By Dave Cuthbertson

WHY THE VIKINGS WILL WIN:

The Lions, Bears and Packers all pack huge punches, but outside of the division, plenty of wins await them. Minnesota opens against Jacksonville at home, and then faces a young Andrew Luck in Indianapolis. Looking ahead to week 5 they start a run against the Redskins, Cardinals, Buccaneers and Seahawks. All of those games should be winable. They benefit from having a late season bye (week 11) then face the Bears twice in three weeks and the Packers twice in five weeks. With extra time to game plan, they could win one of those games. Especially with a relatively healthy AP.

WHY THE VIKINGS WILL LOSE:

The Minnesota Vikings made a big move drafting Christian Ponder, but in the end, it does not look like he will be the future. In an era where Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco, and even Mark Sanchez rule as young quarterbacks, there’s a lot of pressure on Ponder. Don’t forget that Adrian Peterson had a crippling knee injury, and may never be the same again. His running style causes him to take a lot of hits on his upper body, and now his lower body has been compromised. That is not a good formula if you’re AP. The division, as mentioned before has, the Bears who have shown they’re committed to winning by signing Matt forte to a long-term contract. Then Stafford – Johnson and Rodgers – Everyone he can find will torch the abysmal Vikings defense which has been completely retooled and is very young.

2012 predictions:

Best case scenario: 7-9

Worst case scenario: 4-12

- By Dave Cuthbertson. Follow Dave on Twitter: @DaveSportsGuru