Without a doubt, the big story in the NFL on Friday comes out of Minneapolis. It's there that Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen's former team comes to town. The Kansas City Chiefs are obviously out to prove to Allen that they were worth staying with. Of course, Allen has a bum ankle and won't be playing, but he'll surely be on the sideline to soak it all in.Oh, and the Vikings have a new quarterback. You might have heard about that this week. Brett Favre starts for the Vikings Friday.
Kansas City at Minnesota, 8:00 PM ET
Kansas City
Suddenly, no one cares about the Chiefs. Seriously, they really want to see more out of expensive quarterback Matt Cassel, who was highly unimpressive during last week's game. Chiefs head coach Todd Haley won't come out and say Cassel has established himself, and it's not likely that he will until he sees more out of the quarterback. Since this team won just two games last year, they really can't afford to miss on such a huge acquisition.
Minnesota
All eyes are on Favre, and the drama his arrival has created at the quarterback position. It doesn't sound like Favre will play long, and he will hand things over to Tarvaris Jackson. This could be make-or-break for Jackson, who is cheap and the kind of commodity the Vikings can trade, even if they decide they really don't want him around. Of course, they may not want to do that if he is impressive in his outing Friday.
Tennessee at Dallas, 8:00 PM ET
Tennessee
After an underwhelming Hall of Fame Game, Vince Young was much sharper last week. He needs to continue playing well. Head coach Jeff Fisher had intimated he wanted to get Young some snaps with the first-team offense. We'll see if that happens. It could be a hugely valuable night for Young if that happens.
Dallas
Jerry Jones opens his playground. The Cowboys' new billion-dollar stadium hosts a football game for the first time. It can seat over 70,000, and there is standing room available for around 30,000 more fans. On the field, the Cowboys will play their starters for most of the first half, giving Tony Romo plenty of time to break in his new, (hopefully) less ego-driven receivers.
Atlanta at St. Louis, 8:00 PM ET
Atlanta
One growing issue is the play of the Falcons' run defense. They were pretty bad against Detroit last week, especially when it came to dealing with running quarterbacks Daunte Culpepper and Drew Stanton. Don't look for the Rams' quarterbacks to create many problems with their mobility.
St. Louis
The Rams have a logjam of running backs behind Steven Jackson, but none of them are terribly impressive names. Former Packer Samkon Gado and Antonio Pittman played well last week, and youngster Kenneth Darby will still get a shot at a roster spot.
