Will Favre Be Smiling?
The truth of the matter is that when Favre retired, he retired as a Green Bay Packer. His signing with the Jets was no big deal really in Green Bay. It stunk. It made Green Bay mad. It was odd on every level. Favre signing with arguably the Packer’s worst on field enemy is another story all together. The fact that the Vikings are serious contenders in the Packers own division is just icing on the cake. The Packers are going to be in for the fight of their life to ward off the Vikings this season. Brett Favre could very well be the reason that Green Bay does not make the playoffs this year. What crime could he commit that would be any worse to a Green Bay fan?
Watching this game on Monday night will be like nothing else in recent memory as sports go. The Packers are going to be playing against Brett Favre. No matter how many times you say it, it still has to sound strange. What will it look like? The real question is, will the Green Bay players have it in for Favre? Regardless of the niceties that are sure to be thrown around on Monday night’s pregame, you can bet that the Packers are going to be a little pissed in the back of their minds. They will be coming after Favre hard and fast.
To tell you the truth, I see that as being their ultimate downfall. They are going to be looking for Favre all night long, and Adrian Peterson is going to be running by them while they do. The real weapon in Minnesota is not Brett Favre. He is the decoy now. The real weapon is Adrian Peterson. Given this, the Vikings would do well to sling some shots down the field early against Green Bay. They should get all eyes squarely on Favre. Once they focus in, then they should smash them in the mouth with a steady dose of Adrian. The worse thing they could do is get into a passing game with the Packers.
Aaron Rodgers is actually the better quarterback at this stage of their careers. Physically he is just more put together than Favre. Favre has the experience and the mojo over Rodgers, however. If Favre is going to beat Rodgers, it will have to be between the ears. He will have to shelve his ego, and let the strengths of his team lead the way. To Favre’s credit, he has done so this year so far. This is why the Vikings are 3-0. It remains to be seen if he can do the same against the Packers.
Pull up a chair, and enjoy the ride. This should be a good one.
Brett Favre truly left the Minnesota Vikings in a crappy position. Though he is approaching forty, and about the same number of retirement announcements, the former Packer and Jet really had the Vikings salivating. How much? So much that they left their other quarterbacks on a very precarious perch while they waited.
Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson now inherit the Viking offense with a wonderful sense of being unwanted. Rosenfels was actually just acquired to compete with Jackson from the Houston Texans. Excited when he first arrived, he has to be wondering why they acquired him in the first place.
With the Vikings chasing after Favre like a wounded puppy, these two quarterbacks had to have felt as though they Vikings had zero confidence in their ability. I know I would feel that way in that situation. The Vikings were certainly not bringing Favre to watch from the sidelines. The Vikings did not seem to pay any attention to what would happen if they did not get their man. And now they are paying for it.
How would you like to be the Viking’s head coach trying to explain to Sage and Tavaris now?
What do you say to these two quarterbacks. Well, we couldn’t get the guy we really wanted but we really do believe in you now? Sorry for chasing Favre? Please now lead us to the Superbowl?
The Vikings are going to have a serious problem unless Tavaris or Sage one decides to make a point. The character that is needed to overcome this situation is something that neither quarterback has shown in the past. Tavaris has been given every chance to blossom. What is alarming is that he was attempting to do well in a simple offense that features the best running back in the NFL in Adrian Peterson. If he can not make that work, then what chance does he really have now?
I guess this is exactly what the Viking brass was thinking when they went after Favre. The problem is, they now have a pair of quarterbacks that not only are inferior talent wise to Favre, but they feel their organization has no faith in them. That is usually a death sentence for a football team and a quarterback in particular.
The Vikings are strong enough to overcome this situation for sure. Whether they can do it will be a very interesting thing to watch in the coming season.
Pic courtesy of wikipedia commons user Blueag9
