing a three game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy, which was announced on July 1, 2010.   Last Saturday, an unnamed team reportedly made Jackson's agents a one-year deal to acquire the 2009 Pro-Bowler. The offer was rejected by the Chargers. San Diego's asking price was originally expected to be for a  first-rounder, maybe even more. But with nobody willing to give up that much, the Chargers were out of luck.

Since then, they have lowered their asking price to both a second and third round pick.

It's not been revealed how much Minnesota offered, but we just know that it wasn't enough for San Diego to let him go to the NFC.

On September 11, rumors resurfaced that the Vikings would be willing to offer more if Jackson's suspension is kept at only three games, rather than six, which he could face.

Vincent's best season occurred last year when he recorded 68 catches for 1,167 yards, and nine touchdowns in only 15 games.

Even though his reception numbers aren't great, Philip Rivers is a quarterback that loves to distribute the ball to all of his targets, which include Antonio Gates and Malcom Floyd.

With his 6'5", 230 pound frame, Jackson has the ideal size for a wide receiver. Despite not having the greatest speed, he is able to overpower the defenders that attempt to cover him.

It became abundantly clear that the Vikings are missing Sidney Rice after only scoring nine points on Thursday night's opener against the New Orleans Saints.

The fact that Brett Favre doesn't have a "big" receiver to throw to at the moment could be a cause for concern for Minnesota.

Although Sidney Rice is expected to be back after week eight, the Vikings could use Vincent Jackson for only one year.

If he fits in well with Minnesota, they could opt to sign him to an extension, but that doesn't seem very likely at this point in time.

As a Vikings fan, I am willing to admit that Minnesota's offense could be in trouble if Minnesota's main targets can't step up.

Bernard Berrian has seemed to struggle ever since Sidney became "the man" for Brett to throw to. Perhaps jealousy really does factor into football.

Only joking, people.

Don't get me wrong, I do not condone the multiple times Jackson has broken the law, but his talent on the field is something that will undoubtedly overshadow his troubled past.

It's been stated that Vincent will likely never play a down for San Diego again, so why not trade him away to a team that you will only face every few years or so?

Both the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams were in the hunt for Jackson at one point, but talks between respective parties fizzled after they couldn't come up with the proper deal for San Diego to accept.

At this point, the Chargers should accept whatever they can get for him. Nonetheless, anything less than a fourth-rounder would be ludicrous for San Diego.

Minnesota's offense would reach the level of unstoppable with Jackson, Rice, Percy Harvin, Berrian, and Visanthe Shiancoe as weapons for Brett Favre to throw to.

However, I do believe Berrian could be included in the deal for Jackson.

San Diego's passing game will take a serious hit if they are unable to find a suitable replacement for Vincent. Legedu Naanee won't cut the cake, unfortunately.

Where we stand now, trade talks are somewhat at a minimum, but you never know what can happen in a matter of hours when it comes to the NFL.

With the false reports of T.J. Houshmandzadeh signing with the Vikings, and Brett Favre retiring for good, I'm not sure what to believe or not believe any more these days.

Until I hear it from Brad Childress, himself, I tend to ignore whatever rumors come about. With that said, I am hoping that this one is absolutely true.

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Minnesota Vikings Team Report

Favre Missed Some Crucial Passes In The Season Opener Vs Saints

NFC North Standings W L T PCT PF PA Chicago 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Detroit 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Green Bay 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Minnesota 0 1 0 .000 9 14 Team Stat Leaders Passing Att Cmp Yds TD Int Favre 27 15 171 1 1 Rushing Att Yds Avg TD Long Peterson 19 87 4.6 0 14 Harvin 1 2 2.0 0 2 Receiving Rec Yds Avg TD Long Shiancoe 4 76 19.0 1 33 Camarillo 1 29 29.0 0 29 Schedule/Results Date Opponent Score 9/9/2010 at New Orleans L 14 - 9 9/19/2010 Miami 1:00 PM 9/26/2010 Detroit 1:00 PM 10/11/2010 at N.Y. Jets 8:30 PM 10/17/2010 Dallas 4:15 PM 10/24/2010 at Green Bay 8:20 PM 10/31/2010 at New England 4:15 PM 11/7/2010 Arizona 1:00 PM 11/14/2010 at Chicago 1:00 PM 11/21/2010 Green Bay 1:00 PM

Brett Favre joined the Vikings in late August last year, didn't get into a groove until Week 3 of the season and still they cruised to a 6-0 start.

This season, however, Favre's decision to again not arrive in Minnesota until training camp was over appeared to backfire in quick fashion.

Favre, who took advantage of the fact the Vikings opened up against woeful teams in Cleveland and Detroit in 2009, completed 15 of 27 passes for 171 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a subpar 71.7 passer rating in a season-opening 14-9 loss to the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints at the Superdome.

It was obvious Favre was not on the same page as his wide receivers and he completed only four of the 12 passes that he threw to Greg Camarillo, Percy Harvin, Greg Lewis and Bernard Berrian. About the only receiver who was in sync with Favre was tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who caught four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown.

"I think the timing was off a little bit," Favre said. "Without looking at film, off the top of my head, there were three or four throws that I just missed. I have no excuse other than just missing them. I threw one behind Greg Lewis. I had a couple of reads that I should have made differently. If I do that, I think it is a different ballgame. ... Overall, I just missed on some throws that I should have made."

In his first game with the Vikings last season, Favre completed 14 of 21 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown in a 34-20 victory over the Browns. A week later he threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-13 victory at Detroit before following that with a 301-yard passing performance against San Francisco.

The question now becomes how long will it take Favre to get on track this season? The Vikings play their home opener on Sept. 19 against Miami and then play host to Detroit before having a bye.

Those are key games considering the Vikings will play the Jets, Cowboys, Packers and Patriots coming out of the bye.

NOTES, QUOTES

—Vikings coach Brad Childress acknowledged that his team's opening game was expected to be a shootout between two top offenses. But that isn't what happened. "Obviously, it turned into a defensive struggle," Childress said. "I don't think that anybody would've seen that this way. They had four explosive plays in the first quarter. We kind of held them down after that. We were right where we wanted to be at halftime. Unfortunately, we were three and out far too many times. Hats off to New Orleans. They did a nice job defensively ... and we didn't have a lot of answers for that."

—DE Jared Allen was pleased with how the Vikings defense performed. "I am really proud of the way our defense played," he said. "Other than their first drive (on which the Saints scored), I thought we stopped them a lot on third downs and made plays."

—QB Brett Favre didn't play his best Thursday but he did say his surgically repaired left ankle held up fine. "I don't move around like I used to," Favre said. "But I feel like it did OK."

__  Should Lito Sheppard Be The Number One CB and Greg Camarillo A Starting Receiver? From The looks of Thursday's game these were the players that played the best for the Vikings under pressure.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

PLAYER NOTES

—S Husain Abdullah started at strong safety Thursday and has won that job, according to coach Brad Childress. Abdullah beat out Tyrell Johnson and Jamarca Sanford, who were believed to be the top two candidates throughout training camp.

—CB Asher Allen started ahead of Lito Sheppard at right cornerback and was used at the left corner in nickel situations as veteran Antoine Winfield moved inside and Lito Sheppard came off the sideline to play right corner.

—WR Bernard Berrian returned punts but didn't do much in that role. Berrian muffed one punt and finished with 2 yards on two returns. He also had two fair catches. There is a chance the Vikings could give WR Greg Camarillo a look in that role.

—CB Cedric Griffin, who tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the NFC title game last season, was among the Vikings' eight inactives. It's not certain when Griffin will be able to begin playing but he is doing limited work in practice.

—LB E.J. Henderson played against the Saints, nine months after suffering a gruesome broken leg. Henderson started in his usual role in the middle and tied for second on the team with nine tackles.

—LT Bryant McKinnie left Thursday's game in the fourth quarter after he dislocated his finger. He is expected to return for the Vikings next game against Miami a week from Sunday.

REPORT CARD

PASSING OFFENSE: C-minus — A year ago Brett Favre started slowly after joining the Vikings late and it didn't matter as Minnesota cruised past a woeful Cleveland team in its opener. This time, however, Favre's decision to arrive late definitely hurt his team as the Vikings lost to the world champion Saints. Favre often looked as if he was not on the same page as his wide receivers and the stats supported that. He completed 15 of 27 passes for 171 yards with a touchdown, an interception and a 71.7 passer rating. The only player Favre seemed to be in sync with was tight end Visanthe Shiancoe, who caught four passes for 76 yards and a touchdown. No wide receiver caught more than one pass. Greg Camarillo, Percy Harvin, Greg Lewis and Bernard Berrian were targeted a combined 12 times but had only four receptions.

RUSHING OFFENSE: B-minus — The Vikings made a surprising decision to go away from the run game in the second half after having success with it in the first. Adrian Peterson finished with 87 yards on 19 carries, but 57 of those yards and 13 of the carries came in the opening two quarters. The Vikings' run-to-pass ratio in the first half was 17 to 15 but that changed to six to 12 in the second. Peterson did see some time on third down, something that didn't happen much when Chester Taylor was around, and backup Albert Young got only three carries for 2 yards. Percy Harvin also rushed once for 2 yards. Rookie Toby Gerhart, a second-round pick, did not play because of a knee injury.

PASS DEFENSE: B — Despite having only three healthy cornerbacks dressed, the Vikings were able to do a nice job against Drew Brees. The Pro Bowl quarterback threw for 237 yards and a touchdown but that score came on New Orleans' opening drive when Brees completed three of four passes, including a 29-yard touchdown that went to Devery Henderson and came at the expense of cornerback Asher Allen. Allen started at the right corner but the Vikings went nickel much of the game and moved Allen to the left corner in those situations with Lito Sheppard on the right and savvy veteran Antoine Winfield matching up against the slot receiver. Strong safety Husain Abdullah got his first career start and appeared to hold up just fine.

RUSH DEFENSE: B — The Saints accumulated 79 yards on 25 carries with almost all of it coming in the second half. New Orleans only attempted three rushes in the first half but then ran the ball 22 times for 70 yards in the second. The Vikings have one of the NFL's top rushing defenses and for the most part they were solid on Thursday. The Saints were able to gain 31 yards on their 11-play drive that ended with a Pierre Thomas 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

SPECIAL TEAMS: C — Nothing special here. Bernard Berrian, who had some success on punt returns in 2008, only had 2 yards on two returns and muffed one that he recovered. Percy Harvin was able to return kicks and averaged 20.5 yards on two run backs. Ryan Longwell made a 41-yard field-goal attempt but his extra point try late in the second quarter after Shiancoe caught a touchdown pass was blocked. Longwell also is back handling kickoffs after Rhys Lloyd failed to make the roster coming out of the preseason. Longwell did not have a touchback on three kickoffs but his first kick to open the game did go 2 yards deep into the end zone.

COACHING: C — The decision to go away from the run game in the second half was surprising, especially as Saints coach Sean Payton made the adjustment to try to balance his offense by running more. Childress also was unsuccessful on a challenge of a pass that he thought tight end Jim Kleinsasser had caught early in the fourth quarter. That cost him a timeout he could have used later in the game as the Saints ran out the clock. The bottom line, however, was that if Favre had a better game the Vikings would have won.


Well, look forward to the Miami Dolphins Game Vikings Fans maybe we'll see our offense and secondary step it up and match the rest of the team. Below, is a store of Minnesota Vikings Player Jerseys, get your Brett Favre Minnesota Vikings Jersey, they're selling fast!!

Adrian Peterson Wanted More Carries In The Vikings 14-9 Loss Vs Saints

Adrian Peterson Stiff Arms Saints Defender

Adrian Peterson had 13 carries on the Vikings' first three possessions on Thursday night. The Vikings' game plan was, clearly, to get Peterson the ball coming out of the gate.

And then the Vikings got away from that game plan. Peterson had just six carries the rest of the game, and none at all on the Vikings' final drive, on which Brett Favre threw seven passes, the Vikings ended up punting with five and a half minutes left, and then the Saints proceeded to run out the clock.

So why didn't Peterson get the ball more late in the game? He says he asked for it, but he's not sure if coach Brad Childress heard him.

"I'll do whatever it takes," Peterson told Michael Silver after the game. "Whatever it takes to help this team win. I don't know if Coach heard me, but I remember walking by in the second half on the sideline saying, 'Hey, give it to me. Feed me.' I don't know if he really heard me. But there's a lot to learn from this game."

The No. 1 thing for the Vikings to learn is that just having Favre lead the offense won't be enough. They're going to have to feed the rock to Peterson more than 19 times a game this season.

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.