The Minnesota Vikings will begin their 2013 season on the road in Detroit as they will try to show the football world that their 2012 playoff berth was not a stroke of luck. The game can be live streamed here; the Vikings radio broadcast can be heard on KFAN100.3 FM, while Lions fans can do the same on 97.1 The Ticket.
Minnesota's offense once again hinges on Adrian Peterson, the NFL's best running back and league MVP last season. He rushed for over 2,000 yards in 2012 and will be leaned on even more after the Vikings dealt their top wide receiver, Percy Harvin, to the Seattle Seahawks.
The Vikings signed Greg Jennings away from the Packers to fill the void, and drafted rookie pass-catcher Cordarrelle Patterson out of Tennessee. They also hope Christian Ponder can build on last season and raise his play.
"I'm just fully confident in what I'm doing," Ponder said. "With the pieces that we brought in around me this year, it's going to make my job easier. ... I just expect to be overall a better quarterback."
Even if Ponder improves, Vikings coach Leslie Frazier believes they will be leaning on the running game rather than tossing the football.
"We were vanilla in some respects. But the way we're set up, we're not going to be very exotic in the passing game," Frazier said. "We put a heavy emphasis on what we do in the run game."
The Lions will try to pick up where they left off last season in the passing game, when Calvin Johnson set the NFL's single season receiving record. Frazier lobbed heavy praise Calvin's way, comparing him to Peterson.
"He's one of those guys, much like with Adrian, you have to have a plan for Calvin Johnson," Frazier. "Even though you may know he's going to get the football, you can't always stop what he does."
Vikings Injury Report:
Probable: McLeod Bethel Thompson (QB), Chris Cook (CB), Larry Dean (LB), Sharrif Floyd (DT), Letroy Guiton (DT), Erin Henderson (LB), Phil Loadholt (T), Cordarrelle Patterson (WR), Mistral Raymond (CB), Harrison Smith (S).
Out: Kevin Williams (DT).
Lions Injury Report:
Probable: Ezekiel Ansah (DE), Louis Delmas (S), Jason Jones (DE).
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