Minnesota Vikings: Four things to watch for against the New Orleans Saints
The NFL season kicked off the season on Thursday with the Minnesota Vikings season kicking off on Monday. Here are some things to watch for from the Vikings in their season debut.
We all have the taste now. Football fans had the very mediocre appetizer with preseason play, but now that the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs kicked off regular season play on Thursday, well, NFL fans now have a taste of the entrée. Minnesota Vikings fans have to wait until Monday to get their truest taste, sadly.
While the rest of the country seems to be in mass chaos, Minnesota seems to be looking towards a nice weekend. Here are some things to be thinking about while we wait for Monday Night Football.
The return of Adrian Peterson
Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. If you didn’t know, Adrian Peterson has left the Vikings and is now a member of the New Orleans Saints. The beautiful marketing machine that is the NFL decided to make the brilliant move of putting this game on national TV. Well done, NFL.
Peterson isn’t the Saints number one running back, but you have to believe that he is going to be jacked to go against his former team. No matter what he says. It’s going to be a major storyline all night long. Hopefully the Vikings defense can step up and stop a guy they saw in practice for years.
The revamped offensive line
The offensive line was horrible last season for the Vikings. Sadly, horrible might not be a big enough statement to say how the bad the line actually was. It’s been revamped and retooled and seen the likes of Alex Boone depart. We’ll have to see if the offensive line now can keep Sam Bradford upright.
The running back three-headed monster
Dalvin Cook wasn’t supposed to be the guy right away. He is definitely the guy, though. Cook has performed brilliantly so far in his time in purple which has put the likes of Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon on the back burner. But the Vikings will still use Murray and McKinnon and if they use all three running backs well, it could be a scary sight for other teams.
More from Sporting Sota
- Minnesota Twins bullpen will be their downfall
- Top 5 Minnesota Twins Pitching Prospects
- Kyle Rudolph signing gives stability to Minnesota Vikings offense
- Jake Odorizzi’s emergence fueling Twins starting staff
- Former Minnesota Twins player David Ortiz shot
The defensive duty
Vikings fans have been old on the defense for a while now. The potential is there, but the defensive secondary does make some a little weary. The defensive line is super deep for the Vikings, so that is no worry, but the further you get back, well, the further away from confident that you get.
If your name isn’t Harrison Smith or Xavier Rhodes, I worry about you a little bit. Watch how the secondary performs against future Hall of Famer Drew Brees on Monday night, because it’ll be an excellent test and predictor of what is to come for the Vikings.
Next: Here's what the Wolves need for success
The Vikings and Saints get the first of the ESPN MNF doubleheader to conclude the opening week of the NFL season. The game is set to kick off at 6:00 Central from U.S. Bank Stadium.