Everyone knows what many folks will be focusing on this off-season as "the" story for the Minnesota Vikings, and that's the return of quarterback Brett Favre to take another run at a championship. In connection with this, you'll hear the word "drama" bandied about by those media members, as well as members of opposing teams and anyone else that puts this issue onto their radar screen.
The thing these people fail to realize is that there is no "drama" involved in this entire situation. None. Not even a little bit. Either Favre is going to play next season. . .or he's not. Honestly, where's this "drama" that people want to imply is such a big part of this situation? Yes, ESPN is going to freak out about the whole Favre situation, as is every other major sports outlet in America, and that's to be expected. . .they need to generate ratings and sell advertising and all that other good stuff. Fans of Favre's past employers spent off-seasons freaking out and obsessing over the "Will he or won't he" game because. . .well, damn, look at what they have without him.
But I, for one, am not going to get involved in all of that. Why? Two reasons.
Reason number one. . .in case folks aren't paying attention, the Minnesota Vikings are a pretty darn good football team regardless of who plays quarterback for them. This team is absolutely loaded with good, young talent at the skill positions with Adrian Peterson (turns 25 next month), Sidney Rice (24 in September), and Percy Harvin (turns 22 in late May), along with "old timers" like Bernard Berrian and Visanthe Shiancoe (both of whom are currently 29 years of age). The offensive line has two good bookend tackles and the best left guard in the game, and will probably be getting an upgrade in either free agency or the draft. In short, it's set up to the point where darn near any quarterback should be able to succeed within its confines. People forget that this was a 10-6, division championship winning team with Tarvaris Jackson and Gus Frerotte playing quarterback, and there were a lot of players that improved by leaps and bounds from 2008 to 2009. And I didn't even mention the defense. . .a defense which, at last check, is still pretty darn good and will likely be the focus of Minnesota's off-season efforts this spring.
But, really. . .all of that pales in comparison to reason number two. . .
He's totally coming back anyway. I know it, you know it, I believe he knows it. . .and, therefore, there is no reason to get all dramatic about whether he's going to come back or not. He might miss a little bit of training camp. . .which I guess we should worry about because, you know, it turned out to be such a concern last season. Favre's already built a chemistry with his receivers and his offensive line, and the main components of those groups aren't going to change. . .if he misses two-a-days or something like that, who cares? Heck, as far as I'm concerned, Antoine Winfield, Steve Hutchinson, Jared Allen, Pat Williams, and Kevin Williams can all stay home from two-a-days, too. They're veteran guys that take their jobs seriously enough to be ready when they need to be, and if they do so, they're not going to miss a beat.
Brett Favre ended last season as the best quarterback in the NFC North (by a bigger margin than anyone will probably admit) and he'll start 2010 as the best quarterback in the NFC North. The only "drama" is going to come from Bear and Packer fans as they try to come up with reason why their teams, led by their young, wonderful, (allegedly) awesome quarterbacks are staring up at a guy they were convinced was done after the 2007 season. Again.
So settle back, relax, and watch the Vikings upgrade themselves this off-season, ladies and gentlemen. . .rest assured, the quarterback "drama" isn't going to be terribly dramatic for anyone that spends any amount of time following the Beloved Purple.