By Jim Campbell of www.footballforecastor.com

MINNESOTA: Like most of the sporting world, year in and year out I find myself weary of the "Brett Favre watch", what was this…the fourth or fifth straight season that Favre shed tears and strongly hinted at finally hanging up his cleats only to return once training camp was either under way or drawing to a conclusion? With that being said, there aren’t too many people in the world good enough to play in the professional ranks to begin with let alone having the type of career that Favre has had.

In the big picture Favre will turn 40 years of age on October 10^th of 2009, meaning that this stint with the Vikings is in all likelihood his last hurrah, in handicapping games and looking forward to this upcoming season, we must realize and take into account that Favre is nowhere near the QB that he was in his prime, however, don’t downplay the importance of experience and leadership and in that regard Favre still ranks in the top 10 of all QB’s currently playing in the NFL.

In Minnesota Favre has behind him the makings of a Championship caliber team, history has shown and proved more often than not that the football team that runs the ball better and in turn stymies their opponents running game goes on to win way more than they lose, that’s a fact, and in that regard keep in mind that the Viking offense had the NFL’s 3^rd best rushing attack last year in terms of rushing yards per game (148.0), they were ranked 5^th best at controlling the clock with a TOP (time of possession) of 31:41 per game and had the 6^th best rushing yards per pop average at 4.52, however, they ranked a shoddy 27^th in passing yards per game, can a proven QB like Favre make a difference and especially with this running attack behind him? Yup.

Defensively these Vikings were the NFL’s best at stopping the run last season as they allowed a meager 72.9 rushing yards per game and were also tops in the league in allowing the least amount of yards per pop with a 3.21 average. The addition of QB Brett Favre to the offense can only make the defense that much better, mainly because Favre should be able to lead more sustained drives and in the end score more points which in turn will allow the defense more rest…provided that Favre is not asked to carry the whole load that is. Projected record 11-5.

***Look to play AGAINST Minnesota on September 20^th when they travel to Detroit to take on the Lions, in this affair "Joe Public’s" perception will be totally one-sided with regard to the outcome of this contest and especially so with all of the hype and hoopla of QB Brett Favre leading the Norsemen against an 0-16 team from a year ago. Minnesota was a -10.5 favorite at Detroit last year so I would expect about the same line this year and especially so after Minnesota beats up on the Brownies in week one.

A simple review of last years’ result sheet reveals that 4 of Minny’s 6 regular season straight up losses occurred on the road, another glance at that same sheet reveals that these Vikings were double digit favorites in each of their two seasonal meetings with the Lions last season but in the end barely escaped with wins as evidenced by finals of 12-10 and 20-16, meanwhile, the Lions posted a mark of 7-1 ATS last season when receiving a double digit head start.

GREEN BAY: The Vikings are definitely the best all-round team in this division, however, these Packers aren’t really that far behind as they should show improvement in the standings after last season’s 6-10 straight up and 8-8 ATS fall from grace after posting a mark of 13-3 straight up and 12-3-1 ATS in 2007. The sledding should be a lot easier in 2009 for Green Bay as they will be facing the NFL’s 30^th easiest schedule in terms of how this season’s slate of opponents fared last year in the win/loss column (.428 winning %).

Green Bay has a nice young QB in Aaron Rodgers who is entering his fifth season as a Packer but is in his sophomore season as their starting signal caller. Last year this kid was nothing short of fantastic with regard to his numbers as he tossed the rock for 4038 yards, completed 63.6% of his passes, and had a TD to INT ratio of 28 to 13 enroute to posting a QB rating of 93.8 which was the 6^th best rating in the league.

The Packers offense ranked 5^th in the league last year in average points scored per game (25.9), however, their defense ranked a shoddy 24^th in points allowed (23.9), meaning that Green Bay played in a lot of close games and in that regard a look-see at the Packer result sheet from a year ago shows that Green Bay had 10 straight up losses in 2008…but 7 of those 10 losses were by four points or less!

A quick glance at the Packers 2009 schedule shows they should have a total of four easy wins against teams that were NFL bottom feeders last season as they will get to line up against the likes of Cleveland (4-12), Detroit (0-16), and St Louis (2-14). The Packers should also feast against Cincinnati, San Francisco, and Seattle when these three teams visit Lambeau Field…that’s a total of seven wins the Pack should have from the outset, all they would need to do is win these listed affairs and then win three of their remaining nine scheduled games to have a 10-6 record and in all likelihood punch their ticket to the playoffs, but will they? Projected record 10-6.

***Look to play ON Green Bay in their October 5^th MNF showdown against the Brett Favre led Vikings in a game that will take place in Minnesota. This contest should be the Vikings first real test of the 2009 regular season after taking on the likes of Cleveland, Detroit and San Francisco in their first three outings which should result in a 3-0 mark for the Vikings.

Meanwhile, the Packers open up against the Bears and Bengals at Lambeau Field followed by road games at St Louis and then this affair at Minnesota, meaning that Green Bay will have played a little tougher schedule thus far and each teams’ performance to date leading up to this affair will enhance the public’s perception of Favre’s new team and in turn make for a very inflated point spread when Green Bay visits Viking-land. A peek into the ole history book reveals that Green Bay has covered 5 of their last 6 games ATS against the Vikings and are a perfect 3-0 ATS in their last three trips to the Metro-dome.

CHICAGO: There are a lot of "talking heads" in the media predicting that the Bears will compete for the NFC North divisional crown this year and they are basing that assumption on how the Bears newly acquired QB will perform for them in 2009. It’s true that new Bear QB Jay Cutler should definitely improve upon Chicago’s 2008 ranking of 23th in the league in terms of passing yards per game and their 26^th ranking in terms of total yards per game, however, it should be noted that Cutler will be reduced to tossing the rock to a group of much less talented receivers in Bear-land than the ones he had in Denver that allowed the Bronco’s to place 2^nd in the league last year in terms of total offensive yards per game (395.13) and place 3^rd amongst all NFL teams in passing yards per game (276.9).

The Bears cause will be greatly helped this year by owning the NFL’s easiest schedule as their slate of opponents for the 2009 season had a combined winning percentage of .414 in 2008, the Bears are also fortunate in that three of their four toughest out of division games against the likes of Pittsburgh, Arizona, and Philadelphia will take place in the Windy City while their lone hard out of division game will take place at Baltimore, however, the Bears might catch the Ravens napping in that affair as Baltimore will have a trip to Pittsburgh on deck. Projected record 9-7.

***Look to play AGAINST the Bears in their October 4^th home game when Detroit comes to town, the Bears open their season up at Green Bay and then return home to face the reigning Super Bowl Champion Steelers, these should be two highly emotional games for the Bears, then in week three they fly way out west to take on the Seahawks before returning home for their first seasonal meeting against the Lions. With a bye on deck after facing Detroit, me thinks da’Bears will not be able to get it up again in week four and in turn will over look a Detroit Lion team that posted a mark of 0-16 last year.

On the flip side of things Detroit should be well rested having played their last two outings at home against the Vikings and Redskins before taking this short trip to the Windy City, however, the Lions will probably enter this contest against the Bears with a mark of 0-3 straight up which should give way to the public perception that this is the same ole Lion team which in turn should lead to a really inflated point spread. In the big picture I fully expect the Lions to start showing vast improvement from week four onward and that includes how they perform against these Bears.

DETROIT: There are many questions that must be answered this season with regard to the Lion’s player roster, however, the question of who will be the starting QB heads the list as Detroit took Matt Stafford with the NFL’s first overall pick of the 2009 draft after having just signed QB Daunte Culpepper in November of 2008 to a two year deal. Regardless of which QB starts for Detroit on opening day I fully believe these Lions will be a much better team in 2009.

Will Detroit win the Super Bowl or make the playoffs this season? Probably not when considering that professional odds makers have installed the Lions as a 12 to 1 doggie to win the NFC North divisional title, in the big picture who can really blame the odds makers or the public for lacking confidence in these Kitty cats? After all, Detroit did post a winless mark of 0-16 last year and over the last three seasons have compiled a mark of 10-38.

As a matter of fact, these Lions were dead last in the NFL over the past two straight years in total defense and the 517 total points they allowed last year (which was an average of 32.31 pts per gm) was the second most allowed in NFL history. Detroit hasn’t been much better on offense either, mainly because of their terrible play along the offensive line which has allowed an eye opening 158 total sacks over the past three seasons making it no small wonder why they found it extremely hard to keep their QB’s and RB’s off the injury list.

However, the Lion brass FINALLY replaced GM Matt Millin and also brought a new sheriff to town and his name is Jim Schwartz, his newly appointed deputy on offense is Scott Linehan and his newly appointed deputy on defense is Gunther Cunningham. The Lions also cleaned house with regard to their player roster as they gave 20 players their walking papers and replaced them with 14 free agents and 10 draft picks.

Those that don’t know who is who might like to know that new HC Jim Schwartz was the Titans defensive coordinator for the past eight seasons and has been groomed for this position by one of the NFL’s best in Tennessee’s Jeff Fisher, meanwhile, new offensive coordinator Scott Linehan was the Rams head coach from 2006 to 2008 and is one heck of a teacher, keep in mind that this is the same guy that while serving as the Vikings offensive coordinator from 2002 to 2004 turned QB Daunte Culpepper into a passing machine as Culpepper averaged a 27 to 15 TD to INT ratio with 4016 passing yards and an average QB rating of 94.2 over Linehan’s time with the Vikes.

Its’ going to take some time for the new Lion coaching staff to get to know one another as well as get to know what equates to an almost entirely new Detroit Lion team, however, my recommendation is to keep an eye on this team and especially so after the first few weeks of the 2009 regular season when things really start to mesh, in the end they might not win many games straight up but my money will be on them to cover the number in a few choice spots. Projected record 5-11.

***Look to play ON Detroit September 20^th when the Vikings come to town, in this affair "Joe Public’s" perception will be totally one-sided with regard to the outcome of this contest and especially so with all of the hype and hoopla of QB Brett Favre leading the Norsemen against a team that posted a mark of 0-16 a year ago. Minnesota was a -10.5 favorite at Detroit last year so I would expect about the same line this year and especially so after Minnesota beats up on the Brownies in week one.

A simple review of last years’ result sheet reveals that 4 of Minny’s 6 regular season straight up losses occurred on the road, another glance at that same sheet reveals that these Vikings were double digit favorites in each of their two seasonal meetings with the Lions last season but in the end barely escaped with wins as evidenced by finals of 12-10 and 20-16, meanwhile, the Lions posted a mark of 7-1 ATS last season when receiving a double digit head start.

By releasing these key selections later in the week and closer to game time we are able to take advantage of the latest information available which includes the latest weather and injury reports as well as any "Line Movements" that have taken place.