The Brett Favre saga has officially begun once again and Minnesota as the Vikings will have their three-time NFL MVP under center for one more season and one more shot at a Super Bowl title.

Last season the Minnesota Vikings were impressive to say the least as they proved all the doubters wrong with an inspired run all the way the NFC championship game against the eventual Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

Even though they fell just short against Drew Brees and company in overtime in the NFC championship game, the Vikings took the Super Bowl champs to the limit and could have very well been playing in the Super Bowl if a play or two had gone their way.

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So despite not being able to make it to the Super Bowl last season, Brett Favre and company have high hopes of playing just as good if not better this season as they will have the same team relatively intact and a legitimate shot at winning a ring at season’s end.

Obviously, Brett Favre was the key piece to the Vikings’ puzzle coming into this season in order to get back into Super Bowl title contention, but even though a lot of attention gets paid to the Minnesota offense with Favre, Sidney Rice and arguably the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson, the Vikings defense has been a huge part of their success and will be x-factor for this team moving forward.

With a solid defense, which is widely considered one of the top two or three in the league, the Minnesota Vikings can maintain leads and not put so much pressure on the offense to produce 30+ points per game just to contend with the best of the best in the league.

One of the key parts of the defense is the presence of arguably one of the best defensive ends in the game in Jared Allen. With Allen constantly putting pressure on the opposing quarterback, the Vikings defense just seems to click and Minnesota always has a great chance to win the game.

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Another vital part of the offense that the Vikings added during the 2010 NFL Draft was running back Toby Gerhart. Last season with Stanford, Gerhart just blew up and made a name for himself as one of the best backs in the country and came second in the voting for the Heisman trophy just behind Alabama’s running back Mark Ingram.

Even though Gerhart probably won’t play a huge part in the Minnesota Vikings offense in his rookie year, like Percy Harvin did last season, there is a possibility he could become the team’s third down back like Chester Taylor was last year.

Needless to say, I believe the Vikings have gotten much better on the offensive side of the football as they have gotten a boost in running game and will have Brett Favre under center with one goal on his mind of winning his second Super Bowl title before he walks into the sunset as arguably one of the best quarterbacks of all-time.

Last season the New Orleans Saints were finally able to break into the NFL’s elite class as they remained undefeated for the majority of the NFL regular season and won their first Super Bowl title in franchise history. Not only were they considered to be the best team in the NFL throughout the regular season with one of the best quarterbacks under center in perennial Pro Bowler Drew Brees, but they were able to prove to their doubters that they were able to keep playing at a high level well into the playoffs and come away with a Super Bowl title.

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This run to the Super Bowl was impressive to say the least for the New Orleans Saints as they not only played against arguably the best teams in the league to win a Super Bowl title, but they never faltered or gave up hope that they would win their first title in franchise.

Even though they played against some of the best players of all time in quarterbacks Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings) and Peyton Manning (Indianapolis Colts), Drew Brees and company looked adversity in the eye and came out on top and they will look to do the same things this season.

Obviously, a trip to another Super Bowl will be no easy task for the defending Super Bowl champions as every team in the league will be giving Sean Payton’s squad everything they can handle this season in their title defense.

Unlike some of the other league teams around the league, New Orleans Saints have kept their team relatively intact with little or no improvement to last year’s roster. This may be a good thing, but it also may be the reason for their undoing as they might not be able to hang with the best of the best in the NFC Conference for a second straight season.

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There is no doubt that the New Orleans Saints will be entering their title defense with a legitimate shot to repeat as Super Bowl champions, but not many people are giving them much chance to win their second straight title as teams like the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers could very well leaped ahead of them in the NFC Conference this season.

At the beginning of the 2010-2011 NFL regular season, anything goes as the New Orleans Saints could quickly get back on track as arguably the best team in the league with a potent offense and a lockdown defense, but I believe they will face some stiff competition and even though they will almost certainly be playoff bound once again, beating the Minnesota Vikings or the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs is a stretch in my opinion.

The key to the Saints success this season will be how well their defense can hold up against potent offenses like the Vikings, Cowboys, Packers and the division rival Atlanta Falcons. If the New Orleans defense can repeat what they did last season, they could very well be headed to another Super Bowl in February, but if not it could be a long season that ends in disappointment.

There is no team in the NFL today that has more pressure to win on an annual basis than the Dallas Cowboys. No matter how talented the team may be heading into the NFL regular season, flamboyant owner Jerry Jones always expects his team to fight through adversity and become one of the best teams in the NFC Conference.

Unfortunately, despite having the money to get their hands on big-name players around the league just like the New York Yankees in the MLB, the Dallas Cowboys don’t always come out on top and have struggled to get back to elite status in the NFL.

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Last season the Dallas Cowboys were finally able to do something they haven’t done since the mid 90s by winning their first playoff game against the division rival Philadelphia Eagles, but they were quickly put back in their place in the next round of the postseason by Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.

Even though Tony Romo and company were able to absolutely destroy Philadelphia Eagles in the first round, the Minnesota Vikings defense just dominated the Dallas Cowboys offensive line and had Tony Romo running for his life on every single play.

So despite the Dallas Cowboys finally winning a playoff game and securing the jobs of both quarterback Tony Romo and head coach Wade Phillips, Jerry Jones still didn’t seem content with his team’s performance as it was obvious against the Vikings that the Cowboys still had some work to do in order to compete with the best of the best in the NFL.

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Heading into the NFL offseason, the Dallas Cowboys tried to address their problems by working on protecting their quarterback and giving him one more target downfield in the form of controversial rookie wide receiver Dez Bryant out of Oklahoma State.

Even though Bryant was somewhat of a problem child in college as he was suspended for the majority of last season at Oklahoma State, his skills are undeniable as he could very well become the number one option in the Cowboys’ offense in the near future.

In the meantime, the Dallas Cowboys will come into the 2010-2011 NFL season will arguably one of the most potent offenses in the NFL with perennial Pro Bowl quarterback Tony Romo under center, wide receivers Miles Austin, Roy Williams and Dez Bryant downfield and one of the best tight ends in the game in Jason Witten.

Not only will the Cowboys air attack be amongst the best in the league, but they will bring a solid ground game to the equation with running backs Felix Jones and Marion Barber coming out of the backfield. Along with their potent offense, the Dallas Cowboys will also have an elite defense to maintain leads led by four-time Pro Bowl linebacker DeMarcus
Ware.
Needless to say, the Dallas Cowboys seem poised to make a run at the Super Bowl this season and if they can reach the big game in February, they will be the first time in NFL history to play a Super Bowl on their home field as they will be hosting the Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium.

Pecking Order Completely Based on Preseason Performance Nothing Else

1. Redskins – Donovan McNabb looked comfortable in Mike Shanahan’s offense.

2.Eagles - Maybe this whole Kevin Kolb situation can work out.

3.Vikings – Minnesota welcomed Sam Bradford nicely to the NFL.

4.Browns – Jake Delhomme is doing alright in Cleveland.

5. Chargers – LT was not missed against the Bears.

6. Ravens – Baltimore might actually have some offensive firepower.

7. Patriots – Bill Belichick’s group is poised for a deep run.

8. Raiders – Late win against Dallas thanks to their defense.

9. Steelers – Byron Leftwich is not the answer to Big Ben’s absence.

10. Cardinals – Cardinals looked just fine without Kurt Warner.

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11. Texans – Strong outing for Matt Schaub.

12. Colts – Peyton Manning shows no signs of slowing down.

13. Falcons – Michael Turner is finally healthy

14. Bengals – Exciting season for the receiver diva duo of Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens.

15. Broncos – Kyle Orton was sharp against the Bengals.

16. Giants – Did they finally fix their defense?

17.Saints – Defending champs rank low but don’t worry season is not yet here.

18. Titans – Their success is dependent on Vince Young.

19. 49ers – Niners did not look good against the Colts.

20. Rams – Throw Sam Bradford into the line-up.

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21.Bears – Is it possible for Jay Cutler to throw fewer interceptions?

22. Panthers – It’s gonna be another long season for Carolina.

23. Dolphins – Acquisition of Brandon Marshall will only bring benefits.

24. Jets – With Rex Ryan’s confidence, the Jets are always in contention.

25. Seahawks – Challenging season for Pete Carroll.

26. Cowboys – No TD throws for Dallas against the Raiders. Reason for panic?

27. Chiefs – Defense still needs improvement.

28. Packers – Aaron Rodgers is one small step away from being one of the best players in the league.

29. Lions – Matt Stafford seems to have recovered nicely from shoulder injury.

30. Buccaneers – Josh Freeman needs to improve for the Buccaneers to add two wins from last season.

31. Jaguars – There’s gonna be improvement in Jacksonville.

32. Bills – Expect the Bills to spend their time in the cellar