NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Some preseasons give you the warm and fuzzies about your team's prospects.

For Vikings fans, this hasn't been one of them.

The latest in what seems to be an endless supply of obstacles for the Vikings to hurdle is a report that Sidney Rice "appears likely" to have belated surgery performed on his hip.

This is the same hip injury that Rice reportedly suffered during the Vikings NFC Championship loss to the Saints.  Rice supposedly sought the advice of three specialists during the offseason, at least two of which told him to have the surgery.  He opted to avoid it, however, and attended the team's offseason activities.  If he would have had the surgery months ago like he was advised, then he would probably be returning to practice right about this time, if not sooner.

Now, the Vikings may be without their only 1,000 yard receiver since Nate Burleson's 2004 season for half the season.

This timing is going to annoy fans considering that it appears this problem could have already been solved.

And for the conspiracy theorists in the room, this may shed some light on why the Vikings chose to make such a sudden and aggressive effort to get Brett Favre to commit to playing last week.  If the Vikings knew that Favre's favorite target wasn't going to be healthy in 2010, they may have wanted to get him in the house before the news hit.  After all, if Favre hadn't committed to playing yet, we would all be talking about how the news of Rice's likely surgery would affect Favre Watch.

Via Twitter Sunday, Saints RB Reggie Bush said, "(I'm) about to watch Vikings and 49ers game and do a little homework for our first 2 opponents of the regular season." That sounds like a good idea to me.

The better prepared the Saints are for the powerful running attacks of both the Vikings and the 49ers, the better off they'll be. The speed and strength of RBs Adrian Peterson, Frank Gore, and 49er breakout rookie sensation, Anthony Dixon should be a concern for the Saints, who gave up tough-fought yards straight up the gut by Texans RB, Arian Foster this past Saturday. If they are to be successful, the Saints are going to have to come up with an answer for opposition on the ground as well as on special team coverage.

The season opener promises to be intense as the last meeting of the two teams in the NFC Championship game is still fresh and raw, particularly to the Vikings who came out on the losing end. Trash talk has already started and sour grapes are constantly being sown, or as Saints safety, Darren Sharper called it, "a little bitterness." Even Viking's head coach, Brad Childress chimed in on the subject, telling CBSSports.com's senior writer, Clark Judge that the Saints "orchestrated some things that aren't within our rules." Vikings players have also accused the black and gold of crossing the line when it came to hits on Favre in that game. At least one has implied that had he known how badly Favre had been battered and bruised at the time, he would have tried harder to get to Brees to return the favor.

Whether it's sour grapes or a little bitterness, the Vikings have made it clear that they have more than just revenge for the loss on their minds. I think they want blood. Hopefully, the rest of the Saints are already in sync with what Reggie Bush is doing by preparing for that game. Who comes out on top will be determined by who plays with the most passion. I only hope it's civilized.

Monday normally would have Tennessee Titans backup quarterback Chris Simms in a New York City courtroom.

According to NFL.com, because of football-related activities in Nashville, a Manhattan judge has agreed to move the original court date to October 7.

According to local police, Simms slurred his words and told them that he had been smoking marijuana before he was stopped at a checkpoint on July 1. The Titans reserve QB has said that he was talking about cigarettes. The charges he faces include a misdemeanor count of driving while impaired by drugs.

You don't have to be a Titans executive to know that with this transgression by Simms, I think that his time with the team, and quite possibly his career, is over.

If Ben Roethlisberger can be suspended several games for an incident that may or may not have happened, imagine what Commissioner Goodell is going to do after reviewing this case. It doesn't look too good for the son of former NFL quarterback Phil Simms.