Vikings should stay far away from Favre

By John McMullen  |   Friday, August 01, 2008  |  Comments( 10 )

Minnesota Vikings
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Conventional wisdom says the Minnesota Vikings are just a quarterback away from being a serious Super Bowl contender.

That may explain why Vikings head coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell were playing footsie with Brett Favre earlier this month.

Problem is, Joe Buck's favorite quarterback isn't the answer.

Luckily for Vikings fans, Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson will probably never let Favre play for another NFC North team, saving Childress and Bevell from their own ignorance.

In my years on the beat in Minneapolis, I had the pleasure of seeing Favre play twice a year and it was breathtaking. In his prime, Favre was one of the best ever -- second only to Joe Montana in my mind. Today, I feel silly for ever lauding Favre, a pariah who may even trump Terrell Owens as the most selfish player in the NFL.

He might not be doing sit-ups in the driveway, but somewhere along the line he transformed from great NFL quarterback to a narcissistic diva who's held the Packers hostage for the past few offseasons as football's version of Roger Clemens.

Sure, he had a nice comeback season in 2007; then again, Favre was surrounded by a number of underrated receivers who were able to help him overcome his penchant for throwing into double coverage two to three times a game. Yep, those same "playmakers" he shoved under the bus while pining for Randy Moss.

Evidently saving Favre's career, which is exactly what Donald Driver and Greg Jennings did last season, wasn't good enough for the haughty one. Only the best in the game is acceptable to Favre and his revisionist mind.

In Brett's world, surely it was his receivers' fault that the game's toughest and grittiest player (according to his lemmings) couldn't overcome a bad case of the sniffles in the NFC championship game. And his apologists who dot the network airwaves look more and more foolish when defending him at the expense of every other player on his overachieving team -- most of whom actually listen to their coaches and try to carry out an assignment properly.

Of course, the future Hall of Famer's status makes it impossible for his own coaches to call him out for his willful ignorance of their game plan -- something every other NFL signal-caller would get lambasted for on a daily basis.

Fast forward to 2008 and you can debate the reasons Favre is still hanging on -- whether it be ego, the record book or staying far away from that loving family his groupies drone on and on about.

Whatever the reason is immaterial -- what is germane to Thompson, head coach Mike McCarthy and Green Bay is that Favre's reason for staying isn't winning. That's why the unproven Aaron Rodgers is the starting quarterback and Thompson holds a prayer vigil every night, hoping Favre slinks away.

Unfortunately for Packers fans, Thompson, while steadfast in wanting Favre out of town, is not secure enough in his own beliefs and is clearly spooked that his nemesis might return to Lambeau Field wearing purple and gold.

In reality, unleashing the Favre virus on the unsuspecting Vikings would derail their season. Favre isn't even a member of the Vikings and has already buried the franchise by admitting he has spoken not only with Bevell, one of his best friends, but also with Childress.

The Packers have already filed tampering charges against Minnesota because of those conversations and confirmation from the cell phone-challenged quarterback Childress and Bevell want as their guy will make it very difficult for the NFL to avoid doling out discipline.

If Thompson truly wishes to hurt the Vikings, forget about any tampering charges. Take a couple of draft picks from them, gleefully ship Favre across the border and sit back and watch him destroy someone else's franchise from within.

Training Camp: An entirely new kind of fantasy game!
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About John McMullen

John is the managing editor of The Phanatic Magazine, the assistant managing editor of The Sports Network and the co-host of the highly rated 'Johns on Sports' radio show on WTBQ in New York. Every Saturday from 6:30-9 p.m. (et) you can hear John along with his co-host, John Gottlieb, talk to the...
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