Time to clock Big Ben

It's looking more and more like Antoine Winfield won't be in the starting defensive backfield for the Vikings when they travel to Pittsburgh on Sunday, and that could be trouble, if the second half against the Ravens was any indication. We've always had our reservations about Brad Childress' and Darrell Bevell's ability to think outside the box and craft a quality offense for the Vikings; this week, it might be up to Leslie Frazier to figure out a way to get enough pressure on Ben Roethlisberger to make up for Winfield's absence.

Roethlisberger represents a serious matchup problem for the Vikings. Yes, he holds on to the ball too long and takes a lot of sacks (3rd highest sack percentage among active quarterbacks, and highest among anyone who could be called a starter), but because of that -- and because defensive players tend to bounce off his 240-pound frame -- he keeps plays alive and completes a lot of downfield passes. He currently leads the league with 9.1 yards per attempt, which, if it holds out, would make him the third quarterback this decade (and only 11th since the merger) to average better than 9 yards per pass. He's already #3 among active quarterbacks, and his 12.6 yards per completion is the 2nd-best career mark in the NFL among active quarterbacks.

In other words, this game has all the appearance of mimicking the type of game we had against the Green Bay Packers, where Aaron Rodgers was sacked eight times but had 384 yards passing. As long as the final score looks roughly the same, I'll be happy.

On the bright side, no Steelers quarterback has ever thrown for more than 300 yards against the Vikings. In fact, only one has ever managed as many as 250, and it was a while ago. That probably owes more to the fact that the teams don't play each other very often, and both have been known for their defenses (and, in the Steelers' case, their running games) than for high-flying aerial attacks. Vikings QBs haven't fared much better over the years.

Unlike Baltimore, the Steelers still have a defense, though they'll be missing DE Aaron Smith, a major key to their 3-4 who's out for the season. Without him, Adrian Peterson has a very solid chance of topping 100 yards, despite the Steelers' allowing only 74.5 yards per game on the ground. That's skewed somewhat by the 16 yards San Diego put on them in week 4. Without Smith, even Cleveland managed 91 yards on the ground, though 45 of that came from Josh Cribbs in the wildcat. I'd expect a somewhat lower-scoring game this week -- maybe just in the 20s for each team. And hopefully more for the purple.

Hail to the champs, and views on Favre

A belated congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers on their sixth Super Bowl win. I'd say that watching the Super Bowl was enhanced by my being with a Steelers fan (and watching his jaw drop when Larry Fitzgerald scored his late TD) and that I'd suggest that, when your team isn't in the big game, watching it with someone who does have a stake in the outcome is the next best thing.

Then I remembered that 1 out of 3 Americans is a Steeler fan, so I don't imagine anyone had a problem finding one for the game.

* The Vikings got rid of their awful special teams coach and it looks like they'll keep Leslie Frazier? Sweet!

With Frazier staying put, that leaves just one former Vikings coordinator -- Mike Tomlin with the Steelers -- as an active head coach. At the close of last year's regular season, there were four: Tomlin, Scott Linehan (Rams), Brian Billick (Ravens), and Tony Dungy (Colts). Frazier could still get a head coaching job somewhere down the line, but I somehow think Darrell Bevell is a bit more of a long shot.

* Basketball note of the month: That's real nice, Kobe and Lebron, but dominating the Knicks hasn't been newsworthy in years.

* And oh yeah, there are more Brett Favre-to-the-Vikings rumors floating around than ever before.

Point the first: How exactly would Favre improve the team's quarterback play? He threw 22 TDs and 22 interceptions, with a passer rating of 81.0. Vikings passers threw 22 TDs and 17 interceptions, with a passer rating of 81.5.

Point the second: I'd wager that Tarvaris Jackson and whoever we bring in to back him up will cost a good deal less than His Brettness, money that can be better spent on free agents or draft picks.

Point the third: The only -- and I mean only -- reason Brett Favre wants to play for the Vikings is because they get to play the Packers twice a year and he wants to "get back" at his former team. (OK, technically, he wants to play for them because they get the Packers twice and they're a pretty good team -- I don't think he's interested in going to the Lions.) If Brett wants to go to Minnesota, he wants to do it for Brett, not for the Vikings. Which is pretty much the way he's handled himself his entire career.

When the rumors made the rounds last year, I thought, "well, maybe." This year? "Hell, no." The Vikings don't need an over-the-hill, has-been-legend egomaniac. This story is just fueled by the media (Peter King in particular) who see a juicy storyline if Favre got to play for his greatest rival and take it to his former team twice a year. Hopefully, the Vikings front office realizes that.