Week 1 Opening Kickoff:

At New Orleans -5.5 Minnesota 48.5

In the last six years, the Super Bowl Champion has prevailed in the NFL Kickoff.

Can you imagine how crazy the atmosphere will be like at the Superdome on Thursday night? In a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship, the Vikes and Brett Favre return to face a Saints team that will be ten miles high heading into this game. It will be so loud inside that the Vikings will be unable to hear themselves think.

Looking at both teams, they have suffered some personnel losses but the Saints’ defensive losses pale in comparison to what the Vikings have lost on offense. Chester Taylor left via free agency and he was the perfect compliment to Adrian Petersen. Either AP is going to get a lot more touches (which is definitely hazardous to his career) or rookie Toby Gerhart (questionable) is going to have to shoulder some of that load in a meaningful way. WR Sidney Rice will be out for at least half of the season after having undergone hip surgery. Percy Harvin’s debilitating migraine problems can flare up at any time and Favre’s body can break down at any time.

The Saints, at one time the face of football futility, enter the year as defending Super Bowl Champions. They played a beautiful game on Super Bowl Sunday to win their first title, highlighted by the recovery of an onsides kick to open the second half. It was a momentous victory for the long-suffering team and its fans, but mostly for the good folk of New Orleans. But the King of the Hill does not get to bask long in the glory of the moment as it’s already this year and football fans everywhere want to know whether the Champs can repeat. The same cast that won last year returns pretty much intact this year. The only question mark on defense is whether safety Darren Sharper can make it back from left knee surgery by the opener. Without Sharper available, Saints’ DC Gregg Williams will have to tweak his blitz packages that were so successful in the NFC Championship.

Bottom Line: There will be a bullseye on Favre’s back all night. The Saints have gone out of their way to make that known, which is foolish because they simply should focus on their gameplan and save the trash talk for gametime. The Vikings will have success slowing down the Saints on the ground, but the stage is set for Brees to have a big opening night.

Projected Final Score: New Orleans 34, Minnesota 24