Vikes Vibes...

It's that time of year. The State Fair opens, the sun sets a little earlier and there is a nip in the night air. Fall is coming, and that means football. At least it used to. I used to freak out a little more back in THE DAY in anticipation of the upcoming Vikings season. Hope springs eternal, right? Well, maybe not. Those of you who know me realize I am a shill for the Twins and Wild, but not so much the Vikes. Nearly four decades of being let down by a team will do that to a guy.

With each passing year, I become less enthused with professional football. I really enjoy baseball, the more "civilized" sport of the two. I realize that I am in the minority with this opinion, as the popularity of the NFL continues to grow by leaps and bounds. Maybe, it's that I know in my gut that the Vikings will let me down again. If the 15-1 1998 team didn't win the Super Bowl, they are simply never going to win it. Those of you who have followed the Vikings for more than 15 minutes know what I am talking about. It is not a question of "if" The Other Shoe is going to drop, but "when."

There is more optimism surrounding the 2008 Vikings than any time in the past 10 years. The already-solid defense added Jared Allen. Adrian Peterson is healthy. The team signed a good starting receiver - Bernard Berrian. There are reasons to be excited. As always, I am starting to get some "vibes" now that the regular season is nearly upon us. Notice I did not say "visions." Just vibes. I asked myself, "what are some of the things that will lead to a Viking collapse in 2008?" Here is what I see:

1. Tarvarius Jackson is already gimpy. Look, this guy needed playing time this pre-season. He needs experience. Well, sure enough, he "tweaked" his knee in the second game and will end up playing about a quarter and a half this entire pre-season. Not good for a young starting quarterback who needs to get his timing down with his new receivers. T-Jack is not exactly an iron-man.

2. The two top wide receivers, Bernard Berrian and Sidney Rice, have barely seen any action this pre-season due to injury and illness. They also need to get their timing down with the starting quarterback. See #1.

3. What would a Viking off-season be without waiting to hear if a member of the team will be suspended for off-field "activities?" Bryant McKinnie, the starting left tackle, is waiting to hear if he will be suspended at the beginning of the season for his part in a bar brawl down in Florida this summer. Bryant's been in trouble before, so this could lead to a 4-game suspension. Left tackles, by the way, block the back-side of a right-handed quarterback and try to guard against QB's getting blind-sided. If he's not playing, T-Jack could get blind-sided. See #1.

4. Heath Farwell, the top man on special teams, is already lost for the season with a knee injury.

5. The rushing offense has looked terrible in the pre-season, and Adrian Peterson has barely touched the ball. Now, they might be saving him as part of a grand, double-secret Plan (kick-ass offense). But, please remember, AP didn't have the greatest second-half of 2007 after his injury. I am hoping that the "real AP" is the guy we saw during the first half of 2007 and not the latter half of the year.

Anyway, I wasn't too close with my 2007 predictions for the NFC North. I thought the Bears were going to be 12-4. Geez. So, in that spirit of wrongness, here are my 2008 NFC North predictions:

1. Green Bay Packers (9-7). This may not be enough, however, to keep the fans from burning down Aaron Rodger's house.

2. Minnesota Vikings (8-8). See above. Bad karma. It's real - just ask the Cubs.

3. Detroit Lions (6-10). They may start the season strong again, but then tank when they realize they are the Detroit Lions. Sorry Dools.

4. Chicago Bears (5-11). Kyle Orton. Rex Grossman. It doesn't matter. By the way, check out this hilarious article from The Onion about 'da Bears. It's not too far off from the truth.

So there you go. That is what I think. How about you? How is the NFC Norris going to shake out this year?

Jeff