Preview of the NFL's Back to Football Season Opener

WHO:         MinnesotaVikings @ New Orleans Saints

WHEN:     Thursday, September 9^th, 8:30 pm on NBC

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings return to the scene of the crime to battle the New Orleans Saints in a rematch of last year's thrilling NFC Championship game, a contest won by the eventual Super Bowl champion Saints in overtime, 31-28.  The 40-year old Favre will have to endure the Saints banner-raising festivities prior to the game, but he hopes his fragile ankle will not have to go through a repeat of the beating it took last January after being roughed up and hit countless times by the Saints defense after releasing many of his 46 attempts that night. The pain from his throbbing ankle combined with the emotional letdown of the loss, and falling just short of the Super Bowl was nearly enough to force Favre to finally hang up the spikes, but the Vikings players, led by veterans DE Jared Allen and OG Steve Hutchinson, were able to convince the newly-minted grandfather to come back for another hurrah, and he will make his 286^th consecutive start on Thursday night.   

All the talk about Adrian Peterson's fumbles in the last contest, the three fumbles lost incurred by the Vikings came from the hands of Brett Favre, Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian. Peterson will be a man on a mission in this game, and the Vikings will need a monster effort out of him to silence what will surely be a raucous home crowd out of the ball game, protect Favre's old bones and tender ankle, and keep Brees and the high-scoring Saints offense on the sideline, which will protect a Minnesota secondary sporting just three healthy cornerbacks.  

Yes the absence of Sidney Rice (hip) will be a hurdle for the Vikings offense, but Bernard Berrian will be in the starting lineup, and some would argue that he outperformed Rice in last year's NFC Championship game with nine catches for 109 yards compared to Rice's four grabs for 43 yards and a touchdown. Expect Percy Harvin entering his second NFL season, and reliable possession receiver Greg Camarillo to help compensate for the loss of Rice, whose expected back from his recovery from hip surgery by week seven.

For the Saints, Drew Brees practiced surgeon-like precision in the NFC Championship game, completing 17 of 31 for 197 yards, and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Expect New Orleans to continue to run four and five receiver sets against a depleted Vikings secondary that just welcomed back starting corner Cedric Griffith, who is still recovering from a torn knee ligament.  Wide receivers Marques Colston and Robert Meachem, both held to two catches each for 22 and 19 yards, respectively, in the NFC Championship game, will be looking to post a big improvement to those numbers on Thursday night.

The Saints running game found surprising success last January against the Vikings infamous Williams Wall (consisting of Pro Bowlers Kevin & Pat) with Pierre Thomas leading the way with 61 yards rushing, 38 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and Reggie Bush also contributing a score in the passing game as well.

Defensively, the Saints will be without Pro Bowl difference-maker safety Darren Sharper, who is out for at least six games as he recovers from offseason micro-fracture surgery. Untested second-year pro Malcolm Jenkins is Sharper's replacement and will surely attract Favre's attention in this rematch.  Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma, who had five tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in the NFC Championship game last year, injured his groin in the preseason, forcing him to sit out the fourth preseason game, appears to not be 100% healthy, but will most likely answer the bell given the possible long-term implications of this game when it comes to playoff seeding at the end of the year. 

On the other side of the ball, the Vikings will have middle linebacker E.J. Henderson available for this game. One of the better linebackers in the league before his injury last year, Henderson missed the NFC title game with a broken leg. Henderson's presence should help the Vikings do a better job of tackling Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush, especially after the catch, which Drew Brees exploited last year with numerous check-down passes, at key points in the game, to both backs which effectively muted the Vikings powerful pass rush..     

FANTASY OUTLOOK:

QB: Got to start both quarterbacks in this one. Brees and Favre are two of the NFL's best in a primetime game to start the 2010 season. With the Vikings secondary struggling with injuries, and the Saints missing defensive leader Darren Sharper, this game should turn into a shootout after halftime.

RB: Adrian Peterson. No brainer. He will be the single most important player in this game for the Vikings to have a chance at the road upset. Pierre Thomas should be in your lineup, given his success in the last game between these two teams. Reggie Bush is a  decent flex option in this game, even better in PPR-scoring formats.  

WR: Bernard Berrian and Percy Harvin should start. Berrian played great against the Saints last season and Harvin is the Vikings emerging hope at wideout, and he will be called upon to help make up for Sidney Rice's absence.  For New Orleans, Colston should start, and he will be looking for redemption after being silenced in the last game.  Robert Meachem, Lance Moore and Devery Henderson are possibilities, but difficult to predict who will draw the most targets from Brees.

TE: Vikings tight end Visante Shiancoe (four receptions for 83 yards in the NFC title game) should start in your fantasy lineup this week as he will be a valuable quick pass option for Favre who will be looking to avoid the frantic New Orleans pass rush. The Saints Jeremy Shockey seems to be healthy now, but there's a lot of mileage on his body. You may have better options than him at tight end this week.

K:  Kickers were a non-factor in the last game as the Vikings Ryan Longwell had zero field goal attempts, but four extra points, and Garrett Hartley, had one field goal attempt, a 40-yard game-winner in overtime, to go with his four extra points.  But with this game expected to be a high-scoring affair in an indoor setting, and that's an ideal setting for fantasy football. Both kickers warrant a start this week.

PREDICTION:

A much different dynamic exists for the defending Super Bowl champions this year as they are now the hunted and will have less of that burning hunger to make history for the city of New Orleans. As we all know, there are few challenges in sports more difficult than repeating after a Super Bowl win, and the Saints will no longer have the Destiny's Darlings dynamic to them. With the many book deals, TV Specials and increased media exposure that emerged as a result of their Cinderella story march to Super Bowl glory, there's bound to be some level of Super Bowl hangover that exists for the Saints   The Vikings had outgained New Orleans 475 yards to 257 last January, but five turnovers (three fumbles lost and two interceptions) made all the difference in a narrow overtime win for the Saints.  Expect the Vikings, who have won the last four regular season games against the Saints- including three contests at the Superdome, to keep on lid on the turnovers this time around, and for Favre to take advantage of a Darren Sharper-less secondary while Jared Allen and E.J. Henderson provide just enough heroics on the defensive side of the ball to help Minnesota steal an important, early season road win, 30-24.