Brett Favre and the Minnesota Viking Saga

Brett Favre Making Minnesota Vikings Play Hard Ball

We’re at the same old song-and-dance with Brett Favre, the perennial long bomber of the NFL who leads the league in chuckles and is a starter on the Best All-Time Facial Scruff team. Favre gave Green Bay growing pains by humming and hawing about his pending retirement. Then New York quickly showed Brett Favre the door after he posted 3,472 passing yards with 22 touchdowns and an equal amount of interceptions.

There’s an even more pressing concern in the waltz that Minnesota and Brett Favre find themselves in. It’s no doubt that Favre is an instant upgrade over Tavaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels. But what it also says about the Minnesota Vikings is that, since Daunte Culpepper, they have no idea what the hell they’re doing at the quarterback position.

The void of substantial starting quarterbacks in the league is a glaring concern in the NFL. Jay Cutler, a future franchise guy, bolted from Denver to land in Chicago, who sold the farm to get the pouty mouthed pigskin pusher. Kansas City just shelved out over $14 million to get Matt Cassel, who is coming off one, lone, good season. To put it simply, teams are paying a premium to get a franchise quarterback in the league. And there’s very good reason.

Look at the following NFL betting trends for the top-7 quarterbacks in the league:

1. Philip Rivers (San Diego) – 105.5 Rating – 7-8-1 ATS

2. Chad Pennington (Miami) – 97.4 Rating – 8-8 ATS

3. Kurt Warner (Arizona) – 96.9 Rating – 9-7 ATS

4. Drew Brees (New Orleans) – 96.2 Rating – 10-5-1 ATS

5. Peyton Manning (Indianapolis) – 95.0 – 7-9 ATS

6. Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay) – 93.8 Rating – 7-8-1 ATS

7. Matt Schaub (Houston) – 91.4 Rating – 9-7 ATS

What do you notice? Three of them averaged wins against the oddsmakers. One of them was EVEN. The other three were just one win away from posting above average ratings against the oddsmakers.

What else do you notice? None of these teams are complete. You can make arguments against all of these teams that they didn’t deserve to do well (San Diego especially). A quarterback can vastly turn the tide in any NFL matchup, especially when a handicap is involved.

Now consider this: Minnesota was a lowly 6-10 ATS and their quarterback, Gus Frerotte, averaged just a 73.7 rating over 11 games. Not the most convincing stats in the world, right? With the best running-game, a stalwart front-seven and Bernarnd Berrian wasting away at receiver, the Vikings are looking to strike gold by signing Favre, the last great quarterback out there left.

Brad Childress blew his load too early by going after Sage Rosenfels in the first week of free-agency. Nobody was kicking themselves more than Childress after he realized that Jay Cutler was actually available. That also goes to show you two very important things. Childress was so desperate to strike gold with a quarterback he went after Rosenfels. But it also shows you that anything can happen in the summer with NFL free-agency. A team can overpay for a perennial backup like Rosenfels, while suddenly finding themselves entrapped in another chapter of the Brett Favre Retirement Saga.

The Brett Favre saga is a tired story. I feel like I’m reading a Tucker Max story when I read an update on Brett Favre. As much as I love No.4, I’m sick of it. And I’ll be even more sick of reading “Minnesota Has Superbowl Potential” when Favre comes out of retirement.

Listen, the Vikings are +700 to win the NFC Championship, which is arguably wide open. But they have a history of disappointing their NFL betting investors, as their 6-10 ATS record indicates. Their secondary is woeful, and teams can score through the air in droves against these guys. Childress is uncreative. The Vikings, in a word, are losers. They always have been, and until management pulls its fat head out of its fat butt, they always will be.

Brett Favre is a seeming cure-all to the quarterback woes of any team, but there should also be some time taken by Minnesota to groom an appropriate franchise quarterback of the future. The Vikings have a Pro-Bowl running-back and serious youth on their side. Why try to get lucky with Brett Favre, instead of preparing for a future with a team that is on the verge? Who should the starting quarterback be in Minnesota? It certainly should not be Brett Favre.

Did I mention he just had shoulder surgery on his throwing arm, by the way? Oh, I left that part out? Whoops.