Vikings not left out in the cold in '08

The first thing I look at when the NFL schedules are released isn't the prime-time evening or Thanksgiving games. It's not the games against Green Bay or Chicago (sort of -- see below) or the games against the AFC teams the Vikings only see once per year. No, with the Vikings having a reputation as being "soft" because they play in a weather-controlled dome, I'm always aware of the potential for cold-weather games, always a concern when playing in the NFC North. Fortunately, for 2008, this is a complete non-concern, as the Vikings appear to have about as good a schedule, weather-wise, as can be conceived.

To recap, here's the Vikings' schedule for 2008:

September:
@ Green Bay
Indianapolis
Carolina
@ Tennessee

October:
@ New Orleans
Detroit
@ Chicago
(bye)

November:
Houston
Green Bay
@ Tampa Bay
@ Jacksonville
Chicago

December:
@ Detroit
@ Arizona
Atlanta
New York Giants

That's quite the temperature-friendly road schedule. Green Bay and Chicago are the only cities with anything resembling a real winter. The Vikings travel to the not-so-frozen tundra right away in week one and travel to Chicago on October 19. After that, it's Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, and Arizona (and the domed Detroit) for November and December, and who in Minnesota wouldn't want to go to Florida or Arizona that time of year?

Last year, the Vikings faced three "potentially cold" road games (Nov-Dec) in Green Bay, New York, and Denver, and went 1-2 in those contests. In 2006, they went 0-2 and Chicago and Green Bay. The notion that the Vikings can't win in adverse weather is probably a bit of an exaggeration -- after all, remember that playoff game in Green Bay in January 2005? -- but it's still nice to see that the team can at least save on heaters for the bench this year.

(Cue the "Vikings are wimps" comments in 3...2...1...)