Barack Obama, noting he was in the midst of Vikings fans while speaking in Fargo this afternoon, suggested that they should instead root for the Chicago Bears.

“You guys need to be re-educated,” said the Illinois senator and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. “Go Bears!”

That’s it…he just lost my vote. Anyone who thinks the Bears will finish ahead of the Vikings in the NFC North this season is totally unfit for the presidency. Of course, McCain had already turned 20 before the Vikings even existed, so he ain’t getting my vote, either. Whelp, looks like I’ll have to settle for the Wilf-Childress ticket…or perhaps I’ll opt for the Peterson-Taylor candidacy. Purple Jesus in ‘08, baby!

Have a great 4th, folks!

Normally, I couldn’t care less what an obscure reporter in Green Bay says about Minnesota sports fans…but given the fact that the only Vikings-related news of the day is the release of quarterback Kyle Wright (who?), I thought it’d be interesting to take a look at Vandermause’s claims about us:

A trip to the Metrodome last week told me everything I need to know about Minnesota sports fans.

The Twins, who have won four division titles in the past six years, were riding a nine-game winning streak heading into their series against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday and had climbed within a half-game of first place in the American League Central Division.

Yet for all the excitement the Twins were generating, just 30,000 fans bothered to show up on a summer weekend evening.

I’m not certain I’ve even watched 30 minutes of Twins baseball this year, so it’s hard for me to respond to that — however, given the fact that there are tons of possible things to do on a summer evening in the Twin Cities, the relatively low turnout for the Twins game doesn’t surprise me. In a metropolitan area with countless theaters, malls, parks, lakes, museums, nightclubs, bars, amusement parks and restaurants, many people would find watching a June baseball game in a gray, tattered stadium to be an unappealing option.

But let’s give Vandermause the benefit of the doubt on this one; let’s say that it’s reasonable to argue that the Twins have fairweather fans. Can the same be said for the Vikings?

Minnesota’s finicky attitude isn’t limited to baseball. The Vikings are the toast of the town when they’re successful, but if the team tanks on the field, fans leap off the bandwagon in droves.

The Green Bay Packers, in contrast, have sold out every season ticket at Lambeau Field since 1960, in good times and in bad. It speaks to the character of Wisconsin fans that their devotion isn’t swayed, no matter the record or weather conditions.

Uh, that’s because the Packers are all Green Bay has. Look, if Minneapolis was a town with a single professional sports team and didn’t offer different attractions besides the local NFL squad, I’m sure you’d be able to say the exact same thing about us. Fact is, Packers fans wouldn’t be so loyal if Green Bay had three additional professional sports teams and a major-conference college (not to mention a plethora of non-sports attractions).

However, that’s beside the point; I take issue with Vandermause’s characterization of Vikings fans. He concludes his article by saying that the Vikings “struggle every year to sell all of their tickets.” That statement is simply false.

The Vikings have sold out over 100 consecutive home games — true, they had to get a little help from a few companies to keep the streak alive last season, but for the most part, the support this team has received over the past six or seven seasons could have hardly been more consistent. The Vikes never fail to attract massive television ratings locally, and given the fact that playoff berths have been few and far between for them over the past decade, their ticket sales track record isn’t too shabby at all.

Of course, the Green Bay media has bigger things to worry about than hating on Minnesota fans. Brett Favre, it seems, has an itch to return to the NFL. Perhaps Mark Chmura could suggest a quality treatment for said itch.

What? Too far?

The great football minds at The Worldwide Leader compiled a list of the amount of personal fouls called against each NFL team since 2001, and compared that to the amount of personal fouls called against the opponents of each team. The Vikings, as it turns out, have been whistled for 85 personal fouls since 2001; their opponents have been called for 101, giving them a differential of +16 (one of the highest in the league).

Wait, you mean to tell me that there isn’t a far-reaching anti-Minnesota conspiracy among NFL officials, after all?

Given the fact that the Vikings have been a highly-penalized team during several seasons since 2001, I was surprised to see that their personal foul totals are relatively low. I could have sworn that the penalty-ridden seasons of the Tice regime and the many penalties the Vikes racked up during the first year of the Childress era would have made their differential a bit smaller than +16.

*Bryant McKinnie was the Vikings’ lone representative on Pro Football Talk’s 2008 All-Turd Team offense:

Bryant McKinnie, OL, Vikings: He followed up the Love Boat saga by swinging a Hate Pole into a bouncer’s noggin.

We kid about McKinnie’s off-field judgment (or lack thereof) on a pretty regular basis at this blog, but at the end of the day, it’s probably best to simply throw our support behind the guy.

Honestly, I couldn’t care less if he publicly spanks girls at nightclubs, hangs out with annoying hype men, or grinds with enough women to fill the Metrodome (see: this post from March). Big Mac can live how he wants. I simply have two teensy requests for him: Don’t do stuff that’ll get you in trouble with the law, and don’t let your crazy-ass lifestyle be detrimental to your on-field performance. Mmkay?

No one’s expecting McKinnie to be a saint. But it is reasonable to expect him to get his act together, if he has any expectation of remaining with the Vikings for an extended period of time. So far, he hasn’t got the message, but a four-game suspension courtesy of Goodell will hopefully be the wakeup call Big Mac needed (assuming that a suspension is indeed inevitable). Because make no mistake about it: This is his last chance. I just hope he realizes that.

*Viktor, a Vikings mascot, has reached the semifinals of CBS Sports’ “Most Fierce NFL Mascot Competition,” but what on earth is so fierce about him? Just look at the lil’ fella. Ragnar is much more fierce than Viktor — it ain’t even close.

I think many would agree with him — Gregg Williams, the defensive coordinator of the Redskins at the time, constructed a risky gameplan that ended up working brilliantly. The Washington defense concentrated virtually all of their attention on shutting AD down (it was common to see eight or nine guys in the box), and they dared Tarvaris to beat them. Jackson, as we know, wasn’t up to the task, throwing two interceptions in the first half despite the scant resources that Williams devoted to defending the intermediate and deep passing attack.

If Tarvaris had provided competent quarterbacking that Sunday evening, the Redskins would have been a very beatable team. But Williams’ gamble payed off, and his defensive philosophy in that game perfectly represents the offensive strides that the Vikes need to make this season; the Packers, Colts and the rest of their early-season opponents will undoubtedly emulate Williams’ approach in countering the Purple’s run-heavy offense, and Tarvaris will largely be forced to do more than simply manage the game. He’ll need to make some plays. We’ll see if our young quarterback is up to the challenge.

*Head over to the Daily Norseman to check out the complete Madden 09 ratings for our squad, but I’ll just ramble off a few notables: Tarvaris Jackson: 79, Adrian Peterson: 95, Bernard Berrian: 85, Bryant McKinnie: 96, Steve Hutchinson: 98, Matt Birk: 95, Pat Williams: 98, Kevin Williams: 97, Jared Allen: 97, E.J. Henderson: 92, Antoine Winfield: 91, Darren Sharper: 92, and finally, Madieu Williams: 88.

Didn’t find too many guys who I felt were underrated, but there are a couple players who were overrated by EA Sports. 96 is too high for Mount McKinnie, a 95 rating is too much for a center on the downside of his career (it would have been an apt rating for Birk a few years ago, but not at this stage in his career), and a rating of 92 is pretty friendly to Sharper.

Minor disagreements with the ratings aside, I’m definitely looking forward to this year’s version of Madden. Any Madden enthusiast will tell you that playing with a scrambling quarterback is the key to offensive success — and two highly-rated running backs don’t hurt, either. With that in mind, the Vikings should be a very strong team in Madden 09.

*Some thoughts from Dr. Z on Big Mac:

Larry of Maple Grove, Minn., disagrees with my evaluation of Bryant McKinnie as a forceful left tackle and sees many errors there. Three years ago I thought he was a stiff. Two years ago I thought he had really improved. Last year I thought he was regressing a bit. I felt the coaches had allowed him to fall back into bad habits. I asked Childress about him specifically. He said he’s poised to have the year of his life, and mentioned a few indications of why he felt that way. I believe the coach.

The year of his life? Well, if this (in)famous video of McKinnie enjoying the club scene is any indication (the longtime readers know dang well what I’m talking about), the year of his life should encompass the following:

• Find a new hype man, and reevaluate the members of his posse.
• Avoid fun-ruining scrawny white dudes while clubbing.
• Locate nightclub that allows him to publicly spank girls of varying levels of intoxication, unimpeded by the Hater Patrol (aka: security).
• Ensure that video of his late-night escapades doesn’t wind up on the internet.

Ah, don’t mind us, Big Mac — we kid because we love. Just keep on keepin’ on, big fella.

A total of four Vikings made the cut for Prisco’s list: Kevin Williams (10th-best player in the league), Jared Allen (12th), Adrian Peterson (15th), and Steve Hutchinson (19th).

First of all, I think Pat Williams got snubbed — but I guess we shouldn’t get greedy when we’ve already got four guys on the list. Anyways, it’s an interesting subject: Is the most valuable player on the team K-Will, Allen, Purple Jesus, or Hutch?

Considering that Allen hasn’t played a game in a purple uniform yet, selecting him as the team MVP would be many months premature. So that narrows it down to three guys, and picking between them is pretty dang difficult.

I’m a sucker for highlight-reel plays, so ultimately, I’d probably take Adrian as the team MVP. But compelling arguments could be made for K-Will and Hutch. Along with Pat Williams, Kevin has limited opponents to a stunning average of 61.6 rushing yards per game in 2006 and 74.1 rushing yards per game in 2007. The Vikes led the league in that category for both of those seasons. And there’s no way Adrian could have attained the success he did during his rookie year without Hutch’s absolute dominance up front. It’s a tough call.

When we last left off, I had just finished breaking down the respective offenses, position-by-position, of the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings, largely considered to be the two best teams in the NFC North.

Now it’s time to break down the defenses and special teams of each squad, position-by-position. After I finish that, I’ll add it all up and give my final thoughts on just who is the best team in the NFC North.

Enjoy.

(Quick note before we get going: When examining the defenses, I’m only looking at the starting 11 for each unit.)

Defensive Line

The Vikings made perhaps the biggest move of the offseason, for any NFL team, by trading three draft picks (and swapping spots on another pick) to Kansas City for defensive end Jared Allen. The Vikes then gave the sack artist a six-year, $72 million contract. The move was a good one as Minnesota desperately needed to bolster its pass rush. The Allen move instantly did that (and then some) as Allen is, without a doubt, one of the top five defensive ends in the league.

However, Green Bay’s Aaron Kampman is also one of the top five defensive ends in the league.

I couldn’t determine just who was the better defensive end by style of play - after all, both are ends capable of generating a pass rush despite facing double teams and both can play the run very well - so I went to the numbers. Well, those weren’t that any more helpful.

Over the past two seasons, Kampman has more total tackles (153-141) and more sacks (27.5-23) while Allen has more solo tackles (120-107) and more fumbles forced (6-4). In the end I decided that this was just too close to call. That’s right, friends - this one’s a tie.

At the other end position, Green Bay’s Cullen Jenkins faces off against Minnesota’s Ray Edwards, although both will likely be subbed out for other players in certain situations (Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila will come in for Jenkins while Brian Robison will come in for Edwards).

Jenkins disappointed in 2007, the first year of his brand new four-year, $16 million contract, posting just one sack while battling numerous injuries. He did, however, have 6.5 sacks in 2006 and should regain that form this season.

Edwards had a solid second season for the Vikes (despite that whole steriod suspension thing), posting five sacks in limited time in 12 games (see: The steriod suspension).

Both players should have solid-to-very good 2008 seasons and I just couldn’t figure out which player was better so, again, I had to call this a tie. Sorry.

In terms of big-time run-stuffing defensive tackle, once more, the teams appeared to be close. Minnesota goes with Pat Williams and Green Bay goes with Ryan Pickett. While Pickett has been a valuable player along the d-line for the Pack since joining the team in 2006, I determined that he is just a notch below Williams, although both are among the best in the league at clogging the line.

The other defensive tackle position was a battle between Minnesota’s Kevin Williams and Green Bay’s Johnny Jolly. The result in this matchup was similar to the one between Pickett and Pat Williams because, while Jolly is a valued member of Pack’s d-line (the defense was never the same after he went down with an injury in Week 11), Kevin Williams is one of the best pass-rushing d-linemen in all of football.

When you add it all up, the teams are even at defensive end and Minnesota is better at the two tackle positions.

Edge: Vikings, solidly

Linebacker

Let’s start this category by focusing on the most important linebacker spot, the middle. This was one of the toughest spots to pick a winner for because each team has a great, great player at the position. Minnesota has E.J. Henderson; Green Bay counters with Nick Barnett.

The players are roughly the same age (Barnett is 27, while Henderson will turn 28 in August) and posted roughly the same stats last season. Barnett had more total tackles (131-119), more solo tackles (102-94) and more interceptions (2-0). Henderson had more sacks (4.5-3.5) and more forced fumbles (3-0).

In the end, I couldn’t justify picking either one over the other, so I called this category a tie (which I hate doing). 

Things were not as difficult at the strong side linebacker spot, where Minnesota’s Ben Leber - one of the best strong side ‘backers in the league - earned an easy win over Green Bay’s Brady Poppinga, the likely starter as of now (although the Packers did bring in free agent Brandon Chillar to challenge Poppinga for the position).

When looking at the weak side spot - a battle of 2006 first round selections - things again became slightly difficult. Green Bay has high hopes for A.J. Hawk and Hawk appeared to be well on his way to greatness after a strong rookie season. But his numbers dipped in year two, leaving some to wonder which A.J. Hawk will show up in year three.

For the Vikes, Chad Greenway missed all of the 2006 season because of a knee injury before putting up decent numbers last season in what was essentially his rookie campaign.

When I really looked at each player, I had to give the nod to Hawk because, in the end, I feel that he has a higher ceiling than Greenway. Greenway could become a very good player, yes, but Hawk could become a very great player.

In the end, each team took one category and tied on another. You know what that means.

Edge: Even

Secondary

Again, this category begins with another nearly-impossible pick to make.

This time, the choice is between No. 1 cornerbacks. Minnesota will go with Antoine Winfield and Green Bay will counter with Al Harris.

Although both are creeping up there in terms of age, both are still among the top 10 corners in the league. Winfield is a better tackler; Harris is a better pure cover man. In terms of interceptions, the pair is roughly even over the past three seasons (Winfield has nine while Harris has eight, but Harris had more last season).

In the end, I came to the same conclusion as I did with the middle linebacker spot and called this one dead even.

Green Bay, however, earned a clean victory in the No. 2 cornerback competition where Charles Woodson crushed Cedric Griffin. Not even close.

Another close battle loomed at the strong safety spot, where Minnesota’s Darren Sharper (a former Packer) took on Green Bay’s Atari Bigby (one of the coolest names in sports). At least, the battle was close until I looked at the numbers.

Bigby had more tackles (86-63), solo tackles (66-49) and interceptions (5-4) than Sharper last season. Then there’s perhaps the most important number of all: Age. Sharper will turn 33 this season while Bigby will turn just 27.

Advantage Packers.

At the free safety position, Green Bay’s Nick Collins enters his fourth season as a solid player, but one who has fans still waiting for him to deliver on the promise that drove the team to use a second round pick on him in the 2005 draft. If he doesn’t step it up, 2007 draft pick Aaron Rouse could swipe his job in training camp.

Minnesota, on the other hand, made a nice upgrade at the position in the offseason, bringing in Madieu Williams from the Bengals in free agency. Williams is a solid cover guy who posted nice numbers last season (74 tackles, 58 solo, two sacks, two interceptions) and should put up similar totals in purple and gold.

The Vikings might have won the free safety spot, but that was their only win. The Packers took two spots and the teams tied on one.

Edge: Packers, solidly

Now it’s time to move on to the special teams portion of our show…don’t worry, this’ll be quick.

Special Teams

At kicker, Green Bay’s strong-legged Mason Crosby is coming off a solid rookie season in which he made 31-of-39 kicks, including a long of 53 yards. Minnesota veteran Ryan Longwell (a former Packer) had another solid season, hitting of 20-of-24 attempts, including a long of 55 yards. Longwell doesn’t have nearly the leg strength of Crosby, but because he kicks in a dome, that doesn’t really matter. This one’s a tie.

At punter, Minnesota’s Chris Kluwe is much better than Green Bay’s Jon Ryan, although Ryan hit the ball better at times last season.

In terms of overall return game and return coverage, I’d give the nod to Green Bay. The Packers just seem to have much more explosive capabilities than do the Vikes in this area.

When you throw it all together, the teams each took one category and tied in another. Once again…

Edge: Even

Final Analysis

Now that we’ve shown how Green Bay and Minnesota stack up against one another at every position, it’s time to talk a bit about what it all means.

Offensively, the Pack and the Vikes are dead even at quarterback and offensive line. The Vikings hold an edge at running back while the Packers are better at receiver and tight end.

Overall, this means that Green Bay should have a better offense than Minnesota. Yes, the Vikings will rack up more yards on the ground - although I’m not sure it will be that much more - but the Packers will be able to move the ball more efficiently through the air. This means that Green Bay will have more balance to its offense than Minnesota, thus making them more difficult to defend.

Speaking of defending, the teams appear to be dead even in that area. Minnesota will have a better front four, giving the Vikes the advantage in terms of pressuring the quarterback. But when quarterbacks go to the air, Green Bay will better equipped at stopping them, since the Pack have the better secondary. The group between those two units, the linebackers, are about as even as could be so neither team has any advantage there.

And when it comes to special teams (as much as I mock them, I know they are a huge part of any football game), again these two teams are basically the same.

So, when you stand back and look at the sum of it all, you realize that Green Bay has the better team. While the squads are even in two areas, the Packers are better on offense and that ends up being the deciding category.

There’s one more category that I didn’t discuss, but it’s one that gives Green Bay even more of an advantage: Coaching.

Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy has, in only two years, proven that he is one of the best coaches in the NFL. Remember, the Packers were just 4-12 the year before McCarthy took over. He then got them to 8-8 before going 13-3 last season, an overtime away from a Super Bowl. And keep in mind he did this last season with the youngest team in the league.

On the other hand, the jury is still out on Minnesota’s Brad Childress. After taking over a team that went 9-7 the previous season, Childress went 6-10 in year one before posting an 8-8 record in year two. Yes, the team got better, but with the type of talent he now has, 8-8 (or, really, 9-7 even) will not suffice and no one knows if Childress is the type of coach that can lead a team to 10 (or more) wins in a season yet.

We’re going to find out pretty quickly, though. In fact, that’s maybe the best part about stacking these two teams up: We’re going to find out right away who the better team is. After all, they do play each other in the season opener, on Monday Night Football, no less.

I’m counting down the days, already…

When I added it all up, I came to the same conclusion as just about everyone else in the universe (with the exception of Bears fans, who are just psychotic enough to think their team has a real chance to do something this season), the conclusion being that there are only two teams who have a chance to win this division: Green Bay and Minnesota.

The teams had very different offseasons, indeed. Green Bay’s was mostly about the retirement of quarterback Brett Favre while Minnesota’s was mostly about adding personnel, both through free agency and trades.

That doesn’t matter, though. Both teams are good. Very good, in fact, as both have an excellent chance of representing the NFC in Tampa next February 1.

Before any of that can happen, the Packers or Vikings will have to win the division and only one of them can actually do that.

But who will it be?

I decided to take it upon myself to look at Green Bay and Minnesota, position-by-position, and break them down to really figure out who appears to be the top dog as of now. At the end, I’ll give my final thoughts on it all, sort of like Jerry Springer does. Yeah, that should keep you reading…

This is going to be too big to put up as a single post, so I’ve decided to break it up into two parts. This is part one and part two will be up later in the week. And since the old saying is that defense wins championships, I think it’s perfectly acceptable that we start by looking at the offenses of both teams.

Quarterback

Without a doubt, this is the biggest question mark for both teams heading into the 2008 season.

For Minnesota, Tarvaris Jackson has to, has to, has to step up and prove that he is capable of being the type of quarterback that can consistently make good decisions and lead a team to victory. Poor decision-making has doomed him thus far and if this team is to reach the lofty goals its set for itself, he has to change that part of his game in 2008. He also has to stay healthy this season, something he’s had trouble with during his short career.

If he keeps making poor decisions or gets hurt (again), the reins would be likely be turned over to Gus Frerotte. And if that happens for any prolonged stretch of time, Vikings fans can kiss any 2008 dreams goodbye.

Things are just as dicey over in Green Bay as Aaron Rodgers finally gets his chance to be “the man” at quarterback.

But what kind of “the man” will he be? Will he be the Steve Young-type (i.e., the team will continue on its successful ways, without missing a beat) or will he be the Brian Griese-type (i.e., the Packers are basically doomed)?

No one knows for sure, since the only real evidence we have on Rodgers comes from a game at Dallas in which he had to replace an injured Favre. Yes, Rodgers performed well, but you have to remember that the Dallas defense had spent all week preparing for Favre, not his young apprentice.

While Rodgers has not seen much actual game action, he has spent two years learning head coach Mike McCarthy’s offense. That, combined with the fact that the Packers were an overtime away from the Super Bowl last season, means there won’t be much room for Rodgers to make excuses. He is expected to be good. Now.

Since Jackson has shown next-to-nothing in his time as an NFL starter and Rodgers has shown even less, it’s impossible to give either team the advantage in this category.

Edge: Even

Running Back

On the surface, this area appears to be a no-brainer in favor of the Vikes.

Not so fast.

It’s true that Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor make up perhaps the best one-two punch in all the land at running back. But Peterson struggled to regain form late in the season, due to a combination of his knee injury suffered in Green Bay in Week 10 and the fact that teams keyed in on him by putting eight (or more) men in the box. With Jackson still an unproven commodity at quarterback, Peterson - and Taylor, to some extent - will have to do a better job dealing with the increased focus on them this season. 

The Packers, meanwhile, will likely be going with the trio of Ryan Grant, Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn at running back this season. Once his contract situation gets worked out, Grant will again assume the role of primary runner in the Green Bay offense. While it’s true that Grant is not quite the caliber of Peterson, Grant got better and better as the season went on, highlighted by his 201-yard, three touchdown performance against Seattle in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.

Coaches have been raving about Jackson’s progress in the team’s offseason workout program - going so far as to say he’s made the most progress out of anyone on the team - so expect increased results out of him in year two. Again, Jackson does not appear to be of the same caliber as Taylor as far as backup runners go. 

So why is Minnesota not as far ahead of Green Bay at running back as you might think?

Take a look at each team’s No. 3 running option. Green Bay will likely go with DeShawn Wynn, a second-year back who showed some real flashes of potential before getting hurt midway through last season. Minnesota will counter with Maurice Hicks. Maurice Hicks? Really? Hicks will bring little-to-nothing to the table for the Vikes in 2008 while Wynn will make the Packers three-deep at a crucial position.

At fullback, the Vikings will go with free agent signing Thomas Tapeh while the Packers will likely start Korey Hall. Pretty much even there.

Edge: Vikings, but only slighly

Wide Receiver

Minnesota knew it was pretty weak at wideout heading into the offseason and addressed that position (”They addressed a need position? How do you do that?” asks Bears fans) by signing free agent Bernard Berrian to a long-term contract. Yes, the Vikings overpaid for his services, but the move was a necessary one. Berrian and second-year pro Sidney Rice should give Jackson a respectable one-two punch to work with and Bobby Wade is a solid third option. Robert Ferguson is (and always will be) a joke and Minnesota has to hope that Aundre Allison steps up and assumes the No. 4 receiver spot.

The Vikings will no doubt be better at wide receiver this season. But, come on, have you seen who the Packers have at receiver?

Donald Driver is getting up there in age, but he remains one of the top 10 receivers in the league. Greg Jennings had a tremendous second season and should become one of the best wideouts in the league within a year or two. Outside of Kansas City’s Dwayne Bowe, no rookie had a better first season than James Jones…and he’s Green Bay’s third option! Rookie Jordy Nelson has been outstanding in the offseason camps and should claim the team’s No. 4 spot. If he doesn’t, Ruvell Martin will take it and be a solid option for Rodgers.

The Packers are just plain better than the Vikings at every receiver spot (No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and so on).

Edge: Packers, big-time 

Tight End

Minnesota will be looking for increased production from Visanthe Shiancoe after a tough - and that’s probably putting it lightly - first year in purple and gold. According to a recent story in the Pioneer Press, Shiancoe said he noticed the team making efforts to get him the ball more during a recent minicamp.

As for Shiancoe’s backups, fan favorite Jim Kleinsasser is primarily a blocker and Garrett Mills played in all of one game last season.

The Packers top tight end, Donald Lee, is coming off a 2007 season in which he finally delivered on all the promise he had shown fans over his first two seasons in green and gold. He should have another good season in 2008.

However, a pair of question marks rest behind Lee on Green Bay’s depth chart. Jermichael Finley, Lee’s likely backup, is a rookie. Tory Humphrey, as much as the team appears to like him, did not play at all last season due to a broken leg.

While both teams are questionable in terms of depth, Lee is a much better receiving option than Shiancoe.

Edge: Packers, by a solid margin 

Offensive Line

This was another tough position to assess, because Green Bay holds an edge over Minnesota in certain areas, while the Vikings are superior in others. It was also tough to assess because both teams have certain o-line spots that haven’t been determined yet.

Let’s start with the tackle positions. At right tackle, the battle between Mark Tauscher (Packers) and Ryan Cook (Vikings) is really no contest. Tauscher is the clear winner.

At left tackle, things were quite a bit closer in the battle between Chad Clifton (Packers) and Bryant McKinnie (Vikings). Funny thing about these two players: Both are considered to be amongst the best left tackles in the league, yet neither has been voted to a Pro Bowl (although Clifton has gone as an alternate). That doesn’t mean they’re not very good, it’s just something that strikes me as interesting.

That being the case, I am giving the overall advantage to Clifton because, while both are very good in pass protection, Clifton is a better run blocker.

Now let’s move to the guard positions. At left guard, Minnesota’s Steve Hutchinson is clearly miles ahead of Daryn Colledge (or Allen Barbre, if he beats Colledge out for the starting spot).

At right guard, neither Anthony Herrera (Minnesota) nor Jason Spitz (Green Bay) do much for me frankly, so I’m going to call that matchup a tie.

The last position left to decide is the center spot. While Green Bay’s Scott Wells has gotten better and better as his career has gone on (he will become an upper echelon center in time), Minnesota’s Matt Birk remains one of, if not the, best centers in the game so he gets the edge there.

For those of you scoring at home, that means Minnesota has won two positions (center and left guard), Green Bay has won two positions (right and left tackle) and the squads tied at right guard.

In other words, it’s time for the dreaded push.

Edge: Even

So that was part one. Hope you enjoyed it. Again, part two should be up later this week.

*Via Gonzo at the Daily Norseman, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk discusses the downside of folks like Dr. Z hyping the Vikings:

Some teams can perform well despite the glare of high expectations. The Vikings, however, have traditionally proven that they can’t. So the one thing Vikings fans should be rooting for over the next couple of months is that no one else follows Dr. Z’s lead.

From a purely historical standpoint, it’s a pretty fair statement. Florio cites the 1999 and 2005 seasons as instances of the Vikings entering the year as a team expected to compete with the league’s elite, but ultimately failing to deliver. However, is this an inherent flaw within the organization — that it, the inability to live up to preseason expectations when commentators are predicting big things from the team? C’mon now…let’s not go down the direction of superstition.

The key components of the roster are very much different from the 1999 and 2005 seasons. Not to mention the fact that a totally different coaching staff now resides in the offices of Winter Park — and we have no idea how the Childress regime will handle the issues that high preseason expectations present to a team.

I’m not wild about the preseason hype for a different reason: The feeling that commentators are overlooking and disrespecting your team can be a powerful one in an NFL locker room. It gives players a feeling that they have something to prove. But let’s not pretend like the Vikings are “cursed” with an inability to match preseason prognostications when expectations are high.

*As was expected, tickets to the Vikings’ home game against the Packers will be packaged with tickets to a preseason game; so if you want to experience the Border Battle firsthand at the Dome, you’ll be required to buy tickets to the August 8th snooze fest against Seattle. Smart economics for Zygmunt? Uh huh. Fan-friendly? Not especially, but whatever.

*Iggles Blog points us to a part of Dr. Z’s famous/infamous (depending on your perspective) prediction column that I didn’t mention when I discussed the article a few days ago:

“When I got the job here [in Minnesota], well, in my wildest dreams I didn’t think I was going to have to get rid of a franchise quarterback. But after three weeks in the spring, it was just obvious that it wasn’t going to work, with Daunte Culpepper. So I replaced him, and everybody pilloried us.

“Daunte was a guy who always used his legs. He wasn’t an anticipatory thrower. He had to see the whites of their eyes. And once he got hurt, well, coming back from the injury, he couldn’t play that way.”

Contrast that with Chilly’s take on Donovan McNabb, who he spent a handful of seasons coaching as Philly’s offensive coordinator:

“I told [McNabb] that when those legs go, you’re going to have to learn to rely on other things,” the coach says. “You’ve got to evolve. It’s like a wounded animal. All the other senses are heightened. And he went out and had some of his most accurate games, passing the ball.”

First of all, the “wounded animal” analogy just became one of my favorite Chilly-isms. But anyway, I think Chilly hit the mark with his assessment of Daunte, and the distinctions he drew between C-Pep and McNabb.

On that note, there was a noteworthy piece of Daunte news from the past week: Culpepper revealed to a Florida newspaper that he turned down a $1 million, one-year offer from the Green Bay Packers. Indeed, it’s simply the latest installment in Daunte’s tragic decline. Had he followed Donovan’s lead a little sooner (evolving into more of a pocket QB, reducing the frequency of his rushes), there’s a chance things could have been different. But he hit rock-bottom with the Dolphins in 2007, and his chances to rebound — well, suffice it to say, they’re not too good.

Not to mention the fact that he has a lousy agent.

At last count, here are the players/coaches/owners we’ve nominated: Troy Williamson, Dimitrius Underwood, Spergon Wynn, Chris Hovan, Todd Steussie, Dwight Smith, Brooks Bollinger, Denard Walker, Brian Russell, Visanthe Shiancoe, Brock Lesnar, Onterrio Smith, Adam Goldberg, Kelly Holcomb, Fred Smoot, Gary Anderson, T-Jack, Red McCombs, Corey Chavous, Greg Biekert, Herschel Walker, Chilly, Chris Dishman, Mike Lynn, Ragnar, Daunte Culpepper, Erasmus James, Denny Green, Les Steckel, Randy Moss, and Sean Salisbury.

Whew! A fine list, indeed, but I’ve still got a few more potential additions.

First of all, I’m surprised no one’s mentioned Mike Tice (referring to his coaching days, of course). Winning a playoff game at Lambeau surely works in his favor, but for the most part, the dude faced relentless criticism during his tenure at Winter Park — from the laughable “Randy Ratio,” to serious questions that were raised about his authority in the locker room, I think the Lovable Lug is worthy of consideration.

Of course, it was the thriftiness of McCombs that put Tice in a position he wasn’t prepared to be in…so it’s a tough call.

Any thoughts on adding Jim Kleinsasser to the list? He’s someone who’s come to mind since I wrote the initial article, but I’d lean towards leaving him off. His hands of stone have given many Vikings fans headaches throughout his nine seasons in Minnesota, but then again, I’d point the finger at the Tice and Green regimes for overutilizing him in the passing game. Ultimately, I’m on the fence about Jimbo.

For a couple other potential additions, I’ve gotta turn my attention to special teams — specifically, within the past six or seven years. Remember Aaron Elling, the place kicker for the Vikes in the 2003 season? Only made 72% of his kicks that season; thinking about his brief time in Minnesota has gotta make you appreciate the consistency Longwell brings to the table.

To Elling’s credit, though, no Viking place kicker will ever surpass Doug Brien for sheer awfulness. He appeared in six games for the Vikings during the 2002 season, and missed two — TWO — extra point attempts during a single game. Brien’s second miss prompted the classic reaction from Vikes radio commentator Joe Senser, “Get the hell outta here!”

Darren Bennett is also worth mentioning, as yet another frustrating Viking special teams player of the new millennium. Was waaaaay past his prime when he played for the Purple (2004), and it showed — averaged under 40 yards per punt, and proved to be a poor directional kicker. Again, makes you appreciate Mr. Kluwe.

Lastly, Ted Cottrell’s name belongs in this discussion. Frankly, based on his body of work in Minnesota, it’s a wonder he received another defensive coordinator gig.

That’s all I’ve got; feel free to continue putting your least favorite Vikings in the comments section, and we’ll move on to other things soon.

One of the first guys that comes to my mind is Troy Williamson, and really, there’s no explanation needed for selecting him as one of my least favorite Vikings. Dimitrius Underwood is also near the top of my list, for equally obvious reasons.

Another easy choice: Spergon Wynn. Indeed, Spergon set the standard for ineptitude at the quarterback position when he made two starts for the Vikings in the 2001 season. His stat line for the year: 98 pass attempts, 48 completions (49.0% completion percentage), 418 passing yards, one touchdown, six interceptions. Oy. He proceeded to never play another game in the NFL.

Even though his starts occurred nearly seven years ago, I still remember them vividly as being some of the most torturous football I’ve ever seen in my life.

Chris Hovan also makes the cut as one of my least favorite Vikings of all-time. He was overhyped by himself and the media to absurd proportions; in reality, he was little more than a mediocre lineman (192 tackles and 17 sacks in 77 games with the Vikes), but the Sid Hartmans of the media constantly fawned over the guy. At the time, I admittedly bought into the hype, but in retrospect, it’s nauseating to consider the extent to which he was overrated.

A couple other guys: Todd Steussie (picked up a false start on roughly 50% of the plays he was in the game for), Dwight Smith (a serviceable player, but a complete and utter moron), Brooks “Fumbled Snap” Bollinger (see: Vikings’ 34-0 loss at Lambeau last season), Denard Walker and Brian Russell (gave up the infamous 2003 Nate Poole touchdown against Arizona that knocked the Vikes out of the playoff race), Visanthe “Dropped Touchdown” Shiancoe, and finally, Brock Lesnar.

Before I get to the player that tops my list of least favorite Vikings, here are some others worth mentioning: Onterrio Smith (introduced the world to the Whizzinator), Adam Goldberg (a migraine-inducing offensive lineman), and Kelly Holcomb (I praised the signing of Holcomb when the deal went down, but I’ve never seen a more tentative quarterback in my life). Of course, my list is missing many names, so feel free to mention some of your least favorite Vikings in the comments section.

Now, though, I’ve gotta discuss the player that tops my list. This player not only humiliated the franchise through his organization of the Love Boat, he was grossly overrated while on the field. Mediocre wide receivers routinely looked like Pro Bowl-caliber players because of his soft coverage, and the 10-yard cushions he gave receivers at the line of scrimmage were the perfect evidence of his lacking talent level. His two years with the Vikings couldn’t have ended soon enough.

You, Fred Smoot, are my least favorite Viking of all-time.