NFL Division Standings Predictions

[Ben Kenobi]

Ben, you'd need Favre AND Adrian Peterson to get hurt to see the Vikings drop to 3rd in the NFC North.

Their line is not what it used to be.

AP is a good RB, but he can't carry the whole team. The Vikings were built for their run last year, and showed that they were nowhere close to being contenders, even with the Zombie King.

I also think that Cutler will do better and that will be enough in a terrible division.

[Al B. Sure!]

Bah... Tarvaris Jackson is better than you think. Especially with this group of receivers and AP.

[Ben Kenobi]

Let me guess, you also drafted JaMarcus in your fantasy football team last year?

[Al B. Sure!]

T-Jax is way better than J-Rock

No, seriously... Jackson is McNabb Jr. The guy is incredibly mobile, takes care of the ball (he only threw 2 picks in 2008), and he can light it up... he had his share of deep strikes to Sidney Rice in 2008. And like I said, he had a 95.4 QB rating that year. I know it's just one metric but still.

Best case scenario, he develops into a McNabb clone. Worst case scenario, he's more of a Mike Vick or a skinny David Garrard. Either case, with this team, that's good enough to be competitive. Like I said, they made the playoffs without Favre.

[Ben Kenobi]

And people call me delusional?

There's a reason why their starting QB is Favre.

Tavaris Jackson is the standard QB for teams that rely on their defense and run game. He manages the game, nothing more. Trent Green is the best example of a successful team built on this model.

McNabb's teams were never, never known for their rushing game, except to set up the pass.

[Al B. Sure!]

And people call me delusional?

There's a reason why their starting QB is Favre.

Tavaris Jackson is the standard QB for teams that rely on their defense and run game. He manages the game, nothing more. Trent Green is the best example of a successful team built on this model.

McNabb's teams were never, never known for their rushing game, except to set up the pass.

Favre was brought in because he wanted to be a Viking and he offered the Vikes a chance to win immediately. As a plus, he can mentor Jackson.

And what's your point with McNabb? How do you think McNabb would have done if Andy Reid called a run now and again (we'll find out this season how McNabb fares with a coach who likes to run the ball)? The fact is, the Vikings coach is Brad Childress... he was the QB coach and then offensive coordinator of the Eagles from 1999 to 2005. Brad Childress was instrumental in the development of McNabb. Just as Andy Reid came to Philly and drafted McNabb immediately, Childress went to Minnesota and grabbed Jackson. Jackson is Childress' McNabb. My analogy is nothing new. This is what all the analysts said when Minnesota surprised in the draft by picking up a QB from a small school who was expected to go undrafted. The logic was that Childress saw a lot of McNabb in Jackson.

When the Favre to Minnesota talk started up last summer, I remember a lot of analysts said it would be a bad idea... they saw how much Jackson improved in 2008 and many thought Favre couldn't put up better numbers than Jackson would... they ended up being wrong because Favre played so well but still, there was a lot of sentiment that Jackson was a better option than Favre last summer.

[Al B. Sure!]

In Jackson's last 4 regular season games as a starter in 2008, he racked up 740 passing yards, 8 TD's, 1 int and a 116.5 QB rating plus 80 yards rushing. That's not only good; that's damn good.

[Ben Kenobi]

And what's your point with McNabb? How do you think McNabb would have done if Andy Reid called a run now and again

Each coach plays to the strengths of their players. Why do you think Andy Reid ran everything around McNabb? Because he believed that is where his team was strong.

Why do you think Childress, instead of having the confidence to say, "I believe that Tavaris Jackson is going to be the next McNabb, did he actually say that he believed that Jackson simply wasn't going to lead them anywhere, let alone a superbowl. That is why Favre was brought in.

Here's another clue. Tavaris Jackson is now 27. Mcnabb had his breakout season 3 years ago when he was 24. What's going to happen is that Childress will keep Jackson as his 'security blanket'.

If Tavaris Jackson had any respect for himself as a player, he would have walked out when his contract was up this summer. Instead, he signed for a one year contract. If the Vikings were developing him, they would not ever sign him for a one year contract.

[Ben Kenobi]

That's not only good; that's damn good.

8-4 despite 9 tds and 12 interceptions.

All the losses had the same pattern. If the Vikings failed to score more than 21 points, they lost.

Especially damning is the loss to the Redskins, who shut down the run game. Jackson aired it out 2 of the losses occurred when the run game failed to gain 100 yards.

Washington destroyed their defense going up 25-0 at halftime. AP went 9-27 that whole game.

In a game where all they could do is air it out,

Tarvaris went 25-41 and 220 yards. He did score two rushing tds though.

That to me says one thing. Michael Vick.

Lets see. Loss to the Cowboys. 65 passing yards. 6-19. Despite getting 131 rushing yards, and having a td lead in the 3rd, they still lost.

Loss to the Lions. 4 interceptions on 20 attempts, and 192 yards in the air. Once again Tarvaris fails to manage the game.

Loss to the Broncos, 172 rushing yards. Only 175 passing yards. Why? He went 16-31. He did ok on the passes he did connect with, but all the ones he missed killed drives churned out by their run game. AP not surprisingly had an off-game.

The 2007 Vikings needed one thing to be successful. A game manager a-la Trent Green. They had one of the most amazing rushing offenses ever seen.

[SlowwHand]

Actually, they should be drafting to the coaching philosophy, assuming that continuity is a goal. A constant changing of coaches is a great way to keep failing.

[Al B. Sure!]

2007 was his first year as a starter. Geez, give the guy some slack. Like I said, his last 4 regular season games of 2008, he played very well and so-so in the playoffs but the playoffs is a different beast entirely. He hasn't started since because of Favre.

All we know is that he improved significantly at the end of 2008.

[Ben Kenobi]

2007 was his first year as a starter.

it's the only season he's started the majority of the team's games.

Geez, give the guy some slack. Like I said, his last 4 regular season games of 2008, he played very well and so-so in the playoffs but the playoffs is a different beast entirely. He hasn't started since because of Favre.

and the fact that Childress has never had the confidence in him.

[-Jrabbit]

Being in the Midwest and seeing Vikings games regularly, I can attest that Tarvaris Jackson improved markedly in the last half of 2008, especially vs. teams that committed to stopping APete at all costs.

But Childress was not sold, as evidenced by the fact that he snagged Sage Rosenfels in the off-season. Later, Favre became available and a possible window of opportunity to a quick Super Bowl opened up. The Vikes were smart to take advantage of it (despite all the stupid drama), and now are committed to it.

But if Favre goes down, Tarvaris is listed ahead of Rosenfels on the current depth chart. FWIW.

[Al B. Sure!]

I'd like to revise my NFC East prediction:
Giants
Eagles
Cowboys
Redskins

[flash9286]

You are reading too much into preseason games. Dallas win finish first, Eagles/Giants 2nd/3rd, and Skins 4th.