We normally don't start looking forward until at least Wednesday but with the Arizona Cardinals having such a big game coming up this Sunday, I can't help but shift the focus to the Minnesota Vikings. The implications of this game are obvious, it's a fight for the #3 seed. The Vikes currently hold the #3 spot but a Cardinals win would vault them into the third slot, give them the head to head tie-breaker, and be another conference victory (an important tie-breaker). The Vikings are a hot team though, in the midst of a three game winning streak and they've won five of their last six. Minnesota isn't without their own share of drama though and they'll be a couple big story lines to follow over the next five days.
Who's the Starting QB?: The Vikings started the season with youngster Tarvaris Jackson as the starter but he only last two games before being replaced by a more conservative veteran, Gus Frerotte. Frerotte hasn't been the "Trent Dilfer-clone" that they were looking for though considering that he's turned the ball over 16 times in 11 games and he was injured in last week's game with the Lions. Jackson came in and preformed admirably, but head coach Brad Childress has already said that Frerotte will start if he's healthy. That's a big "if" though considering that we're talking a 37 year old with a back injury. The back can be a very tricky injury and especially for an older player, this could be more than a six day turnaround.
Will the "Williams Wall" Play?: I'm not even going to try and pretend that I'm smart enough to understand all of the legal jargon floating around about Pat and Kevin Williams, but we should get plenty of details in the upcoming days. Last week the net was flooded with "will they or won't they get suspended" talk but it seems to have died down over the weekend. Goodell said last night that he thought the suspensions would hold up so he doesn't seem ready to back down. It sounds like just a matter of time before it gets stirred up again. The Vikings are built around the Williams 'twins' so losing them would be a tough pill to swallow.
AP vs. the Team that Passed on Him: I'm not as big of a believer in this as some because I think you need to have a good offensive line before you can have the kind of success that Adrian Peterson has enjoyed, but I know some people are still reeling from the pick of Levi Brown. Which group are you in?
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We're still five days away from gameday but with such a big game looming, I couldn't help but look foward. What other story lines should we keep an eye on this week? Any news out there that I missed?