NFL predictions are all over the place. Most of them are a dime a dozen, or cheaper, including much of what we have to say. (We spent about 15 seconds, for instance, coming up with Seattle 31, Packers 24 as a final score for Thursday night's game).
But we will say Bill Barnwell at Grantland is one of the most well-reasoned NFL minds we know of, combining logic, numbers and instincts to arrive at conclusions. And Barnwell concludes the Vikings are a good candidate to be improved this season — one of eight teams he puts in that category. He arrives at his conclusion after praising Teddy Bridgewater, whom he believes is better than Matt Cassel:
In terms of sudden improvements, the ones that aren't supported by statistics often occur when teams upgrade their head coach and their quarterback. Remember what the Chiefs were able to accomplish by replacing Cassel with the steady competence of Alex Smith last year? If Bridgewater can be Alex Smith, the Vikings might very well be onto something sooner than we all expect.
We shall see.
