And Here....We....Go...

After last season's melodrama, I swore to myself I would never write another thing about Brett Favre. However, as a Packers fan for nearly two decades, the thought of The Riverboat Gambler and the Vikings uniting has me downright giddy. Here's the irony of the potential Favre-to-Minnesota scenario: Favre is an upgrade at quarterback over Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson(though at 40 with half an arm, only a slight upgrade), yet he makes the Vikings as a team worse. Why, you ask? I'll get to that in a minute. Before I delve into Favre's venture into Prince Country, a quick commentary on Ol' Number 4.

It takes a real idiot to look upon his status as an iconic figure in a particular city and then go out of his way to piss all over it. Let's be clear about one thing: A couple of years ago, nobody meant more to a city and a fan base than Brett Favre meant to Green Bay, Wisconsin and Packer Nation. NOBODY. Not Derek Jeter in the Bronx. Not LeBron James in Cleveland. Nobody. Favre was to Cheeseheads what Jesus Christ is to Holy Rollers. Apparently, though, that wasn't enough. Favre's biggest character flaw was that he always lived in the moment, thought in the moment, acted in the moment. The reason Favre never has an affirmative answer about his career was that he never looked that far ahead. The same went with his decision making on the field. Last year, Favre still had some resonance of sympathy from the Packer faithful because they weren't quite ready to give him up. Now that Favre's sole reason for "unretiring" and sign with Minnesota is to stick it to the team that once loved him like a son, he's about as adored in Wisconsin as Slim Fast.

Also, let's stop calling Favre's hunger for attention a "comeback". When Michael Jordan unretired to play for the Wizards, THAT was a comeback. When Tiger Woods teed up in Augusta at The Masters after sitting on the sidelines with a knee injury, THAT was a comeback. Favre deciding he may or may not want to ratchet up his dead arm one more time after retiring all of two months ago, is not a comeback. Mike Vick has spent more time away from football than Brett Favre. Hell, Cris Collinsworth has spent more time away from football than Brett Favre. So, please, enough with calling Favre's soap opera a "comeback". Now, on to why Favre will destroy Minnesota worse than Jesse "The Body" Ventura.

The main concern involving Favre has to be the well-being of his torn biceps in his throwing arm that he decided not to have repaired because, as of that five minutes, he was done with football. The game plan for Favre's arm would be to continue to stave off surgery and let it heal with good old fashioned rest. Here's the problem: The Vikings would want Favre in camp. Throwing the ball. Developing chemistry and timing. In other words, HE WOULDN'T BE RESTING!! You have to believe Favre sitting out camp would be a deal breaker seeing how his former Jets teammates weren't too pleased with Favre's standoffish nature in New York. Also, torn muscles on guys pushing 40 don't just magically heal and even if Favre chooses to just shoot himself up with cortisone shots, you have to think it will eventually get past the point where numbing it up will fix it. If the torn muscle initially required surgery, then doctors obviously felt that rest wasn't a logical option. Even with a solid running game led by Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, you're bringing in Favre to add some flair to the passing game. If Favre's arm collapses like it did during the second half of last season and he's reduced to just protecting the ball and handing it off, then there is really no reason to not just entrench Rosenfels or Jackson in their as caretaker anyway.

Speaking of Rosenfels and Jackson, how much of a kick in the balls is all this Favre talk for them? For one, Rosenfels had a nice cushy job as backup to the fragile Matt Schaub in Houston and now he's brought in to a quarterback clusterfuck where he went from initially having to fend off Jackson to now taking a backseat to an aging legend whose arm is practically falling off his body. It also doesn't send the best message to a young quarterback like Jackson that the team felt the need to bring in not one, but two, quarterbacks to "compete"(though you have to believe Favre is the starter if and when he signs with Minnesota). Nothing says dysfunctional like trading a fourth round pick for a quarterback, giving him a new contract, and then a few weeks later, deciding to replace him with an aging legend who was last seen single-handedly crushing his team's playoff hopes. You're pretty much telling your fans you don't know what you're doing(which should have been obvious anyway and never more so than by taking pot-smoking speedster Percy Harvin with their first round pick two weeks ago).

Then there's the outlook from the Packers' scenario. Who's better equipped to know how to defend Favre than the team that watched him in practice for so long? As sad as this is to say, the Packers might have been worse off having to face Rosenfels or Jackson twice a year. For one, they've never dealt with Rosenfels and Jackson's mobility gave them fits in the opener last year. The Favre signing has to be a blessing in disguise for a Packers defense adjusting to a new scheme. Think about it. The veterans on this defense know that Favre isn't being brought in to hand off to AP(which is the smart thing to do, no matter whose quarterback). They also know that Favre is going to be dead-set on proving to the Packers front office that they were wrong for leaving him for dead in the Meadowlands, so Favre is going to overdo it. You know what happens when a quarterback with a fading arm and a history of bad decision making decides to play with a chip on his shoulder? The answer would be a field day for the opposing defense. Favre was so in denial that his arm was failing him last year that he stubbornly tried to make throws he no longer could make, and it cost the Jets dearly. The best news the NFC North could ever recieve would be Favre coming back into the fold and then forcing the Vikings to abandon unleashing the best running back in the league. Man, I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

So, in conclusion, the Favre scenario is going to play out like this. Favre and coach Brad Childress are set to meet sometime this week to discuss Favre being a Viking. Childress will demand Favre be in camp and Favre will test out his arm to see if he can oblige. If Favre's arm can't go, Favre will pass or just wait til midseason to see if the arm is better and then sign with the Vikings. The Vikings will then go from being a run-oriented team behind an enormous offensive line to essentially becoming the second coming of the run and gun as Favre attempts once again to write his final chapter the way he sees fit. Rosenfels will ask for his release and after Favre tears the team apart, the Vikings will find themselves back to square one, only this time they will do what they should have done a while ago: Kick Childress to the curb. It's an ending that anyone can see coming, except for Favre....but then again, ask him again in 5 minutes.

----Dave