... That is the question

But before we make erroneous parallels to Hamlet in our football discussions, it's time to digress.

I have to disagree with Mardi on the defense of the Vikings. I thought the defense looked pretty solid against the Chiefs. Granted, the Chiefs are not exactly striking fear in the hearts of their opponents this year. The Viking defense did was what expected (3 sacks and 2 forced fumbles vs. 0 and 0 for the other team, not a bad night at all) and got the job done when it counted.

That being said, the Viking offense looked like it struggled a little bit to me. Jackson did indeed have a decent night, but he was far from where he should be at this point in training camp, especially against a weak Kansas City defense. There were plenty of questionable decisions made by Jackson and I feel that more often than not his receivers bailed him out. The offense as a whole looked rather out of sync. Indeed, a quick look at the stats shows that Kansas had a better game offensively than did the Vikings, but it was the turnovers that ultimately cost them the game.

The talking heads at the game spent a lot of time apologizing for Favre's performance. The main thrust of their apology was that he needs time to get used to his receiving corps. These were local guys making this analysis, so they're obviously going to spin. Keep in mind, however, the national media were saying this about Favre last year with the Jets... he must have needed a long time to get used to his receiving corps.

On to the Texans game. All I can say is that was ugly. What started out as a fairly competitive game quickly got out of hand as no one (not even the Saints) expected the Saints running game to produce like it did on Saturday night. This is especially unusual considering the Chiefs have a much better running back in Larry Johnson than the Saints have in Reggie Bush, who did not play. The first unit defense had its hands full that night containing the run, which ultimately was the main reason behind the success of the Saints. Those 2 interceptions that lead to scores didn't help, either, but I digress.

Conner Barwin continues to be a bright spot on the defensive line. It isn't often a 7th rounder shows this kind of flash and if he keeps it up, he should be a lock as the first or second defensive reserve behind Mario Williams and Antonio Smith (not a bad pair to follow). Brian Cushing is also expected to make his debut on Monday against the Vikings. The whole vibe of the Texan defense this year is different than the past couple of years and while we are going to experience hiccups early on, I expect this unit to gel and become a very solid defense. The only question mark at this point is the secondary, where we still have our resident malcontent moaning about having the Franchise tag stuck on him.

The stage is set for Monday. I expect Favre to be in the game a lot longer this time, but I don't expect the results to be much better. I think it's going to come down to the run game again. This time, however, look for a much upgraded linebacker set and a hungry defensive line.