Daily Norseman
Hello again! Happy New Year! We’re back for another season of roundtables at the Daily Norseman and we’ve got quite a crew for this Week 1 Monday night matchup against the Chicago Bears.
We have more participants and more questions than usual, so let’s skip the pleasantries and dive right in:
Brandon Warne: I’m taking the over for the Vikings and the under for the Bears. I think the Vikings beefed up where they needed to, and need J.J. McCarthy to simply execute the offense curated by one of the finest offensive minds in our game today. And I realize the irony in this, but I need to see more from Caleb Williams before I buy the Bears to take a three-win jump from last season. The strength of the NFC North top to bottom will make it really hard for one team to run away with a 12- or 13-win season, I think.
Christopher Gates: I think the Vikings “over” 9.5 is a no-brainer. They’ve upgraded at a lot of spots going into the season, most notably the interior offensive and defensive lines, and the only significant difference is the change at quarterback with J.J. McCarthy stepping in for Sam Darnold. With the Vikings having won 14 games last year, going “under” would require McCarthy to be five games worse than Darnold, and I just don’t see it.
As for the Bears, they have also made some significant improvements since last season. However, Ben Johnson must prove that he can rectify the issues that Matt Eberflus and his team tried to address with Caleb Williams last season. I’m not sure if he can do it in one offseason, so I’ll put the Bears down for “under” their 7.5.
David Stefano: The Vikings are definitely the over. The Bears should be the over too, but I would not be disappointed if they fail and implode. (I’m hoping the Packers fully implode this season as well.)
Craig Williams: My season prediction is 12-5. That obviously depends on a lot of things going right. The Vikings have two “road” games in Europe, and they’ve typically played well overseas. J.J. McCarthy doesn’t have to come in and dominate. If he can take care of the ball and grow into the game, the Vikings will be ok. I trust Kevin O’Connell to have him prepared.
Sam Buegler: I think I’d hit the over on the Vikings for sure. They may not win 14 games again, but, with all the weapons around JJ and what could be a monster defense, the Vikings will surprise people. As for the Bears… this is a tougher call. I would take the over as well, but barely. My prediction would have them winning eight games and improving, but still being a year away from the playoffs.
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