Will the Vikings finally use some sense with Favre?
I certainly don’t, because they’re getting exactly what they paid for.
Perhaps some might consider it a low blow, considering his past, but Favre is the addict, and the Vikings are more all-too-willing enabler instead of innocent bystander. And as is the case with an addict of any sort, if you enable too long, you’ll reap some nasty results, and this is exactly what is transpiring with Minnesota right now.
Many could put the Vikings’ current 2-4 mark on Favre and his overall ineffectiveness, but first and foremost, the blame lies with the franchise for their unnecessary and unabashed catering to Favre.
Green Bay’s decision to move on past the Favre era without a second thought two years ago was received with a lot of criticism, and there’s no doubt still some bitterness among the most diehard of Favre fans, but to be honest. But while the Packers elected not to cater to Favre’s wants anymore – and they shouldn’t have had to – the Vikings have been all too willing to do so, and they’re paying dearly for it, with his play, his injury status, and his personal life both serving as huge distractions for a franchise that has more to worry about than just righting the ship for this season.
Since initially wooing Favre out of retirement for the 382nd time (not the amount of interceptions he has in his career, but not that far off either), the Vikings have clearly shown a ‘we need you more than you need us’ mentality and let Favre do as he pleased, and while coach Brad Childress might finally be showing a little resistance by holding him out for this week’s visit to New England and inserting former starter Tarvaris Jackson to face the Patriots, they’ve allowed things to go much too far as it is.
Last year, they let Favre take his dear sweet time, turn them down, and then change his mind weeks into training camp and elect to suit up for a 19th NFL season. That ended up working out well, as a rejuvenated Favre had arguably the best season of his career, completing a career-high 68.4% of his passes, tossing a career-low seven interceptions, and compiling a career-high 107.2 QB rating, and throwing for 4,202 yards and 33 touchdowns on the way to leading the Vikings to a 12-4 regular-season mark, the NFC North title, and the #2 seed in the NFC behind the New Orleans Saints.
However, after a 10-1 start, the Vikings lost three of their last five regular-season games, which prevented them from overtaking the Saints for the top seed, and after leading the Vikings to an easy divisional round win over the Cowboys, Favre had a day to forget in the NFC Championship Game in New Orleans, as he accounted for three of the Vikings’ five costly turnovers in Saints territory in Minnesota’s heartbreaking 31-28 overtime loss to the eventual Super Bowl champions.
Instead of allowing Favre to ride off into the sunset or forcing him to make up his mind in a reasonable timeframe, the Vikings not only allowed Favre to take his dear sweet time again and waffle between retire and return again, but they called on the cavalry to go get him and persuade him to come back for his 20th season. If that’s not operating on desperation-bordering need, I don’t know what it is.
And so far this season, it has not turned out well at all. Through six games, Favre has thrown 10 interceptions (tied for second-most in the NFL), a QB rating of 68.0 (30th), and completed only 58.1% of his passes (25th). And he has only one game with multiple touchdown passes and more than 250 yards, which occurred against the Jets, in which he threw three touchdowns and had 264 yards passing, but completed only 14 of 34 and tossed a pick-six late in the fourth that clinched the win for his former team.
And hey, there’s that whole ongoing Jenn Sterger kerfuffle that, no matter how it turns out, is an unnecessary distraction on top of his and the team’s current struggles.
And now, the Vikings are stuck once again in a position of whether to put their foot down or let Favre do as he pleases again and play Sunday after fracturing his ankle in two places in last Sunday night’s loss at Green Bay, and even if the signs might indicate that Childress could do the rational thing and sit Favre, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if it turns out to be otherwise.
Of course, it must be asked whether Favre or Jackson gives the Vikings the best chance to win and keep them from losing anymore ground in the NFC North and to any fellow playoff hopefuls around the NFC. But whether it’s a hobbled Favre in the midst of a season-long poor run of form or a backup/starter/backup/starter/backup who has all of 21 pass attempts over the last season-plus, the Vikings have put themselves in a rather poor position.
Perhaps watching one of the greatest of all time will have proven better for Jackson’s growth in the long haul, but his development has been skewed from the beginning (both due to injuries and Brad Childress’ mismanagement), and with that and his lack of action since Favre’s arrival in mind, it’s a lot to ask for him to come in and be effective right off the bat, whether it’s this week, or if Favre is allowed to play through the pain for the remainder of this season, next season.
More than that, is he even the quarterback of the future for Minnesota? Save for signing someone in the upcoming off-season, he’s going to have to be the man for at least 2011, and maybe even 2012, even if they nab someone in the draft next April. When you’re a team that has championship-caliber talent in a lot of other places, it’s really hamstringing your hopes by not taking care of the future of such an important position when you have the opportunity to, and the Vikings haven’t played their cards well at all in that aspect or any aspect in their dealings with Favre to this point.
Favre’s unbridled passion and enjoyment for the game, his heart, and his ability to overcome adversity like nobody’s business are all part of why he was arguably my favorite player to watch since I started watching football.
However, just as my interest in watching any of my favorite teams isn’t tied to the presence or absence of one player, Minnesota should never have allowed Brett Favre to become bigger than the team.
I can understand their desire to win and win now, but in trying to do so, they’ve freely given Favre the upper hand. Unfortunately, even if Childress and the Vikings wrestle back some semblance of control and elect to end Favre’s consecutive starts streak on Sunday, they’ve allowed him to hold them hostage for his benefit just as much or more than theirs, and it could cost them a chance at a championship not only this year, but the next few seasons as well.
