National Friday League, week two

Vikings v. Lions
I'm a bit afraid of this Lions team. I can see them throwing the ball 50 times and Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams each having 10 catches as the Vikes' young CBs Cedric Griffin and Marcus McCauley chase them all over Ford Field.

But then I look back to Jon Kitna's performances last season. In the two games versus the Vikings, Kitna threw 42 and 41 passes; in each game, he threw one TD and three INTs. It's Jon Kitna. The Vikings can pressure him, and if they do he'll make wacky turnovers happen.

Tarvaris Jackson on the road is slightly scary, but Adrian Peterson should be able to run all over this team. I really can't believe that the Vikings can lose to the Lions until I see it happen again (which it will someday, right? The Vikes can't beat this team every single time they play for the rest of my life, can they?).

Both teams must be approaching this as a winnable game. But one of these teams always beats the other one of these teams, and a lot of those games have been winnable for either team. I'm nervous because I have to be nervous for every Viking game, and this Lion team could have 400 yards passing. But if the Lions are throwing all the time, they're going to have turnovers, and if they try to run, they'll probably fail. I'm looking for the Vikings to run a lot and well against the Lions, for Tarvaris Jackson to get a chance to make plays, for the Viking defense to give up some yards passing, but to ultimately get sacks, force turnovers, and stop the Lions in the red zone.

Other Matchups
Colts-Titans
I don't care if the Titans win every game this season 3-0: I will give credit to demi-god Vince Young. Amazingly, I've never seen Young play in the NFL, and this only enhances his mythic status, as I can only imagine him running all over the field like some sort of pinball, bouncing off everything and chucking the ball around. Does he play defense and special teams, too? He might, I don't know. And now he takes his team (which has a for real running game and defense) against the Tecmo Colts. If I weren't watching the Vikings at noon, I'd want to watch this game. (correction: the Vikes play at 3:00, so I will be watching this game).

Chargers-Patriots
It's always fun when the Sunday night game is a massive fantasy interest game. Sure starts in this game include Brady, Moss, Maroney, Tomlinson, Gates. Probably starters include Rivers, both teams' kickers, and both teams' defenses. Everything should count.

Frank Gore
Frank Gore's mother has died (USA Today). Very sad. It sounds like his mother was a great person who raised a great person. Our condolences, Mr. Gore.

Weekend
Enjoy the weekend everybody. Except Lions, Packers, and Bears fans.