DownSwinging.com

It’s official folks—Brett Favre has had yet another change of heart and decided that he will play for the Minnesota Vikings after all, three weeks after telling them thanks, but no thanks, I will stay retired. This to-play-or-not-play saga of Favre’s late career drags on even further, as a new chapter will now be written in purple. On paper, this move makes sense for the Vikings. They finally got the man who is supposedly the missing piece to a Super Bowl-bound team. Even at 39-years old, Favre is still probably a better quarterback than Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson, neither of whom have nearly the same resume nor field presence. Getting comfortable in the Vikings’ system should not be much of a challenge for Favre either. He and head coach Brad Childress are familiar with each other from their days in Green Bay, and the Vikings use the same West Coast offense that Favre ran with the Packers, which he even claimed at one point this summer that he could operate in his sleep. Even his new surroundings seem to be a good fit.

Though Favre has just a 6-10 career record at the Metrodome during his Packers days, he has played exceptionally well there during his last few visits. Since the 2003 season, Favre has a 4-1 record, while averaging 313 passing yards, 2.4 touchdown passes, and a 108.9 quarterback rating, per game. Plus, being indoors would protect him from the elements that he was exposed playing outdoors at Lambeau Field and the Meadowlands, keeping his body fresh for later in the season. Playing in the Metrodome could potentially be a fountain of youth for Favre. Childress has not had such legitimacy at the most important position in all of sports since he became head coach in Minnesota in 2006. Considering the team won the NFC North title with mediocre play from Jackson and Gus Frerotte last season and has not made any major changes since then, Favre makes the Vikings even more of a candidate to be playing football deep into January.

However, with all of the upside that comes with signing a legend, there is also just as much downside. For the Vikings, you can’t say with absolute certainty that you know exactly what you are getting. The main concern was and still is shoulder that has a lot of mileage on it and bothered him down the stretch last year, leading to his poor play that cost the Jets a shot at the playoffs and Eric Mangini’s job. Though Favre repaired the biceps tendon that affected him last season this offseason, he will still be playing with a slight tear in his rotator cuff. Clearly, Favre thought this will not be an issue and that shoulder is in good enough condition to hold up for the season, which is why he decided he wants to play yet another season. However, he is 39 and will be 40 in October, so nothing is for sure. It could be just fine for the season, or it could hinder his performance late in the season when his team needs him to step up yet again.

The Vikings will have to be careful with how they use Favre during the season if they hope to have a passing attack that is as potent as their running game. Although the Vikings seem to all be in support of their team’s decision to bring in Favre, especially since some of the team’s best players—Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen—actively courted him and expressed disappointment when he declined to join them at first, I still refuse to believe that Favre will fit in with the Vikings as seamlessly as he and the organization seem to believe. This goes beyond becoming comfortable with the offense, getting his timing right with his new receivers, and familiarizing himself with his new city and fan base. Favre’s job as the Vikings’ new starting quarterback is not only to pass the ball, but also to be the team’s leader on the field and in the locker room. Despite his legend status and all that he has accomplished, the Vikings players should not just give him their unconditional respect. Like everything in football, he should have to earn it. When Favre flip-flopped and did not sign with the team at the eve of the start of training camp, he already left the Vikings in a tough position. Now that the dog days of training camp are over and the preseason is well under way, Favre now feels it is the right moment to join the team because he would have the starting job anyway and this is the time that suits him best.

This sure sets a nice example for the young players on the team who Favre will have to lead by example starting yesterday. Unlike Michael Strahan, who pulled a similar stunt two seasons ago with the Giants, Favre has not done anything with the Vikings to prove that he should be able to have such authority to call his own shots. Although I cannot in anyway find out what the Vikings players think, I feel it would be naïve to think that something along the lines of “who does this guy think he is?” or “does he think he is too good for training camp?” did not cross the minds of some of the veterans of the team when Favre first walked into the Vikings locker room, especially since he told them he did not want to play for them just three weeks ago. Maybe these thoughts never crossed their minds at all, no one except for the players themselves will ever know, and they were a marriage made in heaven.

However, all I can say is, just do not forget how some Jets players, especially Thomas Jones, blasted Favre at the end of last season for not being a team player. If things do not go as planned in Minnesota by the end of the season, it would not be surprising to hear something similar in January from an ESPN report. Ultimately, the Brett Favre signing is a major gamble for Childress and the Vikings. He thought it was the right move for his team even a year ago when Favre pleaded for his release from the Packers and clearly, Childress still believes it now, since he brought Favre in so late into the team’s preparation for the upcoming season. It could pay huge dividends if Favre does in fact prove to be the key to Minnesota’s elusive first Super Bowl title. However, if Childress, Favre, and the Vikings do not make the most out of this year, if that is all Favre wants to play, this decision could have major repercussions that could hurt the franchise in the long run.