Conventional wisdom, however, also seems to have the Vikings finishing third or fourth in the NFC Central, generally trading with Detroit in those bottom two spots.
From where we stand, though, the Vikings will finish ahead of at least one other division foe: the Bears. We have Chicago pegged for a classic backslide -- maybe not as marked as their six-win decrease from 2006 to 2007, but pretty close. From the Lance Briggs situation to a first-place schedule to the NFL's system of checks and balances, we'll take the Bears at 6-10 or 7-9, and the Vikings a game better.
That doesn't matter a ton when the Packers are 13-3, but at least it's something.
Michael Rand started RandBall with hopes that he could convince the world to love jumpsuits as much as he does. So far, he's only succeeded in using the word "redacted" a lot. He welcomes suggestions, news tips, links of pure genius, and pictures of pets in Halloween costumes here, though he already knows he will regret that last part. Follow @randball on Twitter.
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