So all in all Im delighted with my decision

We all knew Texas and Alabama are the two best teams in the nation. This article is also featured on View From North America. Call them gutless.Call them heartless.Call them underachievers.Whatever it might be, call it December; the proverbial monkey is on the Cowboys back and is looking to sink in the rear-naked choke.Folks, this could get ugly.With a chance to sink the Giants' postseason hopes, and put distance between themselves and the Eagles, the Cowboys came up painfully short again.(Cue the national media saddling this loss on Tony Romo in 321)Once again, against the Giants, the outcome of the game belied the stat sheet. Dallas dominated the time of possession (38:50 vs. Usually, when you are 10-2, you don't get asked that question.It was one year ago today that the Arizona Cardinals clinched their first NFC West title, and the first time they had seen the playoffs since 1998.At the time, I wrote an article called "How Good ARE The Arizona Cardinals" In my article, I stated that they came from a weak division, had to rely too much on the pass, had an easy schedule, and needed more than a veteran QB to win a Super Bowl.The Cardinals responded to my article by representing the NFC in Super Bowl XLIII.Enter the 2009 Minnesota Vikings.Almost a mirror image of last season's Cardinals, the Minnesota Vikings have most of the features that worried me about the Cardinals playoff chances last season. One main exception is that the Vikings have an elite running back in Adrian Peterson.This season, the Vikings are coming from a particularly weak conference The AFC is 97-91, while the NFC is 93-96.

However, the NFC has three 10-loss teams already in Detroit, St. Louis, and Tampa Bay.And that is who the Vikings have beat up on this season.Besides two emotional wins against Green Bay (7-4), the Vikings have looked very shaky against legitimate teams this season.They needed a last second miracle play to beat San Francisco (5-7) in Week Three, they needed a missed field goal to beat Baltimore (6-5) in Week Six, and their two losses have come to the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6) and the NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals (8-4).Their other wins have come from Cleveland (1-11), St. He has thrown 26 TDs and five interceptions this season and didn't throw a pick during the entire month of November.Favre's durability, which has never been questioned during his career as he recently set the consecutive games record, has Vikings fans worried. Favre got off to an 8-3 start with the New York Jets last season before losing four of his last five games to miss the playoffs, mostly due to a partially torn rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder.Although Favre's resurgence has given the Vikings the veteran quarterback they have been looking for, you have to wonder how long he can hold up.

He has been sacked 25 times, and taken hard hits many more times than that.Favre has gotten big plays from his offenseSidney Rice leads the NFC in receiving yards, Visanthe Shiancoe just set a franchise record for TD receptions by a tight end, Percy Harvin has become a legit deep-threat, and Bernard Berrian is slowly regaining his 2008 form.Not to mention Adrian Peterson has 1,100-plus rushing yards and leads the league in rushing touchdowns.There is no question that the offense will continue to roll. The Vikings are ranked second in points scored (29.9), fifth in total offense (382 ypg), ninth in passing (260 ypg), and 11th in rushing (123 ypg).The Vikings defense is third in rushing yards allowed (84 ypg), but they just lost LB E.J Henderson for the season due to a broken leg. The Vikings should be getting CB Antoine Winfield back from a toe injury to help offset Henderson's absence. Henderson leads the Vikings in tackles.The Vikings are now two games behind the New Orleans Saints (12-0) for the No 1 seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Saints are among the leaders in every offensive statistical category, and many fans fear a 1998/2001 relapse will happen if the Vikings have to face New Orleans in the playoffs, especially if Favre begins to struggle down the stretch.The Vikings look very good on paper But it is not paper that wins titles. It is heart, leadership, talent, and experience.And right now, the Minnesota Vikings have all of that..

Once again, I left you guys alone, lonely and alone on Friday. Apologies. As much as I enjoy writing this wonderful little blog, I really cant justify forfeiting my salary or ignoring my clients to talk about the Gooners when Im only getting about 12 hits a day.So I scrapped the Friday blog and did some work.I probably would have incorrectly picked the lineups, scoreline, and provoked more injuries to some of our star players. So all in all, Im delighted with my decision.One thing I need to ask all you folks is if you have ever had one of those weeks when you cant seem to stop putting your hand in your pocket and buying alcohol.I think I have now drank for like 15 days in a row of something. Whether its a bottle of wine over dinner, having a chat over six pints, or just cracking open a can while watching the match huddled around your Dell computer and Arabian stream.Amazing.I love beer.Anyway, Andrei Arshavin played lone forward, something I have been asking Wenger to do since Eddie got injured and he demonstrated how PACE AND POWER are an important part of the game.He held off players well and had that burst of speed over 5 yards to get away from his man.His control was good most of the time (although the ball got away from him twice), and I just love the way he shoots so early.