I definitely have football fever. I couldn’t wait for the season to get here, and now that it’s here, all those pesky days between Sundays seem to take forever. I am really looking forward to seeing what the Vikings can do in week 2 as they head to Ford Field in Detroit to take on the Lions.
The Minnesota Vikings at The Detroit Lions
Like last week, if the Vikings keep their heads on straight, this game shouldn’t be too tough, and it should be a good opportunity to continue to fine tune the offense, especially Favre’s timing with his new receivers.
In my opinion, these are the keys to a Vikings victory
-Putting Pressure on Matthew Stafford
The keys are going to be pretty similar to last week’s, including starting with getting pressure on the quarterback. Matthew Stafford is very young, and this is only his second week of his NFL career. Last week he threw some costly picks, including a couple to former Vikings Darren Sharper. The Vikings have a better defense than the Saints. If the Vikings can put pressure on Stafford, look for him to make some more bad throws.
Jared Allen should be have a little more impact this week. Last week he went against arguably the NFL’s best blocking left tackle. The Lions offensive line isn’t quite so strong, and Allen should be able to get into the backfield and disrupt a few more plays.
I’m going to go out on a limb and predict that he’ll get 2 sacks this week. I also think 2 other guys on the team will get sacks, totaling 4 for the Vikings.
-The Vikings need to play well on special teams
This one is also still a key leftover from last week. Last week the Vikings covered every punt well except for one. Unfortunately that one scored a touchdown. The Vikings struggled last year on punt coverage, and they need to fix that aspect of their game. Having a great game against the Lions might boost the moral of the special teams a bit.
-The Vikings need to protect Favre
My one big gripe last week was that the Vikings didn’t give Favre much time when he decided he wanted to throw. Favre dropped back 25 times and got sacked 4 of them. That’s too many sacks for a game with so few throwing attempts. The Vikings need to find the holes in the pass protection and patch them quickly.
-The Vikings can’t look past the Lions
This is the big one. The Lions have lost 18 straight games now, so it’s easy to assume that the much more successful Vikings are going to roll through them. Last year, though, the winless Lions had two really good shots at victory against the Vikings, a team that went 10-6. If the Vikings are too overconfident, they could lose this game.
My Prediction
I think the Vikings will step up and make plays when it matters. I think Peterson will have another big game, and the Vikings will win 31-17
Related posts:
- IT’S GAME TIME – Week 10 Preview: The Minnesota Vikings vs The Detroit Lions
- IT’S GAME TIME – Week 15 Preview: The Minnesota Vikings at The Carolina Panthers
- Week 2 Recap: Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
- IT’S GAME TIME – Week 7 Preview Vikings vs Steelers
- IT IS GAME TIME – Week 4 Game Preview – Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay Packers
