Well the NFL season sure is opening with a bang this year.  A rematch of last season’s NFC Championship game THRILLER.   These are two of the most exciting teams in the league, and this game is guaranteed to be an instant classic.  Speaking of guarantees, Minnesota Vikings All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson already guaranteed a victory for the Vikes (see video here).    The Saints and the Vikings are clearly the most talented teams in the NFC , maybe the whole NFL, so picking a winner is going to be tough.  Will AP’s guarantee prove true? Or will the Saints prove they are the best team in football, again.

The first topic of conversation that always comes up opening week in the NFL is whether or not the champs will have a super bowl hang over.   I think not, the Saints are opening at home, in one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL, they will be unveiling their Super Bowl banner, and we can’t forget that the 5 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina just passed, in New Orleans, THAT MATTERS.

With neither team signing any major free agents in the off season, I think in order to determine an edge in the game you have to first consider 2 key off season health concerns for the Minnesota Vikings.   First is Percy Harvin, who collapsed during train camp workouts due to migraine headaches.  Harvin is expected to play on Thursday, but missed pretty much the entire preseason, so he could be rusty.   Even more importantly, Brett Farve’s favorite target last season, Sidney Rice, just had hip surgery and will be out until midseason.   This is a major blow to the Vikings receiving core and their ability to keep up with the high scoring Saints.

Let’s not forget Minnesota has a great defensive, they stop the run very well and Jared Allen leads a D line that can always get to the quarterback and cause problems. On the other side of the ball, the Vikings have one of the best running games in football, lead by Adrian Peterson, and like to try and control the clock by pounding the ball.  The problem with that strategy against the Saints though, is that they play in a dome and can put up points faster than anybody in the NFL.  If your running games stalls in the least bit, you will find yourself getting blown out.

The most important factor in who will win on Thursday: is that the strength of the Saints D lies in the fact that they are extremely opportunistic and create a lot of forced fumbles and interceptions.   That happens to be the Vikings weakness, and it showed last season in the championship game with Brett Farve throwing two interceptions, one on the final drive, and AP losing two fumbles.  When one team’s strength is also the other team’s weakness, you have a clear winner.  I think the Saints will create turn over’s and ride the energy of the crowd to another victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

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