Oh Yeah, That Brett Favre Thing
With all the news coming out of minicamp, you'd be excused if you completely forgot that this team is still in a state of limbo when it comes to the quarterback position. Jim Souhan argues that the Wildcat excitement you saw at this site over the weekend is essentially unwarranted:
Vikings offensive players who aren't quarterbacks can't be taking these OTAs or minicamps or whatever they are called very seriously. The whole purpose of these camps is to build continuity. So why isn't Childress holding these camps at Oak Grove High in Hattiesburg, where his receivers can learn to keep Favre's fastballs from breaking their fingers?
Well, the uncertain status of Brett Favre certainly detracted from minicamp, but I'm not sure that means the players didn't take it seriously. That's beside the point, though -- the biggest development coming out of minicamp was the offensive experimentation by Chilly and Bevell, which made the weekend productive and worthwhile. I'll partially agree with Souhan in that it's extremely unfortunate this Favre thing couldn't have been resolved by last weekend.
I'll be honest: The possibility of Brett Favre in purple had me thrilled...four weeks ago. But after days upon days of no developments in this storyline and with this team facing an indefinite continuation of the Brett Favre dance, I'm ready to give up. There, I said it. I'm ready to give up on Favre. If he's not prepared to make a decision at this moment, I don't want him. It's unfair to T-Jack and Rosenfels, it's a distraction, and it's more frustration than it's worth.
Would Favre be an upgrade for the Vikings at quarterback? Absolutely -- that's a point I won't concede, despite the fact that I no longer have a scrap of patience left for him. But the fact that he hasn't made a decision yet is completely unreasonable. I should have known better -- I should have known what the Vikings were getting themselves into when they expressed interest in Favre. Simply put, though, the page should have been turned on this days/weeks ago.
That's what makes this tidbit from Peter King just another disappointing aspect of this unending saga:
I think I have nothing new to report on your favorite newsmakers, Brett Favre and Michael Vick. Favre is flying very far under the radar and hasn't been heard from all week, and I hear the Vikings don't even know his plans, though they're anxious to find them out.
Feel free to rip some of your hair out.
To the people actually in the know about this -- Favre, Chilly, Wilf, Cook, etc. -- King had better be mistaken, and that group had better know by now how this is going to resolve itself. I'm trying to unearth some sense of positivity in the fact that Favre's inner circle could know for certain whether or not he's going to come back, but that's hardly a sure thing. Based on what we've seen before from Favre, I wouldn't doubt the accuracy of King's report one bit.
If my grasp at some positivity is unwarranted -- that is, if the Favre/Chilly/Wilf/Cook group still has no idea what's going to happen -- then for crying out loud, this organization needs to put its foot down immediately. They should have done that long ago. Give Favre a Friday deadline. Either he's agreed to sign with the Vikings by then or the team's offer is off the table and we roll with the Jackson-Rosenfels quarterback competition.
What a shame this has become. The possibilities of Favre, Peterson and Harvin on the same field have been tantilizing to say the least, but there's such a thing as something going way too far and becoming much too frustrating. As someone who once supported the scenario of Favre donning the purple and gold, I was hopeful that a resolution would be reached by the end of last week. That rumor, pushed by Peter King, fell flat on its face.
Make no mistake about it: Brett Favre is holding this team hostage. Despite the new schemes rolled out over the weekend, and despite the fact that everyone from the Vikings has been very professional about dealing with this storyline, it's time to move on. Until we can determine if Favre is the starting quarterback or Jackson/Rosenfels will be under center, this team is largely in a holding pattern. Time to reach a conclusion on this, once and for all.
What Awaits Winfield?
By midday today, we'll know a lot more about where Antoine Winfield stands with this team. The OTAs resume today, and for all practical purposes, attendance is required. If Winfield shows up, heading back to the bargaining table should still be on the docket for the team and his agent, but his contract status becomes less of a sidestory during a time when football should be the focus. If he sits out, we've got a big problem.
Happy Trails, Roderick Rogers
Smell ya later, Roderick Rogers -- the Vikes tried converting the Wisconsin Badger from safety to receiver, but the fact that they cut him the day after minicamp should tell you a lot about how that transition went.
And Finally...
Follow me on Twitter!...Steady Burn has a list of the top-five Conan O'Brien look-alikes in sports...Corey Schneider of the AHL gets my vote...Norman Chad wonders what would happen if Mike Vick and Brett Favre were pen pals...Speaking of Vick, it's curious that the Falcons haven't released him yet, is it not?...Yeah, they're really gonna get a lot of compensation for him by clinging to his contract rights...