Saints Still Champs, But Are The Vikings The Better Team?

Last year I felt there was no way the New Orleans Saints would make it to Miami with an opportunity to win a championship and with 7 months to reflect on it, the now Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints still doesn't sound right to me.....At the onset of the post season I thought the Saints had a division round loss in their future. Fortunately for them, the match up favored them, and they were given the Arizona Cardinals. On the flipside, the Minnesota Vikings drew the Dallas Cowboys and put on a dominant performance against a better team. The Vikings then made their way to New Orleans and dominated the game only to leave that night with a terrible taste in their mouth. Move forward to tonight and not only will the venue be the same, but much of the teams on each of the sidelines return this season with most of their 2009 teams intact. This is why, the Minnesota Vikings avenging last years lost and leaving victorious seemed like a no brainer for me. I have been very vocal about my respect, or lack there of, for the New Orleans Saints. Many people forget, and rightfully so, as they are the reigning Super Bowl Champions that the Saints got dominated for 59 minutes in the NFC Championship game. The Vikings, even with turning the ball over 4 times, were in a position to win the game until turnover #5 shut the door on their championship hopes. Defensively the Saints were very opportunistic last year and much of the year lived on the turnover to keep them in games. As they got off to an incredible 13-0 this "thirst for the turnover" often times put them over the top. I don't think they can repeat this hugely important performance, and with the guy responsible for 9 of those turnovers, on the sidelines as Darren Sharper will be out for the first 6 weeks of the season, it'll be even harder to achieve. The New Orleans Saints are a 9-7 football team this year, and when January comes around, they'll be on the outside looking in. While I will admit I don't feel as strongly about my prediction as I did a couple of weeks ago, I will say it hasn't changed. Brett Favre's reluctance to return this year makes me question his dedication to this year which in turn makes me wonder what type of year he'll have without the fire that might have been there last year. I also feel the loss of Sidney Rice is a much bigger deal than most feel it is. Before last year many around the league showed a lack of confidence in Sidney as a legitimate number 1 receiver, while I felt with the right quarterback he could be among the leagues best. Brett could still be classified as "the right quarterback" and Sidney statistics benefited from it. His unavailability for this game worries me but I will not change my opinion because of it. The Minnesota Vikings, who's last game was on that Super dome turf, return tonight and leave with a much better feeling. They win tonight.