Brett Favre has allegedly informed teammates that he intends on retiring.  This not so surprising development has fans of the purple and gold facing the reality of a season led by ….gulp, Tavaris Jackson.

If true, even a storybook season last year that ended one win shy of a trip to the Super Bowl, isn’t enough to convince the future first ballot Hall of Famer that he’s up for one more shot at the Lombardi Trophy.  But, it is Favre we are talking about, and it is a big “if”.

The same story has played itself out over and over again during the better part of the last decade.  First with the Packers; then with the Jets and now the Vikings. There have been tearful press conferences, secretive jet rides to Mississippi, and even confirmed reports from Chris Mortensen, only to have football’s version of the ironman lace them up again in September.

It’s become almost comical.  Favre again has sports fans everywhere wondering if it is April Fool’s Day or Groundhog Day.  One thing is for sure, Favre’s uncertainty has joined the Fourth of July as a rite of summer.

Personally, I refuse to drink the Kool-Aid. 

Brett may just be crying “Wilf”, Zygi Wilf, trying to get the owner to dig a little deeper into his deep pockets. Until I see Brett sporting a mustard yellow blazer in Canton, I fully expect him to show up throwing passes to local Hattiesburg high-schoolers and fueling talk of his impending return. 

Apparently, Brad Childress is not convinced either.  When asked about the possibility of having to find a replacement for Favre, Childress stated “I’ve got to hear it from the horse’s mouth”.  My question to Childress is what does John Elway know that even Mort doesn’t? 

Used with permission of the author.

 Pat Schueppert is a contributor to Sports Climax who grew up on the frozen tundra and bleeds Packer green and gold. The Wisconsin native, while staying loyal to his teams in his home state declares he has never worn a ‘cheesehead’ and “The Bears still suck!”

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

MINNESOTA – After a lackluster December that included a conflict with coach Brad Childress that was caught on national television, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre appears primed and ready for the playoffs.

After leading his Vikings to a 1-3 record in December, with the lone win coming against The Cincinatti Bengals in Week 14, the New Year started on a high note for the 40-year-old slinger when Favre led the Vikings to a lopsided 44-7 win against the New York Giants on Sunday.

Favre was 25-of-31 for 316 yards and threw 4 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Favre’s performance on Sunday as well as that of his supporting cast secured the Vikings a second seed in the playoffs and a well-deserved first round bye.

The extra week of rest should be favorable for Favre and earning that second seed also assured no outdoor games for the Vikings. After hosting their first game at the indoor Metrodome, the Vikings only road game would be against the New Orleans Saints if they both won their match-ups.

Favre has been outstanding this season, leading the Vikings to a 12-4 record while completing 363-of-531 passes for 4,202 yards. Known for a high career TD/interception ratio, Favre corrected that tossing 33 TD passes and throwing only 7 to the wrong colored jersey all year. Last year with the New York Jets he led the NFL with 22 INTs. His passer rating this year is also one of the highest of his career at 107.2.

Expect Favre and the Vikings to be well rested and come out with a vengeance for their opening round game on January 17, and while their opponent has yet to be determined, you have to like their chances.

Favre proved many of his critics wrong, coming out of retirement and showing there is a lot of life left in his arm. With the slinger in sync with receivers Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian and potential rookie-of-the-year Percy Harvin and the Vikings running game back on track with Adrian Peterson, expect them to go deep into the playoffs and possibly to the Super Bowl on February 7th.

Last year it took Fox Sports showing Visanthe Shiancoe in the buff during a live telecast to turn heads and give the Vikings an onslaught of media attention. This year the Vikings are doing it by putting Brett Favre behind center.

Related Articles:

Favre Embarrasses Head Coach on National Television

Favre Dumps Vikings Two Days Before Preseason

Fox Shows Vikings Player Naked During Live Telecast 

Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax

MINNESOTA – How do you reward an NFL head coach who drops what he is doing in the middle of preseason, flies  to another state to pick you up and personally chauffeur you to his team headquarters and arranges for you to sign a huge one-year contract?

If you are Brett Favre, you embarrass that head coach on national television . . . that’s exactly what the 40-year-old slinger on the Minnesota Vikings did Sunday night during his team’s humiliating 26-7 loss to the underdog Carolina Panthers.

Ahead on the scoreboard 7-6, Vikings coach Brad Childress started shuffling personnel from the field onto the bench starting with Pro Bowl left tackle Bryant McKinnie who was getting taken to school and run over repeatedly by Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers.

McKinnie sat on the bench because that’s what pros do, they follow their coaches instructions.

Childress’ next move was to bench Favre but the ego-saturated quarterback would have no part of it. In front of the world, they got into a heated exchange on the sidelines with Favre refusing to be benched.

“I’m watching, and I said, ‘Hey, you know what? I’m thinking about taking you out of the game here,'” Childress later explained (not that he needs an explanation, he’s the head coach). “I mean, you’re getting your rear end kicked.’ Though not a lot of fault of his own.”

When Favre was asked about the heated exchange on the sidelines he said, “Yeah, there was a heated discussion, I guess you would call it. We were up 7-6 at the time. No secret, I was getting hit a little bit. I felt the pressure on a lot of plays. We had seven points. So I think everyone in the building was like, ‘They’re not moving the ball, they’re not getting points.’ Brad wanted to go in a different direction, and I wanted to stay in the game.”

Yeah Brett, every player on the bench every Sunday wants to come into or stay in a game but that’s not the player’s decision, it’s the head coaches’ decision; that is unless you’re an egotistical quarterback who begs for headlines.

Favre re-entered the game and lead his team to the humiliating loss but worse yet, he showed his teammates and a national television audience who is boss in that locker room and raised a serious question, ‘Who is really running that team?’.

Since this incident, others are resurfacing through the media including a game earlier this year when Favre ignored Childress’ wishes and called an audible late in a game causing the coach to want to bench him. Like this recent incident, that benching also never occurred.

Football is a team sport and everyone has a role to fill, especially the head coach. When a guy like Favre comes in and dictates, chemistry is sure to suffer.

The Vikings knew what they were getting. Prior to that escorted service to his contract signing, Favre had dumped the Vikings just two days before training camp. The player was also accused of supplying inside info to aid the Detroit Lions prior to a game between his former Green Bay Packers and the Lions.

The timing of this incident could not be any worse as the regular season winds down and teams like the Vikings are focusing on the playoffs.

Related:

Trouble Brewing in Minnesota? – ESPN

Copyright © 2009 – Sports Climax