Despite Vikings victory, Favre still struggles
[picappgallerysingle id="9858886"]
Despite finally getting in the win column on Sunday, Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre still struggled. The Minnesota Vikings went back to what is tried and true for the Vikings in their win over the Detroit Lions, feeding the ball to RB Adrian Peterson. Peterson totaled 190 yards and two scores against the Lions and accounted for over 50% of the Vikings total offense.
But what continues to be a lingering problem for the Vikings, is the lackluster performance of Brett Favre. Last season, Favre threw 6 interceptions for the entire season, he now has 6 interceptions in just three games. Favre only has thrown 2 touchdowns, his passer rating is 60.4 and his longest pass in three games is 33 yards.
Judd Zulgad on the Star-Tribune is reporting that Favre suffered a stinger in the second quarter of yesterday’s game. He has a while to recover from his ailments as the Vikings have a bye this week. But as the Vikings have a week off, they are really going to have to find a way to get this offense jump started.
I would wager that after the bye week, Brett Favre will not last as the Vikings starting quarterback through the next 4 games against the Jets, Dallas, Green Bay and the Patriots. He looks as if being on the field is an annoyance to him. He is not having fun on the field and if his ankle is bothering him as much as is being reported, then he will continue to over throw/under throw his receivers.
Feeding the ball to Adrian Peterson 25-30 times a game will win you some games, but not all of them.
Vikings to try to recoup money from Favre?
[picappgallerysingle id="9814099"]
If the Minnesota Vikings lose today to the Detroit Lions, could the Minnesota Vikings try to recoup some money from Brett Favre? That is one option that Charley Walters of the Pioneer Press throws out there. Of course, you’ll remember that there was speculation that back-up QB Sage Rosenfels was shipped out of town because the Vikings gave Brett Favre a 3 million dollar raise, almost the exact amount of salary due to Rosenfels this season.
If the Vikings do lose to the Lions today, or Favre plays as poorly as he has so far this season, there are more questions going to be raised as the Vikings head into their bye week. If the Vikings were to lose this week I could envision a scenario where the Vikings would reach some sort of agreement with Favre this coming week for a reduced payment in salary in exchange for Favre simply benching himself, or even simply retiring after week 4.
Brad Childress has hitched his coaching wagon to Favre, so he succeeds or fails with Favre. If the Vikings start 0-3, Childress might be fighting for his coaching life and might have to turn the offense over to Tarvarius Jackson.
I’ve written in this space several times, that I believe the Vikings made a serious mistake by trading Sage Rosenfels who was the most productive quarterback in the Vikings preseason. The 0-2 start for Minnesota is bad enough, if they lose today, the Vikings season is in serious jeopardy.
Minnesota Vikings-Detroit Lions game preview
[picappgallerysingle id="9693189"]
The Minnesota Vikings will play their second consecutive home game this Sunday against the Detroit Lions, losers of 21 straight road games. The Lions come into the Metrodome with Shaun Hill at quarterback instead of Matthew Stafford who is nursing a separated shoulder. The Lions are bringing with them their latest offensive weapon, Jahvid Best, who has scored 5 touchdowns in two games.
The Lions put up 32 points last week against a very young, but aggressive Philadelphia Eagles defense, but will without the services of WR Nate Burleson who will miss the game with an ankle injury. Burleson was acquired as a deep threat to play opposite WR Calvin Johnson this season. The Lions biggest scoring threat whill be rookie RB Jahvid Best. Best is an explosive runner who cuts upfield very quickly and is very talented at catching passes out of the backfield.
While the Lions are an improved team as far as talent goes this year, I don’t believe that they are going to be able to hang with the Minnesota Vikings as Minnesota will hand the Lions their 22nd consecutive road loss.
However, what Vikings fans need to watch is the play of quarterback Brett Favre. The Lions do not possess an elite defensive unit and if his play continues to struggle as it has in his first two games, then there should be cause for concern. Favre cannot continue to turn the ball over as he did last week, and the 0-2 Vikings desperately need this win at home. RB Adrian Peterson will get his full number of carries, but Favre has got to look better throwing the football in order for there to be some playoff hope for the Vikings.
This is a good tune up game for Favre, he has to come out and prove that he can play at somewhere near the level he did last season or this season is going to get ugly early.
Do the Vikings rebound this week against the Lions?
[picappgallerysingle id="9813715"]
Things are not going well for the Minnesota Vikings, can they rebound this week against the Detroit Lions who haven’t won a road game in 21 games? For Minnesota Vikings fans had better hope the Vikings rebound this week because if they lose, the Vikings will be three games behind either the Green Bay Packers or the Chicago Bears in the division after only three weeks, and that’s a mighty tough hole to climb out of.
Is Brett Favre going to recapture the magic of last season this coming Sunday? Will he magically find better timing with his receivers? Will he look 10 years younger than he looked last week? Vikings fans better hope the answer to all of the above is yes, yes and hell yes, because a loss this weekend is a hole the Minnesota Vikings might not recover from for the rest of the season.
Do not underestimate the Detroit Lions. They put 32 points on the board against the Philadelphia Eagles defense last week and the Vikings Williams Wall has not been the wall they were in 2009 as of yet this season. Detroit Lions RB Jahvid Best is looking like the real deal after two weeks and for the Lions to put 32 points on the board with Shaun Hill at quarterback was quite an achievement.
I do think the Vikings will win this Sunday, but you’ve got to call this Sunday’s game a must win for the Vikings with the schedule they have in front of them for the next 4 games. After a week 4 bye, they have the Jets, Cowboys, Packers and Patriots. So it is going to be do or die this week. If the Vikings manage to lose to the Lions, you might as well write the 2010 season off.
Stick a fork in Brett Favre, he’s done
[picappgallerysingle id="9814238"]
Hang up the phone, don’t bother discussing Vincent Jackson, simply stick a fork in Brett Favre because he’s done. The Minnesota Vikings should have kept Sage Rosenfels in Minnesota and made sure Brett Favre kept tossing balls to 16 year olds in Mississippi. Brett Favre looked rusty in the Minnesota Vikings opener against the New Orleans Saints. Truth is, Saints QB Drew Brees looked rusty too. Vikings fans said, it’s okay, he’ll shake it off, Favre will gel with his new receivers. Face it, the Minnesota Vikings could have had Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin in their prime on the field yesterday and it wouldn’t have mattered.
Favre threw three interceptions, two of them inside the redzone. He fumbled in the endzone and the Miami Dolphins recovered the ball for a touchdown to go ahead in the game 14-0 and never looked back. Well, if there ever was a time to panic, it’s now. Favre didn’t look sharp throwing the ball. He was over-throwing and under-throwing receivers. Even watching him walk into the Metrodome on the NFL Network yesterday morning he looked old. He walked with a slight limp.
Face it, the Minnesota Vikings are now 0-2. Only 13% of the teams which start 0-2 make the playoffs. And just exactly what is going to magically happen in the next two weeks to cure Brett Favre? An arm transplant? Sure, the lowly Detroit Lions are coming to town next week but if Favre plays next week like he did this week, a win is not a given.Maybe the Vikings should take Adrian Peterson up on his offer to carry the ball 50 times a game.
Minnesota now finds itself 2 games behind the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. Yes, the Chicago Bears. The Vikings have a bye week in week 4 and then travel to play the New York Jets, host Dallas, then play at Green Bay and New England. So what happens if after those games the Vikings are 2-5 and fighting for playoff hopes, does Favre just simply retire mid-season?
Favre looks like a former 300 game Cy Young award winning pitcher who has stayed one season too long and is serving up batting practice in his final season. If he doesn’t magically rebound, does head coach Brad Childress bench him? You know that Favre’s consecutive games played streak is important to him, but eventually even Cal Ripken sat for a game. How would Favre handle being benched? Somebody has to bring up the possibility because if he doesn’t start playing better than what we witnessed on Sunday, the Vikings season could simply be lost.
