Brett Favre answered some questions Monday night in Houston against the Texans after last week’s performance, which already had us scratching our heads about his latest return to football.
But before you blast Favre and/or Brad Childress – again -- let’s think about this from an offensive perspective in Minnesota, because Brett is the quarterback, he will be the quarterback for the entire season and the Vikes have to find a way to use his talents.
As I watched the game last night, it became clear to me that Favre — although now behind Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler in the NFC North arms race — still has something to offer.
Let’s be honest here, folks. Brett is a quick fix, a plug for the leak that the Vikings had with Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson, and that was evident in the game —because Favre didn’t do anything that deserved to be on the highlights (minus a block that we’ll get to in a moment).
APBrett Favre provides an upgrade to the quarterback position for the Vikings.
No, what he did was play the quarterback position without making any monumental mistakes, took some calculated chances in the passing game with his arm strength and used the weapons around him.
You see, this isn’t Favre from the Packers, or even Favre from the Jets — because we can all agree that the man looks a little old out there on the field. But in reality, he isn’t going to be counted on to make all the plays for the Vikings on offense. They have playmakers, they have weapons and they have the best running back in the National Football League in Adrian Peterson, who seems to do something special every time we watch him.
Someone jokingly said to me during the game that Favre can hand off with the best of them when it comes to A.P. Well, maybe that’s just it. Maybe he’s going to use his weapons and not try to take over games by forcing passes and throwing balls that make you shake your head.
Because that’s when Favre takes over games for the wrong reasons. I was with Green Bay when we traveled to St. Louis during the playoffs after the 2001 season against the Rams — six interceptions and the acknowledgment from Brett that he probably could have thrown more.
But that can’t happen here — if Brett wants to win. Sure, that’s a statement that will draw the ire of all the Favre supporters out there because we all know that’s what he does sometimes. For as many big plays as he makes, he usually piles on some negative ones on the backend to wrap it up.
But why? That’s my question. Why does he even have to do that in Minnesota? Why can’t he have games like last night during the regular season when he goes 13 for 18 for 142 yards and a TD? Sure, those numbers will pale in comparison to the box score that Rodgers will fill up in Green Bay, but this isn’t the Packers offense.
This is the Vikings, who win with a dominant running game behind Peterson and Taylor, and now have some creative juice to them with rookie Percy Harvin — who I think is going to be a impact rookie, a special player in that offense. And once WR Bernard Berrian returns from a hamstring injury, that’s just another option to add.
You see, Brett doesn’t have to be great in Minnesota. He has to be good, sometimes very good, but this isn’t an offense that will rely solely on his performance. And if last night was any indication, the team seems to be warming up to the idea that Favre is the right choice for them — especially after he cracked back on Houston’s Eugene Wilson.
A dirty hit? Of course it was, and although I’m not a fan of cheap shots, I liked it from a guy who will be 40 years old soon. Because quarterback or not, sometimes you have to get dirty in front of your new teammates.
But the fact remains, no matter how many blocks Favre throws, or how many times he gets up in the face of a defensive tackle, wins and loses will ultimately determine what the locker room thinks of the old man.
And winning by using the players around him will answer that.
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He doesn't haven to be great, he just has to be Brett to ruin the Vikings season.
So long Chilly.... 7-9 aint going to save your job.
Have to agree on Harvin... he will be a stud as a rookie
Morons. When the Vikings are 13-3/14-2 at the end of this season and possibly make a SB run, it will be the same idiots who FINALLY realize just how great this guy is.
"Favre didn’t do anything that deserved to be on the highlights"
What game were you watching? There was one play inparticular when he threw a completed pass with a linebacker around his waist.
You yahoos don't believe he holds all those records cause he's ordinary?!
Idiots.
Vikings 11-5
Bears 9-7
Packers 8-8
Lions 5-11
I thought Favre looked pretty good for a guy who has only practiced for about a week and a half.
What more can you expect? Those are good numbers for one half of football.
"I liked it from a guy who will be 40 years old soon."
So now taking cheap shots at other players earns you the respect of your teammates....and prior teammates? And it was validated by the fact that he is 40 years old?
Wow!! That's sinking pretty low. Next time you are giddy in his presence tell him the rest of the world saw it ONLY as a cheap shot that should never be justified or rationalized!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I agree with romo. I thought Brett looked amazingly good, at least compared to what I've seen from the Redskins' QBs during preseason. He had a beautiful TD pass dropped by Harvin as well. He moved great in the pocket, knew where his checkdowns were and hit them when necessary and showed plenty of zip on the ball. Vikings fans are going to see what it means to have an accomplished QB running things compared to someone getting on the job training.
Now about that block. WTF is Childress doing putting him in that situation to begin with. Two words...Trent Green. You really have to be incredibly stupid to put a 40 year old QB with a cracked rib and torn rotator cuff out in space on a sweep. What if he had hit a DE instead of a DB? Shortest comback in history. This should be a lesson for all teams. If you are running the wildcat, get the QB off the field and put in an exta blocker. Isn't that the whole point of it anyway? It was dumb when the Iggles split McNabb out wide withVick under center. :Last night was beyond stupid.
Okay, the BS Meter just completely pegged out here. Can someone please explain to me the logic in bringing in Favre if the whole point of the exercise is to get him to play like Jackson and Rosenfels? Because whether you're willing to say it or not Matt, that is exactly what you're saying here. You want Favre to do what Gus Frerotte did last season for the Vikes. But there's a problem with that...
The Vikes pass defense, umm, what's the word I'm looking for? Oh yeah, SUCKS! Yes, their run defense is excellent but their passing defense is a joke and they've basically done absolutely nothing to improve it this off-season. If you can't stop the pass, you can't win without throwing the ball. And good luck with getting Chilly to maintain control over Favre when his urge to air it out hits - this is the man that did everything short of kiss Brett's feet upon arrival AFTER camp and you think he's going to keep Brett dinking and dunking?
Yeah, good luck with that plan...
Not sure you can teach an old dog new tricks. He's a pick machine, always been a pick machine, always will be.
It's easy to say that Favre doesn't have to win it because he's got a good team around him, but that's just not how it works. In just about every game, there's a couple of times when it seems like the team is dead-locked with the opponent, and everybody's wondering what the outcome will be. Do you know what I mean? It is at those times that Favre simply cannot help himself. He WILL chuck the ball into triple coverage, trying to "make something happen," as his flatterers put it (aka "being a glory hound," is how I'd put it).
In short, Favre will be Favre. He can't change. He'll win some games for the Vikes, and he'll lose others. The positives and negatives will pretty much balance out in the end, although everybody will be all excited and, I'm sure, more tickets and jerseys will be sold.
matt, please, how would you feel if favre had crashed into your knees? call it what it was -- a stupid, reckless, dirty play by #4 and a stupid, reckless play call by his lap dog, chilly. as for favre's qb play, he looked solid but it's long season and there will be ample oportunity to see how tightly that "game manager"collar chafes.
dan pretty much hit the nail on the head. Favre's strength has always been in maintaining and building a lead. When it's a close game or when playing from behind, that's when he starts getting antsy. The problem with Matt's formula is that relying predominantly on the run tends to be a game of patience and time management. Even if leading the game, Favre will get antsy and press for a bigger lead. This has been his downfall his entire career - great example is the 1995 NFC Championship. GB was leading the game going into the 4th quarter but he got antsy and forced a throw. The 2003 Philly game - everyone remembers it for the defense caving on 4th and 26 and everyone forgets the ugly Favre pick in overtime that actually decided the game. There are many other examples out there. Don't get me wrong - I love Favre and everything he's done but this is really NOT a good position for him to be in at this stage of his career.
Forever A Viking Rear End!
Steve M: You're living in the past regarding your comments about the Vikes pass defense sucking. I guess you didn't watch any of their games closely last season.
Check out Football Outsiders defensive stats from last year on the Vikings. The trade for Jared Allen made a big difference in the pass rush, which made it much tougher to pass on the Vikings compared to previous seasons. Aaron Rodgers got smothered at the Metrodome last year (the game was only close because of Gus Frerotte and poor special teams play by the Vikings.) Kurt Warner and the Cardinals did nothing at home against the Vikings defense. And Andre Johnson did little last night until he started getting covered by Karl Paymah.
They still don't do a good job covering tight ends sometimes, as we saw last night, but overall, this is a complete defense now – very good against the run and pretty good against the pass, too.
Favre from perfection | With A.D. in the backfield | Brett will prob'ly do - www.FavreHaiku.com
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