Vikings placekicker Ryan Longwell, who played nine seasons for the Packers, was asked about the importance of the opening game.  “It will be huge,” he said.  “You want to start off playing well and you want to start off crisp and executing.  But I think to make it bigger than it is would be a mistake because it’s a long, long season. …”

After the Packer game, the Vikings play Indianapolis and Carolina at home, before a road game at Tennessee.  Those are all expected to be winning teams this season.

“Well, without question, it’s a tough stretch, but I think two things,” Longwell said.  “One, to look past Monday is to make a huge mistake because they’re going to give us everything we can handle and then some on Monday night.

“Then the other side of it is if you look too far down the road it ends up costing you games you should be able to win. And you don’t ever want to do that, you look back with regret. …”

Gus Frerotte, the Vikings’ 37-year-old reserve quarterback, still gets excited about opening games and enjoys the atmosphere at Lambeau Field, a pro football shrine with its boisterous fans and tradition as home to legendary players and teams. “Yeah, Lambeau is great to play in,” he said.  “It’s a lot of fun. Just seeing the people, the fans how they get into the game. …(Hopefully) everybody (in the NFL) gets to play there once.”

What kind of welcoming party does Frerotte expect?  “Not a good one,” he said.

The crowd, though, won’t be coming on the field.  “…When the whistle blows you get ready to work because when you’re between those lines none of those 80,000 people, or how many are going to be there, can be out there,” he said.  “It’s just you versus them.  That’s it.”

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Aaron Rodgers after being asked last week if he has a performance clause in his contract that provides $10 every time he answers a question about Brett Favre: “I don’t think so.”

Rodgers talking about the Vikings’ defense:  “Well, they got better.  Which is amazing because they had a really, really solid defense last year.  The front four they have.  I’d put that against any front four in the NFL. …You’ve got a very solid linebacking crew, you’ve got maybe the best free (strong) safety in the game in (Darren) Sharper, who is a ball hawk.  Antoine Winfield may be one of the most underrated corners in the league as far as toughness and coverage ability.  You’ve got (cornerback Cedric) Griffin playing at a high level in his third year and the rookie (safety Tyrell Johnson) in the secondary is doing a nice job. …”

Vikings’ coach Brad Childress on whether Bryant McKinnie’s four-game suspension by the NFL (personal conduct policy) is a wake-up call for the 28-year-old offensive left tackle:  “I wouldn’t suppose to speak for Bryant.  I know he knew it was out there.  He knows how the commissioner feels, having met with him.  And he certainly knows how Zygi (Wilf, Vikings’ owner) feels and I feel about going forward here and the direction of the Minnesota Vikings.  Let’s hope it’s a wake-up call.”

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse will sign copies of his new book, Minnesota Vikings: The Complete Illustrated History, on Tuesday, September 16 starting at 4 p.m. at Barnes & Noble, 801 Nicollet Mall.

The Gophers are trying to reverse the trend of the state’s best high school football prospects attending other universities.  That puts a big bull’s-eye on Washburn tight end Ra’shede Hageman who might be the best senior prospect in the state.  Hold your breath, though, because Ohio State is in pursuit and so, too, is Wisconsin which will need a replacement for senior All-American Travis Beckum.

If MarQueis Gray is admitted to Minnesota next year for the spring semester, Gopher athletic director Joel Maturi said he expects the former Indianapolis high school quarterback to be a true freshman in eligibility for the 2009 season.  The NCAA has ruled that Gray, who practiced with the Gophers during August, must again take the ACT test.

“Sports Final,” a new 10:30 p.m. Sunday show with Dean Dalton and Rod Simons, debuted last night on KARE 11.  The program will be on 48 weeks covering the local sports scene including the Vikings.  Player guests will be part of the programming.  Dalton and Simons previously hosted KSTP TV’s “Sports Wrap.”

Francisco Liriano is now 5-0, with a 1.44 ERA and 38 strikeouts in six starts since being recalled from Triple AAA Rochester. The nine strikeouts he had against Detroit on Friday night were a season high.

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Dean Dalton is a common sense former football coach who doesn’t sensationalize or exaggerate.  So when he talks about the Vikings, including the early part of the schedule starting with Monday night’s game in Green Bay, better listen up.

Dalton, the former Vikings assistant coach now in the media, is a passionate admirer of the Vikings’ defense but is as curious as most everyone else in Purple Nation about the offense.  “As this defense goes, is how the team will go as long as Tarvaris Jackson manages the football well and doesn’t create turnovers,” he told Sports Headliners.

Coming off a season as the No. 1 defense against the run in the NFL, Dalton likes the pass rush, too, led by new defensive end Jared Allen who led the league in sacks last season.  The unit’s ability to bring pressure on the quarterback means Dalton isn’t that concerned about cornerback Cedric Griffin, a player sometimes singled out as not being effective.

The offense entered training camp with at least three major questions and added one or two more.  Jackson, beginning his third pro season, was supposed to receive more playing time in preseason but injured his right knee in the second game and shorted out that goal.  Dalton describes Jackson as “quite raw” and “is coming off a knee injury.”  Not the way you want to prepare a young quarterback.

Last week’s four game suspension of left tackle Bryant McKinney by the NFL further clouds expectations for the offensive line.  Journeyman Artie Hicks replaces McKinney at that vital pass protecting position.  He doesn’t have McKinney’s ability but then, too, the former No. 1 draft pick is considered an underachiever.

Right tackle Ryan Cook, a third year lineman, is considered a project player.   Along with Jackson and McKinney, his name had a question mark after it, going into training camp.

Hicks and Cook aren’t good one-on-one pass protectors, Dalton said.  “So there’s going to be a challenge there against the relentlessness of the Packers’ defensive front,” he added.

Dalton said one worry the Vikings don’t need to have is wide receiver Bernard Berrian. He was bothered by a sore right toe during training camp, and also last year while playing for Chicago, but Dalton expects him to be okay for Green Bay.

A receiver that does concern him, though, is tight end Visanthe Shiancoe who joined the team last season.  Neither last year nor in preseason did Shiancoe play up to expectations, according to Dalton.

Just like late last season, Dalton expects the Packers to crowd the line of scrimmage with defenders, focusing on stopping the Vikings’ runners until the offense can prove its effectiveness in passing, including protection of the quarterback.

Dalton thinks a 10 win year is possible for the Vikings and describes the Packer opener as “critical” to the season.  “The first four games are just giant tests, and the fact that now you’re going to take on those tests without not all of your front line (on offense), lends you to be concerned,” he said. “They (the Vikings) have the capability of winning their division but…to do that, they’ve got to go through Green Bay, and that’s the first test out of the box. …”

After the Packer game, the Vikings play Indianapolis and Carolina at home, before a road game at Tennessee.  Sports Illustrated predicts all four teams will have winning records with Indy advancing to the AFC Conference title game.

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