Live Action Football, Part 2: The Regular Season
By Dave Stefano

VikingsValhalla.com

We started the Vikings season breakdown with Part 1 – The preseason, and today we’ll continue for all the games that count.  Grab a bite to eat and your favorite beverage of choice and join VikingsValhalla.com in reveling in the 2007 season.

Part 2 – The regular season:

Falcons – Week 1, Sunday, 9 Sept, noon – Alge Crumpler comes to town and will continue his “grieving process” over “Who let the dogs out?”  36 year old Joe Horn will try to catch passes form one of the Vikings favorite opposing quarterbacks, Joey Harrington.  Expect the Falcon’s grieving process to continue.

@ Lions – Week 2, Sunday, 16 Sept, 3 pm – The premier pass catcher coming from this year’s draft, Calvin Johnson, finally signed.  He will cause waves of delight in Mike Martz, the evil offensive genius.  We did get a big chuckle over Kitna’s boasted of winning 10 games, they should improve this season, but these are the Detroit Lions.  Expect Kitna’s delusion to start in week 3.

@ Chiefs – Week 3, Sunday, 23 Sept, noon – Could Michael Bennett be running back at us?  Was Larry Johnson holding out a bad thing?  Is AARP the chosen union for most of the players?  Can Herm Edwards get these guys to the playoffs and have a chance to keep the fire from cooking his backside?  Will he use Thigpen just to spite Childress?  Expect this cross conference rivalry to be a nasty one.

Packers – Week 4, Sunday, 30 Sept, noon – It is Packer week!  The Vikings arch rival comes to town, were the ever so gracefully aging Brett Favre tends to have problems.  Leslie Frazier will have the defense ready to continue that trend.  Umphhhhhhhhh!  The sound of air leaving Brett’s body as he is slammed to the turf, and the trigger of 120 decibel cheers of delight from the Metrodome crowd.  Expect a weak and declining team to try their best, but limp back home to Green Bay in defeat.

Bye – Week 5, Sunday, 7 Oct – It is time to watch somebody else play football or go fishing one last time before it gets too cold and the ice isn’t thick enough.  Expect it to be a good time for some bumps and bruises to heal, and extra time for the coaches to plan for week 6.

@ Bears – Week 6, Sunday, 14 Oct, noon – Coming off our bye week, we head down to the not so friendly confines of the Windy City.  This should be one of those beautiful fall days, but most likely cold, miserable and wet.  The NFC [cough….cough] Champions will present the toughest test of the season.  Expect this to be a battle of defenses, and the winner going to the team with the offense that makes the fewest mistakes.

@ Cowboys – Week 7, Sunday, 21 Oct, noon – This should be the last time the Vikings play ball on high gradient field [the hump] of Texas Stadium.  The Cowboys are not part of our predetermined 2008 schedule, and they will be opening up 2009 in the 80,000 seat palace that Jerry Jones and the people of Texas have built.  Expect a new coach, a limited quarterback, and one of the biggest pains in the league [T.O.] probably causing problems by now, to allow the Vikes to take another one.

Eagles – Week 8, Sunday, 28 Oct, noon – Childress’ old team comes to town.  Will the oft injured Donovan McNabb be leading the team for another run at the NFC East or will Andy Reid, consider retirement for good?  Expect an entertaining game of a young team on the rise versus one that isn’t.

Chargers – Week 9, Sunday, 4 Nov, noon – Last year’s record breaking rusher, Ladainian Tomlison comes to town, happy that he doesn’t grace the cover of Madden 08.  The Chargers have a lot in place and are one of the elite teams in the league, but the have a “new” coach, Norv Turner, and we all know that new, even third time retreads, don’t tend to do all that well.  Expect a big test for our defense.

@ Packers – Week 10, Sunday, 11 Nov, noon – Packers week, the sequel.  Will Farve’s interception record be set here or back in week 4?  Will the youngsters in the backfield be producing wins, or will this be part of the demise and fall of a once great football team?  Will Aaron Rodgers get his shot?  Will Packer fans get the jokes that VikingsValhalla.com members post?  Expect Ryan Longwell to kick another game winner [making 4 in a row] against his old team, Darren Sharper contributing to the all time interception record, and the Vikings to sweep the series… and “no”, they still won’t get the jokes.

Raiders – Week 11, Sunday, 18 Nov, noon – Daunte Culpepper returns to a loud and raucous Metrodome.  Will he be starting or the heir to Al Davis’ heart and franchise, Jamarcus Russell?  Will Russell even be signed by now?  Can the Moss-less Raiders slip and slide their way to a decent game?  Expect booing, more booing, and even more booing towards DC, but cheers for what should be an “easy” victory.

@ Giants – Week 12, Sunday, 25 Nov, noon – A visit to one of the worst places in Vikings history we go, two years in a row [what’s up with that]!  Can Tom Coughlin, who very well might be looking at unemployment next year, motive a dysfunctional team full of malcontents like Strahan and Shockey, to success with Mr. Milk Toast himself, Eli Manning at the helm?  Expect the Vikings to change up their radio encryption codes at the last minute and to pull this win out in a more conventional manner than last year’s.

Lions – Week 13, Sunday, 2 Dec, noon – Has Kitna been feasting on crow all season, or have the Kitties actually improved?  Will former Vikings’ training camp fodder, J.T. O’Sullivan be leading the team into the not so friendly confines of the Dome?  Will Vikings fans be waving “Save Millen’s Job” posters?  All of these questions and more will be answered by the time the snow flies.  Expect the Vikings to be sniffing the playoffs, if they win this one.

@ 49’ers – Week 14, Sunday, 9 Dec, 3 pm – Frank Gore (no relations to Al) wants to prove his worth against the Williams Wall.  He’s broke his hand and will it be an excuse for failure, or will this season dedicated to 49’er legend Bill Walsh be what is needed for this young team to make its own push for the playoffs?  Expect this game to be a good one, and like years ago when Anthony Carter tore a playoff caliber team apart, Troy Williamson will do the same.  Playoffs are coming more in focus.

Bears – Week 15, Monday, 17 Dec, 7:30 pm – Monday Night Football!  Will the depleted defense that took Chicago all the way to the [cough….cough] Super Bowl, be able to withstand a season of onslaught? Will Rex “The Wonder Dog” Grossman still be squeaking out wins, or will he be replaced.  This game very well could be for the division championship.  Expect that the Dome will be rocking, and lots of folks will be late for work the next morning.

Redskins – Week 16, Sunday, 24 Dec, noon – That all too familiar yapping sound is Fred Smoot.  That silence is Fred Smoot being burned on yet another Jackson pass.  Can Clinton Portis with his sore right knee, be effective?  Will the legendary coach Gibbs call it quits again and go back to racing?  Will this game have playoff implications for either team?...  All good questions and observations.  Expect this to be entertaining and a good warm up for the Vikes’ postseason run.  Merry Christmas all.

@ Broncos – Week 17, Sunday, 30 Dec, 3 pm – Playing the Broncos at Mile High anytime is a very tough task, playing them in the snow in December might be close to impossible.  (Key word is “close”.)  Hopefully both teams have their playoff spots assured and this game will mean little, or at least if the Broncos do, we can come in and steal an easy win.  Expect that to be the case, and for all of us to enjoy a Happy New Year’s Eve.

If all goes as planned and desired, Part 3 will be discussing the Vikings return to the playoffs.  Here on VikingsValhalla.com it will all be discussed and everybody is encouraged to join in.  Good luck to Minnesota Vikings in the 2007 campaign, and to get back to our winning ways.