I'm listening today to Mike & Mike on ESPN and Greenberg picks the Vikings to go to the Superbowl.
I remember last year many were picking the Vikings to win the NFC North. I'm looking at our team that finished the last half of the 2006 season and comparing it to this years roster. As for drop offs(-) and improvements(+) and equality(=), this is what I see:WR Muhsin Muhammad……Deven Hester (+)
LT John Tait…………………...John St. Clair/(Chris Williams) (-/?)
LG Ruben Brown…………….Josh Beekman (?)
C Olin Kreutz………………….same (-)
RG Roberto Garza……………same (-)
RT Fred Miller…………………John Tait (+)
TE Desmond Clark……………Greg Olson(+)
WR Bernard Berrian…………Brandon Lloyd (-)
QB Rex Grossman…………….Kyle Orton(+)
RB Thomas Jones…………….Matt Forte(?)
TE/FB Jason McKie………….same(=)
(=):1
(+):4
(-):4
(?):3
Having a steady, less spectacular but less mistake prone Orton will steady the offense and keep it on the field longer, even if it doesn't result in more points. I for one don't believe Orton is just a manager of the offense. The guy came to play this year. Dropped 20lbs and looked good in the last 3 preseason games. I'm the last Rex fan on earth (even Rex is off the bandwagon), but I do now think for this team Kyle's steady play is what is needed. IMO, the coaching staff panicked last year when they inserted Greese. They should have let Rex ride out the first four or 5 games before even thinking of making a switch - But that's old news. Orton has the game that fits this staff's temperament. I expect good things despite a banged up O-line.
As for the offensive line, you'll notice I have it as an overall (-) with question marks for Beekman (who I think will start by mid-season if not sooner) and Williams (once he recovers but for now a minus with Tait). The line is better than last year if only because they coaches have been smart enough to leave Tait at RT and go for consistency (even if it means LT will be consistently bad). I actually think our coaching staff is maturing. Last years bouncing St. Clair around from tackle to guard made for inconsistent and poor play for the line in general.
The keys for me are the receivers and tight ends. Looking at Berrian, Muhammad & Clark vs. Lloyd, Hester & Olsen, you see an upgrade in speed and IMO a greater ability to create space. Its yet to be seen how sure handed this group can be, but one thing for sure is secondaries will not be able to cheat. Hester will demand attention from the safety over the top. Olsen will take attention as well. Lloyd looks like he may have worked out whatever problems he had with the Skins as well. Overall I believe we have upgraded at Receiver (Muhammad was overated and while I was a big fan of Rex to Berrian, last year Berrian took a big step back after adding extra muscle in the offseason IMO).
That takes us to Forte. Having a back that can be in on both passing and running downs is huge. One thing we have all grown sick of is our offense's predictability. This is the year that we will not face 8 IN THE BOX! Because Hester Lloyd & Olsen will stretch the field, bringing an extra man into the Box this year will be risky for opposing defenses. This means that Forte should have a very strong season - but as a rookie I sill leave him as a question mark.
DEFENSE
LE Adewale Ogunleye ………….same(=)
LDT Tank Johnson ……………...Dusty Dvoracek(+)
RDT Ian Scott………………….....Tommie Harris(+)
RE Alex Brown………………….....same(=)
LOLB Hunter Hillenmeyer …..same(=)
MLB Brian Urlacher ……………same(-)
ROLB Lance Briggs ……….……same(=)
LCB Charles Tillman……….……same (=)
RCB Nathan Vasher ………….…same(=)
SS Chris Harris ………………..….Kevin Payne(+)
FS Danieal Manning……………..Mike Brown(+)
(=):6
(+):4
(-):1
(?):0
This is where I find people's pessimism astonishing. Above is the team that started last half of 2006 or so and the Superbowl on defense. The Bears were considered "built for the future" on defense and folks were saying they would dominate for years. THIS IS THAT SAME TEAM! Two years older yes, but more experienced as well. Replacing of safeties and adding Dusty in replace of Tank is a BIG upgrade IMO. Yes Urlacher is a year older, but the guy had 5 sacks and 5 interceptions last year. And there were no hints of lingering injuries during the preseason (although I'll still give him a minus as he has dropped off).
So those of you saying 6-10 (CHEWIE!
) or worse, please note that we were TERRIBLE on offense last year and decimated by injuries on defense and still went 7-9 and easily could have been 8-8 (Lions game) or more. There's no way this team goes 6-10 unless the injury bug bites big time again.
11-5 (Maybe 10-6 because LT is up in the air now, but playoff bound and winners of the NFC North).
Ugh. I'm such an optimist... 
An avatar bet is much juicier than a sig bet in my mind. 
