Vike's face a tough task this Sunday

"Favre rolls...wants to throw deep and does....to the back of the endzone, Greg lewis...TOUCHDOWN!!!!!" 

One of the best plays in recent Vikings history. I get goosebumps whenever I think about it, BUT...this Minnesota team is a wee bit different now, as is this 49ers club

So, Its tough to find any glimmer of hope the Vikings have in putting a notch in the win column this weekend aginst the unbeaten San Fransisco squad that many have picked to become the Super Bowl champions. I mean lets face it, the matchups don't look favorable. The Viking's glaring weakness is stopping the pass, while the 49ers like to pound the ball with Frank Gore, they also have an array of talent that can move the ball through the air in a variety of ways. The Vikings offensive bread and butter is the run game, the 49ers have the best defense in the league against the run. Now...with all this said, I believe in the "any given Sunday" philosophy, so i think if the Vike's try some new things they can at least make this game interesting, and dare i say, possibly... win???

The Vikings have been playing alot of zone defense, and opposing QB's have been slicing it, connecting with recievers in-between the zones, especially on 3rd down, I think the vikings corners would have success playing some press man coverage and jamming targets up on the line of scrimmage, allowing Jared Allen and Co. to apply pressure to Alex Smith.

On the offensive side of the ball, Bill Musgrave has to, HAS TO, open up more of the passing playbook. I know Ponder has limited targets on the outside, but the 49ers will bring a safety down to stop the run, so the wide-outs should see alot of 1 on 1 coverage, and hopefully they are able to take advantage of it. I personally would like to see what the Arkansas rookie, Jarius Wright brings to the table. from everything I've seen of him at Arkansas, it looks like he can stretch the defense deep, or run good routes over the middle. Also, Stephen Burton who caught a fluke touchdown last week has burned Carlos Rogers before, granted it was preseason but let's get him in there too! The chemistry between Ponder and Rudolph keeps getting stronger, and Rudolph is a mismatch for just about any linebacker or safety that tries to cover him so I hope to see them exploit this early and often

Those are my keys to the game, Its going to be a tough game for the Vikings to come out on top, but if they do pull it off it willbe a HUGE statement, and nothing short of another Minneapolis miracle.

Here's some other games to keep an eye on this weekend:

Browns vs. Bills- two upstart teams that feature two strong young RBs

Redskins vs. Bengals- both young QBs have impressed, I just cant wait to see what RGIII does next.

Eagles vs. Cardinals- which team will remain unbeaten?

Broncos vs. Texans- two teams with pro-bowl QB's, and defenses with a knack for taking your football away. Was monday night a fluke for 18, or should the Broncos be concerned?

thanks for reading, Packers suck.

SKOL!

Jordan Nadel