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Brett Favre Burns For Revenge As Vikings Open Season In New Orleans

Michael Green |
September 9, 2010 | 11:12 a.m. PDT

Staff Writer

Welcome to the 2010 season, NFL fans!

You are now officially free to stop staring longingly at your Peyton Manning fathead and watch him throw the pigskin live.

So throw some dogs on the BBQ, pop open your favorite beverage and get the body paint ready…

It’s football time!

Minnesota Vikings (0-0) at New Orleans Saints (0-0)

After competing in the most entertaining playoff game of 2009, the Vikings and Saints will kick off the NFL season Thursday night.

Brett Favre begins his 20th NFL season with a freshly lubed ankle and his mind set on revenge. The Saints defeated Favre and the Vikings by a margin slimmer than Brad Childress’ hairline to advance to the Super Bowl.

Watching Drew Brees and the Saints hoist the Lombardi Trophy after such a stomach-churning defeat likely lit the competitive fire inside Favre to return for one more shot at glory. Incidentally, that same fire was used to light the burning bush that Moses saw a few years before Favre began his professional career.

Favre will be without No. 1 wide out Sidney Rice in Week 1 and for the foreseeable future after Rice opted for hip surgery during the preseason. As a result, receivers Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian will be counted on to step up in his absence. The two will find room to stretch the field against a Saints defense that allowed about 235 passing yards per game last season.

With Saints safety Darren Sharper out for the first six games of the season, the Vikings’ passing game will find the going much easier than they did in last year’s playoffs. Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe should also see significant action while working the middle of the field.

Even with a questionable secondary to attack, the Vikings will still go to their bread-and-butter with Adrian Peterson frequently.

The backfield officially belongs to AP after Chester Taylor set sail for Chicago in the offseason. Expect Peterson to leave some purple skid marks on the Super Dome turf after breaking off several big runs in this game.

For its part, New Orleans needs to replicate the wasps nest defense they unleashed on Favre in the NFC title game. With his most recent ankle issue, Favre is about as mobile as Louis Anderson holding a piece of cake. If the Saints can dial up the blitz, turnovers will follow.

Jonathan Vilma and the linebacking corps will also need to be on their toes with Peterson expected to play a bigger role in the passing game this year. Assuming the secondary can hold its own against the likes of Harvin and Berrian, keeping an eye on the backfield will be the defense’s primary concern against the Vikings.

Offensively, the Saints bring back a unit with enough firepower to fill a Michael Bay movie. Brees will look to flex his Super Bowl MVP form against an average Minnesota secondary. Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem all have the ability to get deep for a big play against Minnesota’s defense.

Regardless of who is targeted, the offensive line will need to do a better job protecting Brees than last season. Jared Allen will be looking to put Brees on his back and disrupt the methodical quarterback’s rhythm all game.

Look for the Saints to counter a devastating Minnesota defensive line with passes in the flat to Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas. The two running backs will have difficulty navigating around the Williams Wall, which consists of man-shaped mountains Pat and Kevin Williams, but they should find some success catching passes in the open field.

The Verdict: The Super Dome will be rocking when, for the first time in franchise history, Saints fans get to see their team enter a season as defending champions. But did the Saints leave their Super Bowl swagger on Bourbon Street? Not if Sean Payton has anything to say about it. Another highly entertaining game between these two teams will yield a familiar result.

Predicted winner: New Orleans Saints

To reach staff writer Michael Green, click here.

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