***MNF IN THE SWAMP - WEEK 1 DOUBLE HEADER - NO @ MIN***
***NEW ORLEANS SAINTS @ MINNESOTA VIKINGS***
Ah yes, the 'ol week 1 MNF double header. I ask you what is better than that?! I wish every Monday night featured two games. The bad news is it has been an awful start to the SwampMan's 2017 NFL season. The good news is, we got two games tonight to possibly help the win column before heading into week 2. Let's rock.
Despite the Saints being amongst the bottom of their division as of late, as long as veteran QB Drew Brees is behind center for them, they are a dangerous team. Tonight Brees will lead the march of the Saints into Minnesota in hopes of starting off the season on the right foot. Unfortunately for them, they will run into another underachieving squad in the Minnesota Vikings. Last season the Vikings went into full panic mode when they lost their starting QB Teddy Bridgewater to a horrendous leg injury, one that has him still sidelined today. They made drastic moves and brought in former number 1 draft pick QB Sam Bradford from the Rams, where he was a bit of a disappointment. In their new stadium, the Vikings were then quickly able to bounce back and started the season HOT boasting a 5-0 record before crashing down back to Earth and not even making the playoffs. I am by no means a Sam Bradford fan. Despite the solid stats he has, I just can't seem to believe in the guy nor would want him as my starting QB. That being said, in my opinion the main reason for the slight success the Vikings did have last season was because of that Purple People Eater defense before it got hit with a bit of an injury bug. Tonight they will be back and in full force, at home, on MNF in a loud environment. Not that the Saints are any strangers to loud stadiums but I do think that the energy buzzing through the air tonight will fuel this defense to stifle Brees and the lack of weapons at his disposal.
Oh yea, and as if this defense needed any further reasoning to be amped up for this one, their long time prized RB Adrian Peterson now plays for the Saints and everybody knows that he is hoping to find success running the ball against his former team. Peterson is now on the backend of his career, hence the Vikings letting him walk. I do believe he has some left in the tank and will get his chances tonight. I can see him getting a carry in the redzone to stick it to his former team in the "you should've kept me" sense but I doubt he will have much of a factor here. The Saints always have a stable of RBs and Mark Ingram is the number 1 back there, not to mention them drafting RB Alvin Kamara out of Tennessee. That being said it remains unclear how Peterson will be used in this offense. One thing is for sure is when you got Drew Brees at QB, defenses won't be able to stack the box against him like they used to during his days in purple. However the Saints did lose their best WR in Brandin Cooks to the Patriots this offseason. While many may argue that their best WR is Michael Thomas I beg to differ. I think Thomas is a young stud for sure, but that he also benefited off of the attention that Cooks demanded while on the same field. With WR Snead also out in this one, I think the Saints may struggle to find much success in the passing game. This Vikings secondary is too strong. CB Xavier Rhodes is one of the best in the game and Safety Harrison Smith is back healthy as well.
Also, another reason that Adrian Peterson won't get the last laugh here is that the Vikings have a new toy of their own in rookie RB Dalvin Cook. Cook was a do-it-all type RB at Florida State and personally my favorite RB in the draft this past season. I think they got a steal and his presence will help Bradford in the passing game big time. I got a feeling Cook puts on a show tonight similar to what fellow Rookie Kareem Hunt did for the Chiefs against the Patriots on opening night last week. This Saints defense has been its achilles heel in the past few seasons. They have been terrible. While they made some moves to improve it this past offseason I believe it may take a game or two to get rolling on all cylinders. I'll wrap this up by saying I see a low scoring game here, with the Vikings defense and home field advantage prevailing in this one. SKOL baby! VIKINGS-3
