The Minnesota Vikings open the 2015-16 NFL Season with a difficult early-season slate. It’s not until Week 8 that this group sees a team with a sub-.500 record from last year, but it does have the luxury of playing three of its first five games at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Detroit Lions have the opposite of a ‘luxury’ when it comes to the polar ends of their schedule. The 2015-16 NFL Season sees Detroit face a tough stretch to start the year, and then an equally troublesome stretch to close out the season.
The Marc Trestman experiment in Chicago is over but the Jay Cutler experience is still going. John Fox is in as the new coach and if nothing else he has an established NFL track record.
The Green Bay Packers are definitely the favourite in the NFC North and might be the best team in the NFC after Seattle. They certainly are as good a bet as any with their high powered offense led by Aaron Rodgers.
The NFC North was a major disappointment during the 2013 NFL season. The Green Bay Packers won the division, but they did it with an unimposing 8-7-1 record. This, of course, came after the group had three teams with double-digit wins the year before.
We are rapidly closing-in on the start of a brand new NFL season as all 32 teams are busy preparing for the start of training camp later this week.
Bovada has already released its NFL futures odds for a number of different categories, but the ones we are most interested in are a team’s chances to win its division. This time around we will take a closer look at the NFC North.
Next up. The Minnesota Vikings. One of my favorite tools in preparing for the 2013 NFL football season and to enhance your nfl wagering knowledge is to look ahead at each teams NFL schedule, and evaluate the games they will play.
Next up. The Detroit Lions. One of my favorite tools in preparing for the 2013 NFL football season and to enhance your nfl wagering knowledge is to look ahead at each teams NFL schedule, and evaluate the games they will play.
Next up. The Green Bay Packers. One of my favorite tools in preparing for the 2013 NFL football season and to enhance your nfl wagering knowledge is to look ahead at each teams NFL schedule, and evaluate the games they will play.
Next up. The Chicago Bears. One of my favorite tools in preparing for the 2013 NFL football season and to enhance your nfl wagering knowledge is to look ahead at each teams NFL schedule, and evaluate the games they will play.
The Packers are the BIG favorites to win the NFC North this season and they also have the best odds to win the Super Bowl. The Lions are an up and coming team and the Bears will be in the mix as long as Jay Cutler can stay healthy.
It is easy to understand why Green Bay is one of the favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champions, given that it made its magical run to the title game last season with a large chunk of its roster on the Injured Reserve list.
Minnesota exchanged one aging veteran quarterback for another when it replaced the retired Brett Favre (finally) by trading with Washington for Donovan McNabb.
NFL 2011 Team Preview and Odds- Minnesota Vikings
Odds to win the NFC North +850
Odds to win the NFC 15/1
Odds to win the Super Bowl 35/1
Win Total 7
McNabb led Philadelphia to five NFC Championship games during his tenure with the team and the Vikings are hoping he can do the same here after Favre got the team to the conference championship in 2009.
Last season’s fall from grace to a 6-10 record after compiling a 12-4 record in 2009 cannot all be pinned on Favre. The problems on this team ran deep, starting with an offense that was ranked 23rd in the NFL overall. It was ranked 26th in passing yards and 10th in rushing even with Adrian Peterson in the backfield. 
McNabb should be able to bring some stability to the passing game, but the loss of free agent wide receiver Sidney Rice to Seattle will definitely not help its cause. Minnesota did add WR’s Devin Aromashodu from Chicago and Michael Jenkins from Atlanta, but a talent like Rice is not easily replaced.
The biggest concern will be putting points on the board after finishing ranked 29th in scoring in 2010. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The defense did not make it through the recent free-agent frenzy unscathed either with the loss of DE Ray Edwards, who signed a deal with the Falcons as a free agent. Edwards accounted for 16.5 sacks over the past two seasons and will leave a gaping hole in the front seven along with the absence of free agent nose tackle Pat Williams, who chose not to resign with the team.
The Vikings selected defensive lineman Christian Ballard in the fourth round and defensive backs’ Brandon Burton in the fifth and Mistral Raymond in the sixth, but at this point these players will be counted on to add some depth to the overall squad.
The biggest difference between this season and last year at this point in time is the lack of the circus-like atmosphere created by former head coach Brad Childress and the whole Favre situation.
New coach Leslie Frazer has done a good job at getting this team to refocus on the fundamentals and McNabb brings a ton a veteran leadership without all the drama.
He is seen as a quick-fix until first round draft pick Christian Ponder is deemed ready to start, but if McNabb can elevate his game anywhere near his glory days in Philly, the Vikings could shock quite a few teams this season.
With NFL Training camps already starting Cappers Picks NFL Football handicappers have been hard at work putting out the team by team Football Predictions and NFL Season Previews for those of us who can’t wait.
Bet on the Super Bowl XLVI winner, plus 2011 Conference and Divisional winners today.
It appears that Chicago has become the Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL, getting no respect from the odds makers. Despite winning the NFC North last season with a record of 11-5 and beating Seattle 35-24 in the Divisional Round of the playoffs, the betting public has scoffed at the idea that it can even make it back to the postseason in 2011.
There is a certain buzz surrounding Detroit heading into the 2011 season that this may be the year everything comes together for a return to the postseason.
The 2011/12 NFL futures betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. CappersPicks.com has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well.
One of my favorite tools in preparing for the 2011 NFL football season and to enhance your nfl wagering knowledge is to look ahead at each teams NFL schedule, and evaluate the games they will play.
