As tired as I am of covering Vikings games, the content of this blog is undeniably affected by what games are broadcast on primetime television, and the excessive drama and attention surrounding Brett Favre (particularly this week, with his homecoming to Green Bay) make for good ratings on the tube (the broadcast even included a "Favre-cam" to stay on the grizzled quarterback for the entire game). Brett has such a taste for drama that when he retires (or perhaps I should say "if" he retires), he should seriously consider appearing on a soap opera.
After the high standards set by the late-game thriller at the Metrodome, Favre's return to Lambeau Field started slowly, with no points coming through the first possessions for either team. A miscue by Vikings center John Sullivan caused a Minnesota fumble that was recovered by the Packers, but Aaron Rodgers could not capitalize on a short field and Green Bay took a Mason Crosby field goal. Rodgers had been criticized by head coach Mike McCarthy for holding onto the ball too long in the last game against Minnesota, and the trend continued today. While they have yet to adequately replace Chad Clifton on the offensive line (and have given up the most sacks in the league as a result), Rodgers still has to be able to distribute better for Green Bay to be successful.
Percy Harvin, who already returned two kickoffs for scores this season, nearly had another one as he brought the next kick 77 yards down to the 15, but it took a headbutt penalty on Johnny Jolly and four Adrian Peterson runs for the Packers to punch the ball into the endzone.
After a Packers punt, Favre passed methodically down the field and found Visanthe Shiancoe on a shallow crossing route for his first touchdown pass of the day. Shiancoe, along with receivers Sidney Rice and Harvin, have developed into solid targets for Favre to accompany running back Adrian Peterson.
A sack on Rodgers by Jared Allen forced the Packers to punt yet again, giving them great field position. But after Peterson broke off a long run to get the Vikings into the red zone, the Packers managed to stand Minnesota up and stuff another 4th-down conversion.
The half ended on a tired note, with the Packers totally unable to move the ball and the Vikings in no hurry to do so. The key stat at the two-minute warning was the yardage for both teams: 100 for Minnesota, 7 for Green Bay.
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