As the Vikings continue preparations for the NFL Draft and the upcoming season, the team can begin to narrow its focus some. The NFL has released the 2008 schedule and each of the 32 NFL teams now knows the identity of each weekly challenge.
The Vikings home schedule features Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts for the home opener (9/14), a showdown with explosive receiver Steve Smith and the Carolina Panthers (9/21), a Sunday night contest with the Chicago Bears (11/30) and Super Bowl champion New York to close out the campaign.
Road game highlights include a season-opening Monday Night Football contest against Green Bay (9/8), Vince Young and the Titans (9/28), an Adrian Peterson/Reggie Bush matchup in New Orleans on Monday Night Football (10/6) and two consecutive games in Florida with contests against Tampa Bay (11/16) Jacksonville (11/23).
The Vikings face a challenging stretch of games starting in mid-November, when four of five contests will be on the road, but they close the season with two straight home games. The bye week falls in Week 8 (10/26)), with a road game against Chicago (10/19) and a home game against the Texans (11/2) on either side.
Here are ten observations on the 2007:
1 early-season division game
After seeing all three division opponents before Week 6 in 2007, the Vikings play just one (Green Bay) before Week 5 in 2008. Not only that, but that contest will open the season for both teams and will be played on Monday Night Football in Lambeau Field. Nothing like starting out with a bang!
The past 2 Super Bowl winners
The last two Super Bowl winners will visit the Metrodome in 2008, as Super Bowl XLI champion Peyton Manning will bring his Colts in Week 2 and his little brother, Eli Manning, and the Giants will challenge the Vikings in Week 17 to close out the season.
3 prime time games
The Vikings will appear in two Monday Night Football games, at Green Bay in Week 1 and at New Orleans in Week 5, and one Sunday night game, at home against the Bears in Week 13. The Vikings have a 24-23 record on Monday Night Football and a 14-12 mark on Sunday nights.
4 AFC South opponents
The NFL’s schedule formula pits the NFC North against the AFC South this season, which means the Vikings will face the Colts, Houston Texans, Jaguars and Titans in 2008. The Colts and Texans will travel to Minnesota, while the Vikings will hit the road against Jacksonville and Tennessee.
5 NFC games to close the season
In what must please Vikings Head Coach Brad Childress and his team, the Vikings will close the season with five consecutive conference games. This is significant because conference games have a direct impact on the playoff chase and if previous years are any indication, all five of those games will factor in to the establishment of the 2008 playoff field.
6 2007 playoff teams
The Vikings schedule includes seven games against six different playoff teams from last season. Minnesota plays the Buccaneers, Colts, Giants, Jaguars and Titans once, and the Packers twice.
Bernard Berrian returns to Chicago in Week 7
The Vikings highest profile free-agent signing was receiver Bernard Berrian, who opted to leave the Bears and head for the Vikings. Berrian and his new teammates will travel to Solider Field in Week 7 for the first of two meetings during the regular season.
Week 8 escape
The Vikings bye week lands in the season’s eighth week, giving the team a rest approximately half-way through the campaign. Minnesota plays at Chicago prior to the bye and then plays two consecutive home games following the week off.
9 animal mascots
The Vikings will play nine games against teams with animal mascots in 2008. As a quick review, here is the list in order of appearance: Indianapolis COLTS, Carolina PANTHERS, Detroit LIONS (2), Chicago BEARS (2), Jacksonville JAGUARS, Arizona CARDINALS and Atlanta FALCONS.
TENnessee trip in Week 10
For the first time in ten seasons, the Vikings will travel to Nashville to take on Tennessee. Minnesota’s last trip to Tennessee was in December of 1998, when the team was then called the Tennessee Oilers. The Vikings won 26-16 that day.