Favre on the Ground

I really don't harbor any ill will against Favre.  I harbor ill will against the Vikings.  Favre just happens to be their quarterback.  If he was still a Jet, I wouldn't care.  But as the QB of our arch nemesis, I am compelled to revel in his failures and the failures of his team.

This hit by the Saints' Roman Harper on Thursday night was a thing of absolute beauty.  Favre left his feet as if he was hit by a car.  I was a little surprised his shoes didn't come off in the process.  The result of this wobbling pass was an interception.  Just like in the NFC Championship game, the formula for beating any Favre-led team remains putting hits on him and forcing him into stupid mistakes.

So the Vikings season begins this year as it ended last year -- on the turf of the Super Dome watching an interception replay on the jumbotron.  The Vikings offense will be challenged to be as potent as it was last year.  Favre missed training camp again, but that's no surprise.  His offensive line has had some shuffling due to injuries.  Guards Steve Hutchinson and Anthony Herrera both had shoulder injuries last season.  Center John Sullivan has struggled with a calf injury in the pre-season.  And left tackle Bryant McKinnie had to leave the game Thursday due to a dislocated finger.  Like the Packers last season, the Vikings offensive line hasn't had good playing time together and it could affect their consistency.

More widely publicized have been their issues at receiver.  Last year's star Sidney Rice is out at least half the season due to hip surgery which he bizarrely neglected to do at the end of last season.  Guess he just didn't make it that far down his to-do list.  Percy Harvin, who had an impressive rookie season last year, has suffered from intense migraines and collapsed at practice a few weeks ago requiring a trip to the hospital in an ambulance.  Bernard Berrian has never been a go-to guy, and he showed it again Thursday catching only one pass for three yards in addition to a key drop.  Visanthe Shiancoe had a nice game and clearly is the guy Favre trusts most.  But he had back-to-back bone-headed penalties Thursday, and the Saints demonstrated in the second half that Shiancoe can be easily shut down when there are so few other receiving weapons on the field.  Adrian Peterson looked great, but the absence of a dangerous passing threat is the best way to keep Peterson contained.  Plus, Favre is too impatient to stick with the run.

As good as the Vikings defense looked, if their offense can't put up more than 9 points, they are going to have a hard time winning with any consistency.  And more hits like this could mean this season is finally Favre's last.  Like a lot of Packers fans, though, I have too much respect for Favre to trash talk him directly.  So I'll leave the trash talking (and child exploitation) to the Saints fans: