Posts Tagged ‘brett favre’

Brett Favre jogged out of the tunnel in a purple helmet. He might as well have been wearing a black hat.

No, Favre didn’t seem to relish playing the villain in his return to Lambeau Field. But it was going to take more than a chorus of boos to throw him off his game.

For the second time in less than a month, Favre sliced up his former team and stuck it to the franchise that cast him aside as the Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 38-26 at Lambeau on Sunday. Despite being jeered repeatedly by Packers fans who once cheered his every move, Favre completed 17 of 28 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns without an interception.

“Packer fans cheer for the Packers first,” Favre said. “I know that. But I hope that everyone in the stadium watching tonight said, ‘I sure hate those jokers on the other side, but he does play the way he’s always played.’ ”

High-stakes, emotional drama aside, this much is clear: The Vikings (7-1) took a firm hold on the NFC North standings.

But given the raw tension between Favre, the Packers’ front office and the fans who felt betrayed when their favorite player came out of retirement again to join their biggest rival, cornerback Charles Woodson acknowledged the game was significant beyond the division standings.

“I think it was disappointing for a lot of people,” Woodson said. “It’s just a loss, but I think a lot of people really wanted this one bad. We let a lot of people down today.”

Brett Favre’s ribs appear to be just fine….

He took plenty of hits and even delivered one.

Favre played three quarters despite saying he might have an injured rib, and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Houston Texans 17-10 in a preseason game Monday night.

In his second game since unretiring less than two weeks ago, Favre was 13 of 18 for 142 yards. He didn’t move the offense much following Peterson’s touchdown until a 28-yard catch and run by Chester Taylor just before halftime.

ESPN reported before the game that Favre said he thinks he has a cracked rib, but the 39-year-old didn’t look to be in pain while getting sacked twice and taking numerous hits.
After the game he backed off his comments.
“There is nothing you can do about it first of all, secondly, I don’t believe it is [cracked],” he said. “It doesn’t feel great but I think I will be fine. We have not done an X-ray yet. If it is cracked, there is nothing you can do about it.”

He drew a penalty for an illegal crackback block to the knee of Houston’s Eugene Wilson when he lined up wide in the wildcat formation in the third quarter. Wilson was injured on the play, but said he’ll be OK.
Favre said he wasn’t out to hurt anyone and was simply trying to protect rookie Percy Harvin, who took the snap.

“I will be 40 years old in October and [was] weed-eating 13 days ago,” Favre said. “I wasn’t thinking about throwing blocks.” Wilson said he hadn’t spoken to Favre, but if he did he would ask him one thing.
“What was up with that?” Wilson said. “Seriously, what was up with that?”

Vikings coach Brad Childress said Favre was much better than in his debut, but there’s still work to do.
“He did some really good things as far as putting the ball where it needed to be,” Childress said. “He will be the first to tell you that he missed a few reads.

He made a couple of nice plays with his feet and he had enough of the pocket presence to move around when he had to and still get the football where it needed to be.”

What two knowledgeable NFL people described earlier this week as an “issue” in the Minnesota Vikings locker room was described Wednesday by a third informed person as a “schism.”

The issue is quarterback Brett Favre, and the schism is the preference that certain Vikings players have for specific quarterbacks.

Sources with knowledge of the Vikings’ locker-room dynamics say some players believe Tarvaris Jackson gives the Vikings the best chance to win; other players believe Sage Rosenfels gives the team the best chance — which is one of the new twists to this storyline.

In the words of one NFL source, Favre has “little support” in the locker room as Minnesota prepares for its Monday night preseason game against the Houston Texans.

Favre, who signed only last week, struggled in his one preseason appearance but could easily win backers with improved performance and victories.

One NFL source said, however, that these locker-room issues were present long before the team signed Favre, and it’s possible they will not go away any time soon unless Favre can completely silence them with his play.

Vikings coach Brad Childress was even asked Wednesday about the speculation.

“I’ve seen the same reports you’ve seen,” Childress said. “Those are opinions. It’s hard to shoot holes in an opinion. It’s just that — an opinion. I certainly don’t see it.”

Asked if he addressed with the players that friendships must become secondary to winning, Childress said: “I think all of them will cite that business is business. Whether they like it or not, that’s the way it is. As I told Tarvaris, ‘I don’t expect you to like it.’ He’s a highly competitive guy, and he came back and played very well.

“That benefits him, that benefits us. There’s no downside to that. I don’t expect those guys to like it. But I expect them to deal with it and go forward. And by and large, that’s exactly what’s happened.”

If Favre plays well, it’s possible the schism could disappear. But it’s also possible that if Favre struggles, the drama that accompanied his entrance only will increase, threatening to affect the Vikings’ season and Childress’ future.

The presumptive Hall of Famer does have one big ally — Adrian Peterson, who has confessed to being one of Favre’s biggest fans, even while being a close personal friend of Jackson’s.

“There’s just a love I have for him and how he plays the game,” Peterson said. “I play the game the same way.”

They are neighbors in the locker room at team headquarters, and Peterson has wasted little time getting to know the man he has been watching “since I was in elementary school.”

“To get to sit there and chitchat with Brett Favre, it’s fun,” Peterson said after practice on Wednesday. “He’s a good guy. I was a fan of his for a long time and still am. I’m definitely taking advantage of it.”

“This is a perfect fit.”

That’s what Brett Favre said Tuesday evening when assessing his compatibility with his latest team, the Minnesota Vikings.

Not everything Favre has said in recent years has checked out, but it’s hard to argue with his analysis in this case.

Vikings offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell coached for six years in Green Bay, the last three as Favre’s position coach. Favre has said he could teach Minnesota’s offense, a significant difference from last year when he had to learn a totally foreign scheme with the New York Jets, an undertaking he admitted was much harder than he anticipated.

Brett Favre, who three weeks ago had told coach Brad Childress that he would remain retired, signed a deal Tuesday with the Minnesota Vikings.

The deal is worth between $10 million to $12 million, according to ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.

The Vikings made it official with a news release early Tuesday afternoon. A news conference to introduce Favre is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.

The first inkling that something was afoot came early Tuesday, when two television stations in Hattiesburg, Miss., and Minneapolis reported that the Vikings had sent a private plane to Hattiesburg to pick up Favre.

Coach Brad Childress, who greeted the Favres at the airport, had confirmed the planned meeting in an e-mail to The Associated Press. Asked if the plan was to sign Favre, Childress replied: “In a perfect world.”

Favre, 39, and his wife, Deanna, arrived in Minnesota in the early afternoon, getting off a team plane at a small St. Paul airport and getting into an SUV after shaking hands with the ground crew.

Childress’ wish for a perfect world came true shortly afterward, when the Vikings announced the signing. The deal had been pending a physical. By 2 p.m. ET, he was observed at Vikings practice in Eden Prairie, Minn., wearing a No. 4 jersey and a helmet, while stretching and warming up.