Fitz’s NFL 2007 Preview

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 09/14/2007

 

As I have done the last 20 years or so, I’ll try and guide you through the 2007 upcoming NFL season.

 You might recall that last year I correctly predicted the eventual Super Bowl Champion. The Indianapolis Colts and record-setting quarterback Peyton Manning won their first Super Bowl in 36 years. The first one was when the Colts played in Baltimore .

 Head Coach Tony Dungy is the NFL’s winningest coach since 1999; he is 91-38 with a .703 win pct. The Colts dominated New Orleans last Thursday in the NFL kickoff game 41-10.

 Dungy is a remarkable man. He followed in the footsteps of Sandy Stephens and played quarterback at the University of Minnesota . After his NFL playing career ended, he became a coach. He returned to Minnesota as defensive coordinator for the Vikings under head coach Dennis Green in the early ’90s. In 1993 his defensive unit was number one in the NFL.

 Now Dungy is clearly the NFL’s best coach, and three of his former assistants are rising stars. Lovie Smith worked with Dungy in Tampa before going to St. Louis as a coordinator; he is now the outstanding head coach of NFC Champion Chicago.

 Mike Tomlin and Leslie Frazier have followed Dungy’s path through Minnesota as coordinators to become head coaches. Tomlin is among the youngest NFL head coaches, now in his first year with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Frazier will get his opportunity soon.

 The best team in the NFL again will come from the strongest conference, and that’s the AFC — the power has shifted to that conference. Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis , New England , San Diego, Baltimore — one of these four teams will win Super Bowl XLII.

 My wisdom tells me that the NFC having lost two great coaches — Bill Parcells of Dallas and Dennis Green of Arizona — and one great talent, Michael Vick, the AFC is deeper and stronger. Twelve teams qualify for the playoffs, six teams from each conference. (Note: * indicates playoff selections.)

 AFC Conference

AFC South: 1) Indianapolis * 2) Tennessee 3) Houston 4) Jacksonville

AFC North: 1) Baltimore * 2) Pittsburgh * 3) Cincinnati 4) Cleveland

AFC West: 1) San Diego * 2) Denver * 3) Kansas City 4) Oakland

AFC East: 1) New England* 2) New York 3) Buffalo 4) Miami

 

NFC Conference

NFC South: 1) New Orleans * 2) Carolina 3) Tampa Bay 4) Atlanta

NFC North: 1) Chicago * 2) Minnesota * 3) Green Bay 4) Detroit

NFC West: 1) Seattle * 2) St. Louis 3) Arizona 4) San Francisco

NFC East: 1) Philadelphia * 2) Dallas * 3) Washington 4) New York

 Super Bowl XLII

  New England vs. Chicago

Vikings dog Falcons 24-3

 Let the record show that I was on hand along with 62,815 fans for the 96th straight Vikings home sell-out. The Vikings improved their chances of qualifying for the playoffs by dominating the Atlanta Falcons 24-3.

 Defensively, the Vikings used two defensive touchdowns to cage the Michael Vick-less Falcons. The Vikings defense sacked the NFL’s happiest man, quarterback Joey Harrington, six times and held Warrick Dunn in check to shut down the Falcons offense.

 Harrington, a former num  ber-one pick at QB who has failed twice previously at Detroit and Miami , is 23-43 as a starter and 0-5 at the Metrodome. Harrington is no savior in Atlanta without Vick; it could be a long, hot season in Atlanta .

 Tavaris Jackson did a good job. He accounted for 173 of the Vikings’ 303 total yards and was a good game manager on offense. He took advantage of a couple of big breaks and handed the ball to dynamic number 28, Adrian Peterson.

 Peterson had 163 total yards and became the first Vikings running back in his first game to run for 100 yards. Peterson took advantage of a first-quarter hip injury to last year’s leading rusher, Chester Taylor, and ran inside and out for 103 yards on 19 carries.

 Then he broke the game open with an electrifying 60-yard touchdown dash. With the score 10-3 midway in the fourth quarter, Peterson grabbed a little pass from Jackson that was behind him and broke free in the right flat, exploding up the right sideline to score the game-breaking touchdown.

 It was one big play after another for the Vikings. Defensive star All-Pro Kevin Williams intercepted a Harrington pass in the first quarter and rambled 54 yards for a touchdown to stake the Vikings to an early 7-0 lead. Defensive Coordinator Leslie Frazier’s defense kept pressure on Harrington all day, sacking him six times, two times each by E.J. Henderson and rookie Brian Robison.

 Veteran Antione Winfield put the finishing touches on the defensive masterpiece by grabbing a deflected pass and racing 14 yards for a touchdown.

 The Vikings, like 15 other teams, start the season with a win. This week they travel to Detroit to play the 1-0 Lions. Playing well on the road will be critical to the team’s success: Four of their first six games are on the road.