Tale of the tape
Week 1: Minnesota Vikings Vs. Jacksonville Jaguars
| The Vikings are operating under the theory that Christian Ponder will be much improved this season and all reports indicate that he has made strides. Ponder is going to have to demonstrate improved accuracy and decision making early in the season. | Quarterback | There’s little doubt that Blaine Gabbert has all the physical characteristics that are needed to play the quarterback position. However, his instincts are still developing and that means he will make a lot of mistakes. |
|---|---|---|
| There aren’t many teams that will feature a running back as the primary factor in the offense the way the Vikings do with Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart. The offensive line could be much improved with Matt Kalil knocking defensive linemen around. | Offense | Despite the ugliness of his preseason holdout, it seems likely that Maurice Jones-Drew will be back. Justin Blackmon looks like a real player and Laurent Robinson looks like a real player at the other receiver spot. |
| The Vikings lacked cohesiveness on defense last year but new coordinator Alan Williams will closely follow Les Frazier’s philosophy that depends largely on discipline and positional play and not blitzing. Jared Allen is still an explosive pass rusher but he could start to slow down this year. | Defense | While the Jaguars were a 5-11 team last season, there was significant improvement on the defensive end under defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. They went from 28th in the league to 6th, and they should continue to improve this year because Andre Branch can turn the corner and explode. |
| Special teams were troublesome for the Vikings last year and punter Chris Kluwe needs to show some improvement. Rookie placekicker Blair Walsh replaces inconsistent Ryan Longwell. | Special Teams | It’s hard to find fault with placekicker Josh Scobee, who connected on 23-of-25 field goal attempts last year. The Jags drafted punter Bryan Anger in the third round and they need him to be a momentum turner. |
The winner is
The Jaguars are probably the most low-profile team in the NFL, but they should be solid on defense and special teams. That should be enough against a Vikings team that is trying to rebuild and hoping that Adrian Peterson will be healthy and ready to roll at the start of the season.
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TV Schedule
| Full Program Grid | |
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| 7:00 PM | CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley |
| 7:30 PM | omg! Insider |
| 8:00 PM | The Big Bang Theory |
| 8:31 PM | Two and a Half Men |
| 9:01 PM | Person of Interest |
| 10:01 PM | Elementary |
| 11:00 PM | KDKA-TV News at 11 |
| 11:35 PM | Late Show with David Letterman |
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