Vikings camp report: For Minnesota, it's one 4 the money
By Clark Judge | CBSSports.com Senior Writer Follow ClarkVikings: Love and hate | Rapid Reports | Bleacher Report
MANKATO, Minn. -- Let's make this simple: For the Minnesota Vikings to flex their muscles again, Brett Favre absolutely, positively must return as their quarterback. If he doesn't, they're chasing Green Bay in the NFC North and playing for a wild card.
Yes, it's that clear cut.
With Favre, the Vikings were the best-balanced team in the NFL last season. In fact, I would go one step farther and say they were the best team in the NFL, too. Yeah, yeah, New Orleans won the conference and the Super Bowl and all that, but the Saints didn't beat the Vikings in the championship game. The Vikings beat themselves.
"I've said a lot of times we're the best team that didn't win a Super Bowl," said defensive end Jared Allen. "The best team didn't win that game. I mean, you can look at stats, and we held them to under 200 yards passing and under 70 yards rushing. But turnovers killed us.
"So that's a credit to them. They won the turnover battle, they won the game, they won the Super Bowl. Hats off to them. But to have five turnovers and still have the ball at the end of the game and still have a chance to win is huge."
I'll tell you what is bigger: Having Favre back. The Vikings are better around him this season because they strengthened their biggest area of concern, cornerback. But they need Favre to make another run at a Super Bowl. If he retires -- and I would like a show of hands of those who believe he will -- the Vikings are left with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback, and there's not a soul out here who believes he can do this season what Favre did last.
I'm not talking about throwing 33 touchdown passes or putting up a career-best 107.2 passer rating. I'm talking about winning the NFC North and coming within a victory of the Super Bowl. OK, so Jackson did win the division two years ago, but the Vikings survived only because the New York Giants pulled their starters in the season finale. Then Minnesota lost the next week to Philadelphia in the playoffs.
Teammates and coaches are quick to point out that Jackson took them to the playoffs, so it's no big deal if he has to lead this team again. But it is a big deal because this year's Vikings aren't built for the playoffs; they're built for the Super Bowl, and anything less would be a disappointment.
"Truthfully," said offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, "whoever plays quarterback is surrounded by great players. We have great, skilled wide receivers. We have great backs. We have a great tight end. We have a solid offensive line. So that helps the quarterback, whoever that guy is."
I agree. Only you better hope that guy is Favre. Without him, the Vikings aren't Tarvaris Jackson's team; they're Adrian Peterson's team again, and that's OK. The last time Peterson had to carry the Vikings he did alright, and, yeah, that's an understatement. He ran for a league-best 1,760 yards.
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With the arrival of Favre, Peterson's yards dropped by nearly 400, but he became more of a pass-receiving weapon -- catching a career-best 43 passes -- and scored a league-high 18 TDs.
"Somebody asked me 'What's Plan B' [if Favre retires]?" said coach Brad Childress. "People say Adrian only had 1,300 yards [rushing]. Well, you have to give something to get something. When he catches 43 balls, and you have six guys who catch 40 or more balls there are all kinds of different ways to move the football.
"Do you rely more heavily on him? Maybe. Maybe a few more [passes] to Percy [Harvin]. Maybe a few more to [Visanthe] Shiancoe. Maybe Adrian carries more. I don't know."
I don't, either, but I have a good idea. Coaches can talk about Jackson's "maturity" and "experience" and "mental preparation," but the truth is they would never trust him to run this offense as they did Favre -- and they shouldn't. You play to your strengths, and if Favre doesn't return your strength is not Tarvaris Jackson, it's Adrian Peterson.
"I don't know how else to put it," I said to Peterson, "but if Favre's not here wouldn't this be your team again? I mean, wouldn't they lean on you again?"
"Yeah," he said. "You can definitely say that. Actually, it's funny you say that. You hear the rumors [this week] about if [Favre] is going to retire or not. Then you hear some guys say, 'Hey, Adrian. Make sure you're ready.'
"The guys know I'm ready, but with Favre there's the question is out there about whether he's going to return or not, and you hear some guys mumbling back and forth ..."
"So you welcome that role?" I said.
"Oh, yeah," Peterson replied. "I welcome it with open arms."
The problem with that, of course, is that Peterson sometimes plays with open arms, too, and you know what I'm talking about. He has a reputation for fumbling, dropping the ball seven times last season and another two times in the NFC Championship Game. The Vikings are working on ball security, with Peterson acknowledging that his fumbling is a "mental" hurdle that can be overcome. But you don't have to worry about Peterson's hands if you have Favre in the lineup.
The reason: Peterson wouldn't be carrying the team; Favre would. No, I can't believe he'll put up drop-dead numbers again, but I was wrong about him last year so I can be wrong about him again. Plus, the Vikings don't need drop-dead numbers from Favre. They just need him, period. If they're going to the Super Bowl, it's with Brett Favre leading them ... and nobody else.
I guess what I'm saying is this: If Favre is back, so are the Vikings. I would make them, not New Orleans, the team to beat in the NFC ... just as it should have been a year ago.
"That was my thinking in the offseason," said Peterson. "It was like: Even after that [NFC Championship] Game we have the best team in all phases, all the way around."
They can again. But only if Favre returns.
