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Vikings defense will have hands full against Saints.

Even with only three healthy cornerbacks to throw at the Saints’ wide-open, pass-first offense, the Minnesota Vikings defense thinks it’s ready for the highly anticipated rematch Thursday night.

Perhaps the proud veteran unit’s performance in the NFC title game has something to do with that.

The Vikings held the Saints to 257 yards in the 31-28 overtime loss in New Orleans in January, by far the lowest output from the high-powered offense all season long. The Saints managed just 213 in the regular-season finale against Carolina, but Drew Brees did not play and a host of other regulars got just a few snaps in the game.

“They did a good job keeping the guy out of rhythm,” coach Brad Childress said Tuesday. “Anytime you’re getting off the field on third downs … They just got him out of kilter a little bit, whether it’s knocking receivers out of kilter or rushing him and getting him moving around, it was one or the other for most of that second half.”

The Vikings’ vaunted defensive line, which led the league in sacks last year, only sacked Brees once in the game. But they forced him to throw sooner than he wanted and kept the shifty Saints receivers from turning short receptions into long gains.

A team that averaged 403.8 yards of offence per game managed just 73 total yards on six full drives in the second half. The Saints capitalized on a long kick return right out of halftime and Percy Harvin’s fumble at the Minnesota 6-yard line for their two touchdowns in the second half.

But the Vikings held the Saints to 3 for 12 on third downs and forced four punts in the second half, and seven in the game, nearly twice as many as New Orleans averaged in the regular season.

“I thought they played very well against us in that NFC championship game,” Brees said. “As we go back and look in that film, we feel we were all kind of disappointed in the way we played offensively. You have to give them a lot of credit, obviously, because they did some good things. We just looked at short-yardage situations where we were kind of poor at. Third downs in general, we did not do a very good job. … All in all, I feel like we are a lot better than what we showed last year in that game.”

If the Vikings defenders are going to have similar success Thursday night, they are going to have to overcome even greater odds than they did the first time around.

Veterans Antoine Winfield and Lito Sheppard and second-year pro Asher Allen are the only three healthy cornerbacks heading into the game against an offense that loves to run four, and sometimes even five, receivers on any given play.

Starting cornerback Cedric Griffin has practiced some this week and says he is close to coming back from a torn knee ligament suffered in the NFC title game, but it would appear that he is a long shot to play in Week 1.

The Vikings traded veteran Benny Sapp to Miami for Greg Camarillo to add depth to a thin receiver corps, then lost impressive rookie Chris Cook for at least the first two weeks of the season because of a torn meniscus in his right knee.

Sheppard has been up and down in his first training camp with the Vikings and the team could activate undrafted rookie Marcus Sherels from the practice squad for the game just to have enough bodies. They also could use safety Husain Abdullah more heavily in pass coverage.

“We expect every guy that lines up on Thursday night to play well,” defensive co-ordinator Leslie Frazier said. “We have high expectations for Lito, just like we do for all of our guys.”

The Saints know what they’re up against, and have their eyes on the weak spots that could be exploited.

“I’m sure they’re reading the papers, looking on the Internet, reading that we only have three corners,” Winfield said. “So, we can expect that.”

On the bright side, the Vikings will have Jared Allen, Kevin Williams, Pat Williams and Ray Edwards on the defensive line to chase Brees around. And captain E.J. Henderson, who did not play in the NFC title game because of a broken leg, will be right behind that fearsome front.

Henderson’s presence should help a unit that excelled in last season’s game at keeping Saints receivers in front of them and limiting big plays.

“The biggest thing is make sure we make the tackle as soon as we can,” linebacker Chad Greenway said. “They have so many athletes who are great after the catch. I don’t think there’s any secret to what we did. It’s basically the same thing we did every week.”

Matt Field
TenYards.com Sports Editor

Vikings RB Adrian Peterson confident he can cure his fumbling.

For all the time Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings have spent studying his fumbling problem, knowledge and strategy will mean nothing if he loses the ball this week in New Orleans.

The extra-aggressive Saints are sure to be trying to strip Peterson of his most prized possession in Thursday’s season opener, with the NFC championship game memory still fresh. The All-Pro running back’s 122-yard, three-touchdown performance on that epic January night was tainted by two fumbles, plus a botched handoff with Brett Favre.

Peterson, however, believes he’s found a cure.

“Holding it high,” he said Monday. “I found out by studying myself that when I’m going down I kind of brace myself with the hand I’m carrying the ball in, and that’s leaving opportunities for those guys that are reaching and scraping and punching for that ball.”

So how does he avoid that?

“Just not brace yourself as much,” Peterson said. “I’m a pretty tough guy, so just keep the ball high and fall down. Like you said, it is all off instinct. But when that becomes a problem, you sit there and say, ‘Hey, I’ve got to eliminate doing this.”‘

He’d like to take better advantage of defenders, too, when they eschew proper wrapping-up technique for the riskier attempt to get the ball out.

“I look forward for guys to try to tackle me and tackle the ball,” Peterson said. “They might not be on the field too long if they continue to do that.”

Since the start of his career in 2007, Peterson leads the league with 20 fumbles, losing 13 of them.

“He’s such a talented back and he runs so hard that I think it’s almost instinctual for him that he lets that ball loose a little bit sometimes,” Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. “I don’t know how you correct that. I don’t know how he corrects it. I hope he hasn’t corrected it, to be honest with you. But he’s a very, very talented back, and he definitely has my respect.”

Running backs coach Eric Bieniemy led the team’s off-season review of Peterson’s habits, yielding an extensive video montage of the turnovers and near-turnovers. The Vikings also consulted New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin and former running back Tiki Barber, who overcame early-career fumbling problems by changing his carry style to a higher and tighter look.

For all the ability Favre has to run a team, read a defence and fire the ball downfield, Peterson remains the fulcrum of this offence. Offensive co-ordinator Darrell Bevell didn’t flinch Monday when asked if he still considers this a run-first system.

“Absolutely,” Bevell said. “I think that we need to try to get Adrian the ball as much as we can.”

Favre recalled Sunday the enjoyment he had in last year’s season opener when Peterson ran for 180 yards and three touchdowns against the Cleveland Browns.

“I had the best seat in the house,” Favre said. “I said, ‘This is going to be a lot of fun this year.”‘

Perhaps just as important for Peterson against the Saints, or against any team for that matter, are his blitz pickups in pass protection. Peterson has struggled in that area in the past, a major reason why Chester Taylor took the majority of third-down snaps over the past three years, but Bevell praised Peterson’s progress.

“I’d say he’s come a long way even in these last two weeks,” Bevell said.

So Peterson will take the field at the Superdome later this week, eager to deliver some helmet-jarring hits on the Saints defence to pay back their treatment of Favre in the playoffs.

“I always work hard, but it felt different this off-season,” Peterson said, adding: “It just made me even hungrier.”

The taste of that bitter overtime loss is still there for Peterson as much as it is for anyone else wearing purple.

“We’ve got to go out there and stay focused and eliminate the mistakes that we had last year against those guys,” Peterson said, “and we’ll definitely win.”

Matt Field
TenYards.com Sports Editor

2010 Minnesota Vikings season preview

Unfinished business is the obvious and resounding theme for this Vikings team. After finishing last season so painfully close to a trip to the Super Bowl, a chance at redemption has these guys salivating.

The offseason drama of Vikings players pulling out all the stops to talk Brett Favre off the perpetual ledge of retirement sets the table for the veteran quarterback to prove his final NFL season can be a championship one. That is, if the team can answer many of the questions surrounding its skilled positions.

Reasons For Optimism… Experience is on the Vikings’ side as 21 of the starters who carried the club to last year’s NFC title game are still in the mix in Minnesota. Favre’s decision to rejoin the teammates who meant so much to him last season seems to be a real motivator. New additions add youthful energy, like draft pick Toby Gerhart, who will compliment Adrian Peterson at running back, and cornerback Lito Sheppard who will pitch in to help Antoine Winfield.

Reasons For Pessimism… There is great uncertainty at many key positions on the Vikings roster. Wide receiver is a spot no one has seized with Sidney Rice lost for at least the first half of the season due to hip surgery, and Percy Harvin missing much of camp due to severe migraine headaches. The defensive backfield also has question marks until Cedric Griffin returns from ACL surgery. Rookie corner Chris Cook impressed many at camp and has a chance to prove he is the answer.

Reasons For Realism… Sure, Favre took the Vikings to last year’s NFC title game with his swagger, but the 40-year-old quarterback is recovering from ankle surgery and he had very little time to prepare with his teammates, arriving during the waning days of training camp.

Favre certainly wants to redeem himself after tossing an interception on a potential game-winning drive that cost the Vikings a trip to the Super Bowl. The offensive line must protect the $20 million quarterback despite a calf injury to center John Sullivan that has slowed things in preseason. With a tough schedule in the early weeks (games against New Orleans, Dallas, Green Bay, NY Jets and New England in the first eight weeks), this group can’t afford a slow start.

Matt Field
TenYards.com Sports Editor

Which team will continue the trend of “worst to first” turnarounds?

Competitive balance in the NFL is so strong that a team going from “worst-to-first” in its division is becoming an annual tradition.  For the seventh consecutive season – an NFL record – at least one team has finished in first place in its division the season after finishing in last place.  In fact, out of the 32 teams in NFL annals to go from “worst-to-first,” 15 of them have done so in the past 10 years (2000-09), including an NFL-record three such clubs in 2006.

One of the teams to make the remarkable turnaround in 2006 did so again in 2009…all the way to a Super Bowl victory.  The New Orleans Saints, whose 8-8 record saw them finish last in the NFC South in 2008, improved by five wins en route to a 13-3 record and a division title for the second time in four seasons.  The Saints also became just the third club to go from “worst-to-first” and cap the season with a win in the Super Bowl, following the 1999 St. Louis Rams and 2001 New England Patriots.

TenYards.com wishes the best of luck to last years cellar dwellers: Washington, Detroit, Tampa Bay, St. Louis, Buffalo, Cleveland, Jacksonville and Kansas City.

The teams to go from “worst-to-first” in their division since 2000:

Cut-down time is fast approaching for the NFL. 

Rosters must be at or below 75 players by Tuesday, August 31, 2010 and to the roster limit of 53 by Saturday September 4, 2010. The Vikings currently have 79 players listed on their roster.

There will be some tough decisions needed to be made by the team in the next week. 

It’s going to be a short week for the Vikings as their final preseason game will be on Thursday. For many players this will be their last shot to impress the coaching staff and make the team.

In an attempt to find a replacement for the injured Sidney Rice, there are currently 12 wide receivers on the roster. Look for that number to be cut in half. 

With their sixth round pick the Vikings drafted Joe Webb, a quarterback from the University of Alabama-Birmingham. The original plan was to move Webb to wide receiver, but after an audition at quarterback during mini camp, the Vikings changed their mind, and liked what they saw.

That leaves four quarterbacks on the roster.

The starter is not in question, and the consensus is that the Vikings are so high on Webb that he has a lock on the number three spot. 

That leaves the backup role. Tarvaris Jackson went into camp as the projected starter with Sage Rosenfels as the backup.

Through three preseason games Rosenfels has out played Jackson.

Rosenfels has completed 28 of 40 passes for 381 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions for a quarterback rating of 133.4.

Jackson, on the other hand, has only thrown 18 passes, completing 10 for 58 yards, with no touchdowns or interceptions. His rating is a pedestrian 61.8.

Is there anyway Rosenfels makes this team?

The veteran backup, starting his ninth season, Rosenfels has played in 32 games completing 351 passes for 4,156 yards with 30 touchdowns and 29 interceptions. His career rating is 81.2.

For Jackson, four years Rosenfels’ junior, in four season he has played in 33 games. He has completed 545 passes for 3,618 yards with 21 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. His rating is 77.9. 

For the Vikings the question is, who is the quarterback of the future? A future, that is one injury of Brett Favre away.

Jackson has had plenty of opportunities to impress. He has a 10-9 record in 19 starts for the Vikings. Not good enough for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.

The decision may come down to who has the best trade value.

Either way, with only one preseason game remaining, and no opportunity to develop either as a starter on another roster, the most likely trade would be to a team looking for a competent backup.

The Vikings could attempt to cut Webb and then assign him to the practice squad. This is an unlikely scenario. The Vikings, with a high opinion of Webb, would not risk having him claimed off the waiver wire by another team.

That means it’s Jackson or Rosenfels.

Unfortunately, there’s no way Rosenfels makes this team.

Brad Childress has favored Jackson since he drafted him in the second round of his first season as head coach.

To release him or trade him would, in some way, admit he made a mistake.

Look for Rosenfels to get plenty of snaps in the final preseason game as an audition for any teams in need of a backup.

Favre throws two interceptions, but Vikings still top Seahawks

Opening night is less than two weeks away and Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings are still trying to figure out exactly what they have in a banged-up receiving corps and a rotating offensive line.

Favre’s two newest targets made pretty good impressions just days after arriving in Minnesota.

So did Seattle rookie safety Earl Thomas.

Favre threw for 187 yards and two interceptions, one that Thomas returned 86 yards for a touchdown in Minnesota’s 24-13 victory over the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday night.

Favre completed 16-of-26 passes and took a couple of big hits while playing two series into the third quarter. His interception to Thomas went in and out of the hands of Bernard Berrian.

“We’ve got to find out in a short period of time who can make some plays in the passing game,” Favre said.

Thomas delivered Seattle’s lone touchdown of the game and also levelled Percy Harvin on a slant over the middle. It was a big night for the heavy-hitting safety from Texas, taken by the Seahawks with the 14th overall pick over Taylor Mays, who was a standout for coach Pete Carroll at USC.

“He made a huge play tonight,” Carroll said. “I can’t wait to see it again.”

As soon as the ball fell into Thomas’s arm, “I was just thinking gas,” he said. “Just put my head back. It was like Pop Warner when you throw your head back and run.”

The Vikings signed veteran Javon Walker on Tuesday and acquired Greg Camarillo from Miami in a trade on Wednesday to bolster a receiving corps that has lost Pro Bowler Sidney Rice for eight weeks because of hip surgery.

Camarillo had four catches for 47 yards and Walker made a great catch over Walter Thurmond for a 25-yard TD from Sage Rosenfels in the fourth quarter.

“I don’t even know how many people know my name, but it doesn’t hurt to grab a couple balls and get a couple first downs,” Camarillo said. “That’s how you get trust from your teammates. Hopefully they’ll start believing in me.”

Favre, who was coaxed back for a 20th NFL season on Aug. 18, played eight series on Saturday night. He led the Vikings to one field goal and a touchdown, a 24-yard run by Adrian Peterson that was set up by a 73-yard kickoff return by Darius Reynaud.

Peterson finished with 37 yards on 11 carries.

Favre also lost a fumble when Chris Clemons blew past left tackle Bryant McKinnie for a sack that had the 40-year-old quarterback shaking his throwing hand in pain early in the first. But he remained in the game and helped the Vikings amass 242 yards of offence, but only 10 points, while he was playing.

Coach Brad Childress called the offence, which also started Anthony Herrera at centre for John Sullivan (calf), “still in flux,” which has to be a concern with the opener in New Orleans looming on Sept. 9.

“There are a lot of moving parts and parts that are just being added,” Childress said.

Seattle’s offence sputtered along as well.

Matt Hasselbeck completed nine of 17 passes for 126 yards, 42 coming on a completion to Mike Williams in the third quarter. More importantly, he left after two series in the third quarter without a scratch on him.

That was no small feat for Seattle’s patchwork offensive line against a defensive line that led the NFL in sacks last year. Sixth overall draft choice Russell Okung is out indefinitely with a high ankle sprain, forcing the Seahawks to move backup left guard Mike Wrotto out to left tackle.

Two years ago, Jared Allen put a crunching hit on Hasselbeck in the preseason that knocked him out of the game with a back injury, one that lingered most of the season and kept him out for nine games in the regular season that year. He missed two games with a rib injury last season, but the Seahawks did a pretty good job of protecting him on Saturday night.

Hasselbeck was sacked twice and hit two other times, but came away unscathed.

“Three of their four guys are Pro Bowlers and it easily could have been four out of four,” Hasselbeck said of Allen, Pat and Kevin Williams and Ray Edwards. “It was a huge challenge and I think we did a good job.”

The Vikings also had to be encouraged by Harvin’s return. The reigning offensive rookie of the year has only practiced six times this pre-season because of recurring migraine headaches, including a bout that caused trainers to call an ambulance to practice just over a week ago.

“I did a test last night and they found some things that we think was the main cause of it,” Harvin said. “We’re feeling really confident. I know we said that a couple times, but I think this time we found what the main cause was. I’m not saying I’ll never get a headache again, but hopefully we can slow it down a little bit.”

Harvin had two catches for 30 yards. He also took two big hits to the head, one from Lofa Tatupu that knocked his helmet off and the one from Thomas that broke up a pass in the third quarter.

“We drafted him because he’s a playmaker,” Carroll said. “He was the best playmaker in the country. He played much better tonight than he did last week so I was really happy for him.”

Matt Field
TenYards.com Sports Editor

Last year’s Super Bowl finalists, the Indianapolis Colts, open the 2010 season at the top of the TenYards.com NFL Power Rankings.

Coming off a 14-2 season in 2009, in which the two regular season losses came while starters rested late in the year, the Colts start this year with a deep receiving corps, solid running duo and, not to be forgotten, Peyton Manning calling the shots.

Seemingly every year, there are questions about the Colts’ defense, and this year is no different, but with elite pass-rushing ends (Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney), active linebackers and an improving young secondary, the Colts have enough. 

That Bob Sanders, the oft-injured 2007 Defensive Player of the Year, is healthy to start the year is an added bonus.

Ranking the Colts first isn’t to suggest that they are on the way to another 14-0 start, but this is a team that could roll to 13 or 14 wins once again.  Having won at least 12 games for seven straight seasons, that lofty total isn’t really a stretch.

Last year’s Super Bowl champs, the New Orleans Saints, are ranked third, but with 20 of 22 starters returning, they are right in the same neighbourhood with the Colts.

The Saints set a franchise record with 13 wins last year, scoring 30 points or more 12 times in 19 regular-season and playoff games. Like Manning, Drew Brees has a deep and talented group of receivers complemented by a solid running game.

Also like the Colts, the Saints’ defense is generally under-appeciated, but has strong ends (Will Smith and ex-Bear Alex Brown), an active middle linebacker (Jonathan Vilma) and playmakers in the secondary (led by veteran FS Darren Sharper).

Intruding in the rankings, sitting between the top two teams from last season, the Dallas Cowboys have strung together five straight winning seasons, yet after getting annihilated by the Minnesota Vikings (ranked fourth, incidentally) in the playoffs last year, there is a sense that the Cowboys have the talent necessary to play with the big boys and with the Super Bowl in Dallas this year, perhaps a little extra motivation to get them over the hump.

Baltimore, New England, Houston, Pittsburgh, Green Bay and the New York Jets round out the Top 10.

At the other end of the spectrum, the St. Louis Rams, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccanneers are at the bottom.  Those five teams combined to win 17 games last season, so it’s a long way to climb.

Preseason Power Rankings

1- Indianapolis Colts

2- Dallas Cowboys

3- New Orleans Saints

4- Minnesota Vikings

5- Baltimore Ravens

6- New York Jets

7- New England Patriots

8- Houston Texans

9- Pittsburgh Steelers

10- Green Bay Packers

11- Washington Redskins

12- San Diego Chargers

13- New York Giants

14- Atlanta Falcons

15- Tenneesee Titans

16- Philadelphia Eagles

17- Chicago Bears

18- Carolina Panthers

19- Arizona Cardinals

20- San Francisco 49ers

21- Cincinnati Bengals

22- Denver Broncos

23- Miami Dolphins

24- Jacksonville Jaguars

25- Kansas City Chiefs

26- Oakland Raiders

27- Seattle Seahawks

28- Tampa Bay Buccaneers

29- Buffalo Bills

30- Detroit Lions

31- Cleveland Browns

32- St. Louis Rams

Brett Favre reacts to his number one target being out half the season.

Hey Brett, if you would have known Rice was going to be out for such a large part of the season, would you have come back?

“I don’t know for certain because that obviously wasn’t the case,” Favre told reporters on Wednesday. “It’s hard enough at 40 to play. You take a guy out that had roughly 90-something catches and was obviously pretty productive .. but there’s more guys on this team too.”

Favre will be without Rice and another favorite target, Percy Harvin, has been struggling with recurring migraines. “Percy’s situation is iffy,” Favre said. “We expect big things from him, bigger than last year. He has to take care of himself first.”

When it gets down to it, Adrian Peterson and the rest of the Vikings running attack will have to pick up the slack this coming season. Favre agrees,  ”Sidney or no Sidney, our running game has to be more productive and controlling throughout the season.”

Peterson’s role has now become nearly as important as Favre’s, with a group of new recievers it will be crucial that the running game keeps the ball and moves the chains.

The Vikings have been busy trying to bolster the receiving corps, signing free agent Javon Walker on Tuesday and trading for receiver Greg Camarillo of the Miami Dolphins on Wednesday.

“Without Sidney, it sure makes it tougher,” Favre said. “But going into the season last year, no one expected the season that Sidney was going to have. So, maybe there’s another guy that can step up and do that.”

Matt Field
TenYards.com Sports Editor

Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl wideout Sidney Rice could miss half the 2010 season after undergoing hip surgery.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Rice visited the Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colorado on Monday where he had the procedure, confirmed by Rice in a text message to the paper.

Rice has been on the physically unable to perform list since the beginning of training camp due to the ailment, which he previously stated occurred during Minnesota’s loss to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game last January.

The report said Rice was looked at by three specialists during the offseason, and that two had suggested surgery at the time.

The 23-year-old fourth-year pro had a breakout season catching passes from Brett Favre last year and earned Pro Bowl honors for hauling in 83 balls for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns in 16 games.

Rice was the 44th overall selection in the 2007 draft out of South Carolina after a standout sophomore season for the Gamecocks.

In addition to Rice’s injury, the team is dealing with the health of wide receiver Percy Harvin, who continues to battle severe migraine headaches that have caused him to miss most of camp.

The Vikings responded Tuesday by signing veteran wide receiver Javon Walker, who will enter his ninth NFL season and be reunited with quarterback Brett Favre.

Walker started a promising career in Green Bay after the Packers took him in the first round in 2002 out of Florida State. He played four seasons alongside Favre and put together his finest year as a pro in 2004 when he racked up career bests with 1,382 yards 12 touchdowns and 89 receptions.

The 31-year-old went on to play two seasons in Denver before moving on to the Raiders in 2008. He appeared in three games without recording a catch last season for Oakland before a season-ending ankle injury.

Minnesota also waived running back Ryan Moats Tuesday. Moats was signed in June after two years with the Texans. In 2009, the fifth-year pro ran for 390 yards with four touchdowns on 101 carries. He also caught 13 passes for 106 yards and a score in 14 games.

Matt Field
TenYards.com Sports Editor

The San Diego Chargers have won the division the last four years, and there is no reason they shouldn’t win it again this year. Philip Rivers is by far the best quarterback in the division and I anticipate an excellent year on defense for the Chargers as this is Ron Rivera’s third year running the show.

The unpredictable team in this division, in my opinion, is Denver. Last year, the Broncos won their first six in a row, and then lost eight of the next 10. They need a healthy Ryan Clady at left tackle for all 16 games. Of course, they need to solidify the quarterback position, choosing between Kyle Orton, Tim Tebow and Brady Quinn. As an NFL coach, Josh McDaniels has real determination, and that is something that others find contagious. It will be interesting to watch all of this unfold in Denver.

In Kansas City, if you believe that building on success is easier than creating success for the first time, the Chiefs should improve on last year’s four-win season. Romeo Crennel and Charlie Weis are excellent support pieces for Todd Haley as a head coach, but this team must improve in so many different areas, it’s likely that the Chiefs will be battling against the Raiders to avoid the basement of this division.

As for the Raiders, Tom Cable has been involved in some public relation disasters, but he seems convinced that his football team is a good one. And it’s another year and another new offense for Jason Campbell. I’m not saying Campbell is Peyton Manning, but Manning has had the benefit of being able to run the same offense his entire NFL career. Campbell is in his fifth year, and this is the fourth offense he’s had to learn.

Matt Field
TenYards.com Sports Editor