The Saints and Vikings have developed a little bit of a rivalry over the past few years. They squared off in the NFC Championship game in 2009. (I'll wait while you punch something because you thought of how much room Favre had to run on that last play...ouch, that hurt, didn't it? Have you settled back down yet? Take a deep breath. OK good.) They opened the season against each other in 2010. And now in 2011, they're playing a game that doesn't quite have the cachet as the previous two matchups.

We all know that this version of the 2011 Vikings is nowhere near what they were the last two times these teams met, but how about the Saints? To get a better idea of what we're up against on Sunday, we asked Dave Cariello of Canal Street Chronicles for some details in our Five Good Questions segment. Here's what he had to say:

Daily Norseman: Is Drew Brees having the best year of his career? He has been putting up great numbers since he arrived in New Orleans, but he's on pace to break league records in 2011. What has he done differently this season after struggling at times last year? Do you think he'll break Dan Marino's single-season passing record? (Note: with Minnesota's secondary, I think he might break it on Sunday.)

Canal Street Chronicles: This is definitely one of his better seasons. He was incredibly close to breaking Marino's record in 2008 also, so this isn't necessarily uncharted territory. This is the year he breaks it, though, and probably goes a good bit beyond the 5,084 yard mark. I don't think he's really done anything different this year compared to last. He was playing through a knee injury much of 2010, which I think explains why it was a bit of a down season for him. The emergence of Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles in the offense this year I'd say is what's really made the biggest difference, adding to Drew's weaponry and making him that much more dangerous. Is it his best season ever? If he wins another Super Bowl it will be.

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The Vikings have been making backup quarterback news for the past few days.

The Broncos have been making starting quarterback news for the past few months.

Denver and Minnesota have had more than their fair share of media attention this season, but what about the actual upcoming game between the two on Sunday? We asked Troy Hufford of Mile High Report some questions about his Broncos, and did he ever deliver. Here's what we had to say:

Daily Norseman: You know where I'm going to start when talking about the Broncos, right? Of course I'm talking about the part of your team that gets all the attention--their vaunted defense. (What, you thought I was going to ask about someone else?) After an awful 2010 campaign, how has Denver turned it around so quickly on defense? Is it as simple as having a healthy Elvis Dumervil and adding Von Miller, or are there other factors?

Mile High Report: The defense has been very impressive as of late. The Broncos defense turned it around so quickly because of two things: health and Von Miller. In 2010, the Broncos defense really struggled. We allowed 59 points against the Raiders, losing by the biggest margin in Broncos history thanks to an extremely depleted depth chart. Elvis Dumervil missed all of 2010 with an injury. In addition, players who missed the portions of the Raiders game included Champ Bailey, Brian Dawkins, Robert Ayers, Andre Goodman, Wesley Woodyard, Darcel McBath and Kevin Vickerson. That means we had 8 defensive starters who missed time when we went to war with the Raiders in 2010, if you include Elvis Dumervil. It was a microcosm of our season. We were bitten by the injury bug, which turned a below average defense into an awful one.

Needless to say, Broncos fans were seeking revenge for that Raiders game all offseason. This year, we’re fairly healthy... knock on wood...

Elvis Dumervil, who led the league in sacks during the 2009 season, is back in full force with 5.5 sacks this season. In addition, we’ve been getting a ton of additional pressure from rookie OLB Von Miller, who has 10.5 sacks and 2 FF. People compare him to Demarcus Ware, which is unfair, in my opinion. Ware is strictly a pass rusher. The 3-4 scheme suits him the way that it did for Dumervil in 2009. He puts his hand in the dirt and goes after the ball. Von Miller, on the other hand, still has coverage duties in his 4-3 OLB position. He is everywhere. He ran down a wide receiver after a Quinton Carter (safety) missed tackle against the Chargers. In addition, one of Elvis Dumervil’s sacks on Philip Rivers came because Von Miller lined up as a 4-3 DT and pushed his man into the face of Philip Rivers. That wasn’t a typo. He was a defensive tackle. Let that fact sink in, for a second...

This guy is the real deal. Von Miller has the power of a defensive tackle and the speed of a safety. He has a bull rush, a speed rush, and a nasty spin move that he debuted in overtime against the Chargers. For all the talk that Tim Tebow gets by the national media, Von Miller should be getting that attention and then some. If this guy isn’t the defensive rookie of the year, then the award is a joke.

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For the second straight week, the Vikings will take on a division-leading opponent. This one isn't undefeated, but the Raiders still pose a lot of challenges for Minnesota. Since our AFC opponent isn't as familiar of a foe as the team we played two of the last three games, we thought it would be a good idea to break out our "Five Good Questions" segment with the folks from Silver And Black Pride.

Adam Conley, aka LiveAdam, was kind enough to respond to some questions we had about the Raiders. Without further ado, here they are:

Daily Norseman: What's the latest you're hearing about Darren McFadden's status on Sunday? Michael Bush has filled in admirably in his absence the last two weeks, but how important is Run DMC's presence return to the Raiders' chances going forward?

Silver And Black Pride: Head Coach Hue Jackson is very picky about players practicing before playing. Darren McFadden has been a spectator at practice all week, and only recently got out of his walking boot. With that in mind, there's little to no chance McFadden plays on Sunday. As for his importance to this offense, it is immeasurable. As a run-first offense the Raiders win and lose depending on how well they run the ball, and McFadden is one of the best in the league. In addition to running the ball, McFadden does an excellent job with screens and check-downs, as well as his pass blocking in 3rd down situations. He truly is a complete, elite back. Thankfully, as you mentioned, Michael Bush possesses many of the same qualities and is an amazing backup running back. Many Oakland Raiders fans, me included, wish Bush would have a bigger week-to-week role in the Raiders' offense, rather than simply backing up McFadden.

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You know, it's really a shame that we don't get to play the Carolina Panthers more often. Their site on SB Nation, Cat Scratch Reader, has one of the best names of any site we have on the network. Of course, I'm a bit biased on that. . .see, Cat Scratch Reader is obviously a take-off on the Ted Nugent hit Cat Scratch Fever. Ted Nugent put out an album called Double Live Gonzo back in 1978, and in the first few years of this particular site, yours truly was known as Gonzo.

I'm sure if I try hard enough, there's a connection to Kevin Bacon that can be made somewhere, too, but that's something for another time.

In any case, we've exchanged questions with the good folks over at Cat Scratch Reader, namely their head writer Jaxon. I'll link to the responses I sent him to his questions once they get them up on their site, but these are the responses I got from him to my questions. Enjoy, everyone!

(UPDATE: My responses to Jaxon's questions are right here.)

Of all the great things that Cam Newton has done in his first seven NFL games, what impresses you the most about him?

That’s not an easy question since he has impressed in many areas he was thought to be weak. So in that regard his ability to stand in the pocket under pressure and deliver downfield strikes with some accuracy has most impressed me. Of course watching him escape pressure and run downfield has been fun too. Even better is watching him go deep to a rejuvenated Steve Smith who can be fairly impressive himself to watch.

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Let me be up front about this:  My disadain for the Bears is almost as bad as it is for the Packers.  But I have to say, the Bears SB Nation blog Windy City Gridiron is a pretty good place to go to talk football, and they run a really good blog.

WCG blogger Kev H and I met under the banner of truce in the middle of No Fan's Land and were able to exchange some questions and answers before high command got wind of it and started shelling us.  My answers to his questions can be found right here, and his answers to my questions are below.

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UPDATE 2:19 PM: If you want to check out how I answered ROTB's questions, click here.

While you guys think of interesting ways to make fun of our team, let's get serious for just a bit. It's time for our weekly Five Good Questions segment, this time around with Jess Root of Revenge Of The Birds. The Cardinals have struggled to a 1-3 start, and their losses have come in an all-too-familiar fashion to Vikings fans. Here's what Jess had to say:

Daily Norseman: The Cardinals have an unpleasant thing in common with the Vikings so far this season--agonizing losses after victory seemed certain. While we've sort of pegged down most of the main causes here in Minnesota (**cough cough** MCNABB **cough**), the reasons don't seem as obvious in Arizona. Why aren't the Cardinals finishing off games?

Revenge Of The Birds: The Cardinals' troubles are varied and you can plant most of it on the defense. Take the Giants game. They have a 10 point lead. The defense has to make stops. When it comes to key moments, the defense is not getting off the field. Then, the offense has not yet been able to produce a crunch time drive. First it was a Chansi Stuckey fumble. Then it was a Kevin Kolb interception. Most recently it was not converting on fourth down.

After a season of no success, it is hard getting over the hump, especially since there is a new defensive coordinator and a new quarterback with no offseason preparation. It just seems the team has not yet gotten it together.

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Are you guys ready for the NFL Game of the Week? Well too bad, because you're getting the 0-3 Vikings visiting the 0-3 Chiefs instead! While Minnesota gave away halftime leads in all three games, Kansas City has played from behind nearly the entire season thus far. Injuries have plagued KC big time, and the Vikings have been constantly hindered by...well, themselves.

Who will finally break through to get their first victory of the season this Sunday? Are Chiefs fans as unhappy with Matt Cassel as we are with Donovan McNabb? Who actually won the Jared Allen trade? To get more insight about our upcoming opponents, we asked our weekly Five Good Questions to Joel Thorman of Arrowhead Pride.

Daily Norseman: The Chiefs have already been decimated by season-ending injuries to key players like Tony Moeaki, Jamaal Charles, and Eric Berry. In your opinion, which player will the Chiefs miss the most throughout the season and why?

Arrowhead Pride: The one we'll miss the most is Charles. Moeaki is a nice complement in the offense and he was expected to have a rising role on the team so that one does hurt but at the end of the day he's a tight end and not a focal point of the offense. Berry is a terrific player--and they don't have a lot of depth behind him--so his loss certainly hurts. But even with those losses, you felt the Chiefs always had a shot as long as Charles was on the team. With him gone, the Chiefs offense is so ordinary (at best).

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Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in.  The Motor City Kitties come to town to face the Vikings this week, only they're not the Motor City Kitties anymore.  They're the Detroit Freaking Lions, and they're here to tell you the days of Jon Kitna, Joey Harrington, and Dan Orlovsky are OVAH.  Their fans are breathing fire, and you know what, I can't say that I blame them. If there's any fan base in the NFL that deserves to be a little chippy, it's them. 

The Lions have a talented core of young players, good coaching, and are favored to beat the Vikes at the Metrodome...something that's never happened.  Favored to win or actually win in the Metrodome, just to be clear.

So what's been the cause of the turn around, and how are the Lions handling this newfound success?  Well, to get those answers, we asked Sean Yuille of the fantastic Lions SB Nation blog Pride of Detroit, and he was kind enough to provide us with the answers.

Pride of Detroit has posted their questions to me on their site, and you can check them out right here.

DN:  For almost my entire life, with the exception of a few years in the Wayne Fontes/Bobby Ross eras, Detroit has been the also ran of the NFC Central/North.  You've had years and years of high round draft picks that never worked out, until the last few drafts.  Who or what has been the key component that has turned around your talent evaluation process?

Pride of Detroit:  Without a doubt it has been Martin Mayhew. He was named the interim general manager after Matt Millen was fired, and he permanently took over the job after the 0-16 season in 2008. Immediately he put together a plan to rebuild the coaching staff by hiring Jim Schwartz as the head coach, Scott Linehan as the offensive coordinator and Gunther Cunningham as the defensive coordinator. He also put together a plan to infuse the team with talent, and he has overhauled the roster in only three years by drafting very well, adding a few important free agents and acquiring a lot of talent via trades. He has been very creative, especially with the trades, and it appears his hard work is paying off.

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