Aug. 27, 2009

Vikings will have problems with Favre -- until 5-0

By Clark Judge | CBSSports.com Senior Writer
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So now there's supposed to be a "rift" within the Minnesota Vikings, with players not all that receptive to new quarterback Brett Favre. Well, you don't say.

Are you going to tell me there wasn't a "rift" when the Vikings introduced Sage Rosenfels to duke it out with Tarvaris Jackson in a winner-take-all quarterback derby? Of course there was. That's what happens when new guys are brought in to take the place of veterans.

But that wasn't a story, and it wasn't a story because it wasn't Brett Favre who was involved. Now it's billed as front-page news, and, I'm sorry, I'm not buying. I mean, why wouldn't there be a rift? The Vikings went through training camp with Jackson and Rosenfels and John David Booty as their quarterbacks, only to have Favre show up once they moved home to Eden Prairie.

Favre's decision was supposed to be spur-of-the-moment, but the timing made it smell funny. In fact, it made it look like Favre and coach Brad Childress had a handshake agreement all along, and that's not good for either. But it's not the alleged "rift" over Favre that would concern me; it's a possible fissure with the head coach, with Childress at risk of having credibility issues with his players.

I mean, this was the coach who would not tolerate separate rules for quarterback Daunte Culpepper, right? So he traded him. Now, enter Brett Favre, and are you telling me he doesn't come with a laundry list of requirements? Please. The Vikings wanted him to come back, so my guess is that he returned on his terms. It's like a head coach told me last week: Aging veterans like Favre play by the rules as long as they can set them -- and good luck with that, Brad.

In the meantime, we're left with a story that the Vikings are in disarray because some players reportedly favor Jackson or Rosenfels over Favre, and that's not news; that's to be expected. Favre has to win them over, just like tough-guy Tom Coughlin had to win over the New York Giants when he took over as coach in 2004. Seems to me there were all sorts of stories then about possible mutinies ... until, that is, the Giants started winning. Then the dissidents shut up and went away.

And that's what will happen in Minnesota. The Vikings will start winning, and Favre will be treated like a savior, with teammates at his side to tell us how glad they are to have him aboard.

Brett Favre had few problems with the Jets until their season started crumbling. (AP)

You might, too. I mean, Cleveland? St. Louis? Detroit? San Francisco? I don't care who quarterbacks the Vikings, he should circle the bases. All he must do is hand off to Adrian Peterson, throw the occasional 5- to 8-yard pass and rely on the league's No. 1-ranked run defense.

That should keep everyone happy. Players don't like what they don't like until they start winning. Then they switch sides, holding hands and singing Kumbaya.

You think the New York Jets were all that fired up to lose Chad Pennington because Brett Favre decided he wanted to play again? Then they won eight of their first 11, and Favre was the mayor of New York ... or East Rutherford ... or Florham Park. Anyway, players embraced him.

Of course, that lasted only as long as the Jets won -- which they did not down the stretch, dropping four of five as Favre self-destructed and the offense went into neutral. That provoked an unhappy Thomas Jones to step forward, aim at Favre and fire away.

"If somebody is not playing well they need to come out of the game," he said after the season. "You're jeopardizing the whole team because you're having a bad day. To me, that's not fair to everybody else."

Geez, I wonder who he was talking about. Now that's a rift. But it didn't surface until the Jets went belly-up, with Favre throwing nine interceptions the last five weeks. And that's what will happen here. This will be a story as long as we have games that don't count and Favre misses more passes than he hits. Then the season will start, the Vikings will win and we'll forget about it.

But stay tuned. You haven't seen the Vikings' schedule after five games. They have, in order, Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Green Bay ... at Green Bay. If and when Favre struggles there, I expect we'll have another "rift" in the locker room. In the meantime, we'll have Childress warning his players to get over it, the Vikings successful early and unhappy people going home.

It's not that Minnesota is unique now that Favre is there. It's that Minnesota is just like everyone else.