nts on Sunday night. That’s right Garrett Bradbury Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , primetime, baby. I’ll break down three thoughts on tonight’s game, as well as five quick predictions. Can the success continue? Over the past few weeks, the Vikings seem to be steadily moving forward in terms of progress, despite the hiccups Minnesota has had with injuries throughout the season. I think fans want to see how the Vikings stack up with a higher-caliber team, like the Saints. Now, Minnesota did beat the Philadelphia Eagles three weeks ago, but it’s fair to say thatthe Eagles just aren’t the same team as last year. Both the New York Jets, and Arizona Cardinals are both “ehhhhh” (insert shoulder shrug emoji here). The Saints are 5-1, and everyone knows that the offense runs on high-octane. New Orleans have put up at least 40 points three times this season (Bucs, Redskins, Falcons). Tonight will be a true test. Obviously, Minnesota can put points up on offense (like when the Vikes put up 31 on the Rams), so my focus will be shifted on the defensive side of the ball (since the Rams put up 38, and scored on just about every drive I believe).Everson Griffen’s returnIt’s finally time to see Sack Daddy return. Boy, He sure has been missed. The defensive front have done, I think a decent job with Griffen being out. What a better time to return, than a Sunday night matchup against the Saints. It’s only one guy Minnesota Vikings Jerseys Stitched , but it’s not just his play on the field that has been missed. It's also his off the field leadership. He’s probably the most vocal guy on the team. To put it simple, he knows how to hype up the boys. Expect Griffen to make an immediate impact Sunday night. Hell, I’m going to be off-the-wall here and say he’ll sack Drew Brees three times, and just make it a nightmare for the veteran quarterback. That’s like best case scenario for him tonight. It’s Griffen, it can happen. How important is this win?I’m going to leave this third point for y’all, the readers because I like to see people actively engaging in discussion in the comments. But, how important is this win? I mean, it's not like Minnesota has an easy schedule moving forward. The next three matchups will be against divisional opponents. The Detroit Lions come to Minneapolis next week, with a well-needed bye the following week.Then, the Vikes will head to Chicago to face the Bears, and then will come back home to face the Packers. Geez, just looking at the schedule is sort of making me cringe. After the Pack game, the Vikings will play in New England against the Patriots. The remaining road games would be the Seahawks and Lions. The two home games will be against Miami and Da Bears. Five Predictions (some are BOLD, so don’t trip)Kirk Cousins throws the rock for 275 yards, and two touchdowns. Latavius Murray will rush for 100 yards, at least. Vikings defense will only allow 21 points, and holds Brees to under 200 passing yards.Holton Hill grabs an interception if he gets some snaps. Aldrich Robinson snags two touchdowns, since that’s all he does I guess. (always a hard sleeper in fantasy Garrett Bradbury black jersey , so if you’re feeling risky, pick him up). Vikings win in non-miracle fashion 32-21. P.S. I love Teddy Two Golves, he’s a great guy. That’s why I think Minnesota should make him an honorary Viking, and just have him be on the Vikings’ sideline during the game, chilling with Thielen. EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota’s fumble gave Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions a fresh set of downs early in the fourth quarter two weeks ago, another opportunity to start climbing back into the game.Though they held an 11-point lead, the Vikings had been unable to pull away. On the first play after the change of possession, Stafford faked a handoff to Kerryon Johnson and rolled out to his right.With a hard stop, Stafford pivoted and threw back to his left where Johnson was waiting for the screen pass with four blockers within 5 yards of him. Vikings defensive tackle Tom Johnson wasn’t fooled, though.He kept his eyes on the running back the entire time, closing in to make the tackle for a 6-yard loss as soon as the ball was caught. Five plays later, with the Lions still in their own territory, defensive end Danielle Hunter scooped up a fumble and returned it for a victory-sealing touchdown.When the Vikings beat the Lions 24-9 that afternoon, the most encouraging development entering their week off was the start-to-finish dominance by a defense that didn’t look like its usual self in the first quarter of the season. That rollout screen play that Johnson blew up went for big gains against the Vikings a few times earlier in the fall. Coach Mike Zimmer and his staff put plenty of work into adjusting the scheme and the calls after in light of the vulnerabilities that arose in September.The Vikings allowed a season-low 209 yards to the Lions. Their next three lowest totals all came over the three previous games.“There’s a lot of teams now that are playing a style of defense similar to us. Now, all these offenses are attacking these defenses pretty much the same way. So we’ve had to adjust and change coverages,” Zimmer said, adding: “Luckily Garrett Bradbury Jersey Mens , our players have been able to execute it.”The 4-3 system that Zimmer largely used throughout his time as defensive coordinator for Dallas and Cincinnati gained fame by the novel use of the double A-gap blitz that send the inside linebackers as pass rushers on both sides of the center.As more and more teams began to integrate that concept, the added exposure around the league gave opponents more opportunities to strategize about how to block it. Zimmer estimated that 10 or 12 other teams around the NFL now use a form of what his original base defense was.As for the Double-A gap blitz, Zimmer has rarely called one of those this season. One alternative that has worked well has been to overload one side of the line and use a defensive back to rush like Harrison Smith or Mackensie Alexander, who had the only one of 10 sacks of Stafford what wasn’t from a defensive lineman.“Everybody copies if you’ve been good,” Zimmer said, adding: “You see a gradual thing. I’ve had many coaches say they watch our blitz tape every week to see what we’re doing. That’s kind of how it starts.”General manager Rick Spielman will often join Zimmer for his 5:30 a.m. film review of the previous game on Monday mornings, and this season he’s been witness to perhaps more scheming than usual.“It’s pretty incredible to see how they evolve things and why they evolve it,” Spielman said.The Vikings (5-3-1) play at Chicago (6-3) on Sunday night for control of the NFC North, and they’ll need the defense to keep this up.“We’re recognizing the plays and understanding the downs and distances, getting to the ball, getting to the quarterback,” cornerback Xavier Rhodes said. “We’re in great coverage. We’re aggressive. Once we call a blitz, we’re aggressive all the way around. We’re just being us. We’re finding our identity. We had it, but we were making errors in the beginning of the season and now we’re trying to minimize those.”