Favre Gone Too Far?

Brett Favre's impending decision on his return to the NFL for a 19th season has been drawing eyes from around the league, but particularly from the NFC North, where both the team that made him a legend (the Green Bay Packers) and the team that seeks to reenlist him into professional football (the Minnesota Vikings) reside. Despite Favre's dubious comments supporting the contrary ("Once you quit, you can never go back.") it seems quite likely that he will once again be under center for an NFL team.

Is it the right move for Favre? Probably. As far as he's concerned, if he wants to play and someone is willing to take him, what he does is his business. Despite his advancing age and ailing health (he's recovering from surgery on a partially torn muscle in his throwing arm), no one can question Favre's determination to play the game as long as he is able.

But the question of whether or not his return is the right move for the Vikings remains to be seen. Minnesota is on the cusp of being a Super Bowl team. But while they have a superb defense and punishing ground attack, they are lacking a quarterback who can guide them to the Super Bowl. Because of his long experience and natural arm strength, Favre seems the ideal candidate for the Vikings’ job. But what Minnesota needs is a game manager—someone who can instill enough fear with the pass to allow their run game to take over—not an archetypical gunslinger like Brett Favre who will sometimes throw as many interceptions as touchdowns.

With Percy Harvin, Bernard Berrian, and Sidney Rice as the Viking’s receivers (not to mention the running back tandem of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor), the Vikings can make a compelling case for Favre to return, but last year’s ill-fated end with the Jets (and the up-and-down season preceding it) should have shown him that his days as the NFL’s iron man are numbered. With this next attempt at a comeback, could Favre do more harm than good. Favre has been known to only come back if he is promised the starting job, and is not well known for tutoring younger quarterbacks at his previous stops. This does not bode well for up-and-coming Vikings QB Tarvaris Jackson, who displayed signs of promise at the end of last season despite a disappointing playoff loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Obviously, the Vikings would not be making this move if they thought Jackson or fellow quarterback Sage Rosenfels could get them to the Super Bowl. This situation still remains a gamble of risk versus reward, a one year shot for the championship with Favre. This year, the whole league will watch Minnesota with keen interest.