As we wait for tonight's "State of the Vikings," one member of the team is already commenting on the latest developments in the Favre saga. Here's Ben Leber on the timeline he'd like to see moving forward:
"I would like to see this resolved by at least the end of the first week of training camp," he said. "If it’s not resolved by the end of the first week I would hate to see it drag on any further. We’re only down in Mankato for two weeks and realistically have only 14 or 16 days before our first preseason game.
"After that first week, we start to taper things down and get into the mindset of playing a game in the coming days. I’d love to see everything resolved before then for the sake of our team chemistry and for the sake of the quarterback situation. It would seem unfair for [Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels] to ask them to battle it out and get ready for the game while this is going on."
Man, Ben's offering an awfully generous timeline. I think if you'd ask most fans and most people affiliated with the team, going into training camp without this thing resolved would be a nightmarish scenario.
No question about it: The beginning of training camp is the absolute latest Favregeddon can drag on, and the sooner it can be resolved, the better. Granted, the HBO interview greatly reduced the amount of unanswered questions that we'll continue into the summer with, so I'll admit that it wouldn't be the absolute end of the world if we don't see a resolution for another month or so -- but I certainly hope that we'll start seeing progress toward a resolution ASAP.
Let's also consider the "media circus" factor. The media's gonna need three or four days to go batsh*t crazy when Favre steps onto the field in Mankato -- and with only a two week training camp this year, it'd be best to have that frenzy occur right off the bat so the team can quickly refocus on football. A media circus is inevitable, but getting it out of the way at the very beginning of training camp is clearly the best option on the table.
Alright folks -- another reminder to check back around 7:30p CT to watch live as Wilf, Chilly, Spielman and Greenway take questions from Vikings season ticket holders at "State of the Vikings."