MinnesotaSportsScene.com

Even the best diet pill in the world won’t be enough to keep the purple and gold at bay tonight in Green Bay; with the early season match-up, there really is no weather advantage for the Packers tonight.

So unless there’s a huge windstorm or rain or something, tonight will be a match-up of talent, pure and simple. While Green Bay may have an edge on linebackers and receivers, it’s hard to imagine the Vikings not having the edge at every other position, or close to it.

All X-factors being equal, I’d say tonight the Vikings will win, but it’ll be close. Look for it to be in the neighborhood of a 31-27 Vikings win.

I’m itching for the start of the Vikings-Packers game tonight and one of the biggest questions on my mind is whether Adrian Peterson can be great again this year. Certainly, despite missing four games last season, he has already established himself as possibly one of the best runners ever to wear the purple and gold.

The question is, can he avoid the sophomore slump? Can he improve on what he did last season? With the healing that’s gone on in his knee in the off-season, I’d venture to say it’s possible, even plausible. Only time will tell and kickoff’s in about 12 hours. No time left for those Caribbean cruises. It’s football time, baby!

Cancel the reservations for Las Vegas hotels, the party this Monday Night is on the gridiron! The Minnesota Vikings will open their season tonight against the Green Bay Packers, and for the first time in 16 seasons, the Pack will be without Brett Favre under center.

Since the Vikings have a refurbished pass rush threat with NFL sack leader Jared Allen on the same D-line as the Williams Wall, the purple certainly aren’t going to make the debut of Favre’s successor, Aaron Rodgers, an easy night.

Right now, Tavaris Jackson has more game experience and more wins on his belt that Rodgers as a pro, and with Adrian Peterson in the backfield for the Vikes, and Bernard Berrian competently catching passes, it’s our hope that tonight’s game will be a blow-out favoring the purple.

Of course, historically the series has usually been close; but we’re entering a new era, and on paper, the Vikes look solid for the win. Of course, the X-Factor in all of this is the Green Bay defense, which tried to end Adrian Peterson’s career last season and will likely be cheap-shot artists again tonight, which is why we chose our nickname for them: Murderer’s Row.

Somehow, though, I have a feeling the Green Bay Assassins will miss their target tonight.

With won-loss results as reliable as mortgage quotes last season, after we won a close game against Northern Illinois last week, I wasn’t sure we’d see another Gophers win this season. However, the Gophers somehow remembered they play in the Big Ten Conference and posted a more convincing 25-point victory over Bowling Green this weekend.

Thank goodness.

Adam Weber proved he’s a legit starter by completing 21 of 25 passes for 233 yards and three scores; he was not intercepted. The game stands as one of the most accurate single-game performances in Gophers history.

Running back Duane Bennett had a great start in the game, gaining 92 yards on the ground and 142 all-purpose yards before being injured in the third quarter on Saturday. Scheduled for an MRI, Bennett’s knee injury could keep him out the rest of the year, which could damage the hopes of this team to keep from repeating last year’s dismal failure of a season.

However, Shady Salamon and DeLeon Eskridge stand ready to fill in, and personally I think Salamon stands the best chance to break through in relief of Bennett. Time will tell.