Is this the end of Lord Favre?

During the first quarter of the Vikings’ game with the Bills in Minnesota on Sunday, Favre took a massive hit to his back from Buffalo linebacker Arthur Moats and had to come out of the game. Favre then sat down on the sidelines before walking to the locker room. Tarvaris Jackson entered the game and was immediately cheered by the Metrodome crowd. He threw a long completion to Sidney Rice down the sideline.

Favre held onto the ball too long and he paid for it, as Moats crushed him and caused the ball to be intercepted. Favre’s return is being called “questionable.”

Jackson just threw a pick-six, so maybe the crowd will cheer Favre back onto the field.

Update: Check that, Jackson just threw a touchdown to Rice. So stay out, Brett…

Following the Vikings’ embarrassing 31-3 loss to the Packers on Sunday, Brett Favre dodged questions about whether or not he’s committed to playing out the rest of the season.

“I would never have expected to be in this situation,” Favre said. “Mathematically I think there is still some hope. I hate to use Jim Mora’s comments about playoffs. I can’t even think about that. I know there is still a slim chance, but come on. We’ve got to play a lot better than we played today and last week.

“I came back for a Super Bowl, you’re right. Also [there is] a chance that that doesn’t happen, probably a better chance that we don’t. And there’s a way better chance that you won’t play as well as last year. … But this is a little surprising. Again, I’m just going to go home and … I don’t want to say ‘think’ about this game. Just re-evaluate tomorrow.”

Favre isn’t going to retire. He may want to because he’s not going to win a Super Bowl, but he’s not going to go out as a quitter. He’s all about image and if he walks away now, the last thing everyone will write about him is how he abandoned his teammates when he knew there was no shot of winning a title. He and the Vikings may get their asses kicked the rest of the year, but that’s a better outcome to him than having the media call him out for the selfish player he is.

The Vikings should almost hope for him to retire. Not only is he a disaster on the field but every week he plays is one that Tarvaris Jackson won’t. Favre isn’t coming back next season and the team needs to evaluate Jackson. Lord Favre will never stand for a benching, but that would be the smart thing for Minnesota to do at this point. Why play a half-motivated Favre when they need to see what Jackson brings to the table? At 3-7 the rest of the season isn’t about winning for the Vikings – it’s about figuring out who will be around next year.

Leave it to Favre to send mixed messages about his future. This will be an interesting situation to follow over the next couple of days.

It’s time, Minnesota.

Bench Brett Favre. At 3-7, there’s really no reason to keep playing him and he’s shown time and time again that he’s only about himself. Bench him and move on.

Favre isn’t coming back in 2011 and why would the Vikings want him to? It’s time to see what they have in Tarvaris Jackson because he may be around past this year. Favre won’t.

Favre’s effort in the Vikings’ 31-3 loss to the Packers on Sunday was pathetic. His final stat line (17-of-38 for 208 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) would be fine if he were a rookie, but he’s a veteran with plenty of motivation to beat his former team and maybe get his team back on track in the second half. Instead, he was highly inaccurate, he missed open receivers and he was shown refusing to talk with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell on the sidelines. Grow up, Brett.

Brad Childress won’t (nor shouldn’t) be back next year. But he needs to play Jackson. It doesn’t matter that Favre is a proud veteran because he’s brutal right now. If he weren’t a legend he may have been benched weeks ago. Jackson may not be the answer but it’s hard to argue that Favre gives the Vikings their best chance to win now. And seeing as how he won’t be a part of their future, it’s time to move on.

Hey, the Vikings took their shot last year and they came up a little short. They went back to the well this year and now realize that it’s bone dry. So regroup. They still have Adrian Peterson, Percy Harvin and Jared Allen. They’re not in complete disarray but they need a quarterback. Can Jackson be their man? How will they know if Favre continues to start?

The season is over. If Favre doesn’t want to go to the bench, then cut him. It’s time to look towards the future.

Here’s a shock: there are conflicting reports coming out of Minnesota about Brett Favre.

Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune says that head coach Brad Childress is leaning towards starting Tarvaris Jackson against the Patriots on Sunday. But ESPN’s Ed Werder reports that Childress wants to start Favre (who is dealing with a bum ankle).

While I would normally side with the beat writer who covers the team on a weekly basis (that being Zulgad), I find it hard to believe that a man who has allowed Favre to get away with murder since arriving in Minnesota last year would sit Brett against his will. When push comes to shove, Childress will always submit to Favre so if Brett wants to play, he’s going to play.

That said, if Favre is too injured to play, I wouldn’t be surprised if he handed the ball off to Adrian Peterson on the first play of the game and then pulled himself out to protect his consecutive starts streak. Your majesty will probably hobble off the field and tell the media later that he intended on playing the full game, but re-injured the ankle on the first play.

Either way, the Vikings’ quarterback situation looks bleak for Sunday. If Favre plays, that ankle can’t be in too good of shape to make it through an entire game and there’s a reason Childress sold his soul to bring Brett to Minnesota two years ago. If Favre is too injured to play, will the Vikings keep him active as Jackson’s backup or will he be inactive? If he’s inactive, who would be Jackson’s backup – Bernard Berrian? (Remember that Sage Rosenfels was traded to the Giants earlier in the year.)

It should be an interesting scene in Foxboro come Sunday afternoon.

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Captain Morgan and The Scores Report have teamed up to preview this Sunday’s games in the NFL and in the spirit of Halloween, here are a couple frightening matchups that players/teams face this weekend.

1. Steelers @ Saints: Drew Brees vs. Pittsburgh’s Defense
You can bet that the fans in New Orleans will be dressed up for this one, although they’re always dressed up so what’s the difference? If Brees thought the Browns abused him last week, he’s in for a real treat (trick or treat? Ah, hahahahahaha…Halloween) this Sunday night with Pittsburgh coming to town. The Steelers are second in the NFL in yards allowed and first in both run defense and points allowed. Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush look like they’re bowing out of this matchup and who could blame them? If Brees can’t move the ball through the air, he’s in for a long night.

2. Packers @ Jets: Aaron Rodgers vs. Rex Ryan’s Front Seven
Aaron Rodgers can’t be feeling too good about things these days. His offensive line is once again banged up, he doesn’t have much of a running game at his disposal, his second best receiver (Donald Driver) is also injured and he’s facing a well-rested Rex Ryan defense coming off its bye week. Oh yeah – and Darrelle Revis (hamstring) is completely healthy now, too. There’s no doubt Ryan will throw the kitchen sink at Rodgers in terms of looks and expect the Jets to send extra defenders early and often. It’s going to be a real freight fest in East Rutherford this weekend! Hahahaha – weeeeeeeeeeee!

3. Vikings @ Patriots: Favre, Vikings vs. the prospects of another loss
Brett Favre’s consecutive starts streak isn’t the only thing on the line this Sunday when the Vikings travel to Foxboro. At 2-4, Minnesota is already two games back in the win column in the NFC North and another loss will sink its postseason hopes even more. If Favre can’t go, Tarvaris Jackson will start and that means Adrian Peterson will have to shoulder the workload. Of course, even if Favre starts, Brad Childress may want to keep the ball in AP’s hands anyway. Given how well the Patriots have played at home under Bill Belichick, this isn’t the matchup the Vikings needed to get back on track. They should be spooked (spooked! Hahahahaha…Halloween) out of their minds right now.

4. Broncos vs. 49ers: London vs. the worst matchup in NFL history
Okay, I’m exaggerating – this isn’t the worst matchup in NFL history. The worst matchup in NFL history would probably be the ’08 Lions vs. the ’09 Rams. Now that’s scary (scary! Halloooooweeeeeennnn theme!). That said, the folks out in London can’t be too thrilled with this one. The 49ers and Broncos have combined for three wins this year and 11 losses and while San Fran couldn’t beat a previous winless Panthers team last Sunday, Denver is coming off a loss in which they gave up 59 points to the Raiders…at home, no less. With apologies to Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, talk about a starless game for the London crowd.

5. Jaguars @ Cowboys: David Garrard vs. Jon Kitna
Look, there’s nothing funny about this matchup. It seriously is frightening and the thought of anyone paying money to see this horror show is terrifying. Happy Halloween, Dallas!

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Brett Favre isn’t ruling himself out for this Sunday’s game against the Patriots, but then again it isn’t his call to make, is it?

It has gotten to the point that it’s not “if” Lord Favre will play this Sunday and beyond, but “should” he play.

Brad Childress and the Vikings are in a delicate spot right now. At 2-4, they haven’t started off the season on a positive note but it’s not like they’re out of playoff contention. Far from it, in fact.

The Packers and Bears are currently atop the division at 4-3 but Green Bay is incredibly beat up and Chicago has too many issues to list. (Okay, I’ll list a few: Bad in-game management by their coaching staff, Jay Cutler’s love affair with the interception, red zone issues offensively and the O-line’s inability to pass protect.)

But as things currently stand, Minnesota isn’t going anywhere with the way Favre has played to date. He’s completing just 58.1% of his passes and his current touchdown-to-interception ratio is 7:10. He’s been bad when he’s healthy, but he’s been even worse since elbow and now ankle injuries have taken their toll.

He has two fractures in his left ankle. If it weren’t for his consecutive starts streak, nobody would be talking about whether or not he should play on Sunday. It would be obvious that Tarvaris Jackson would need to start and Brad Childress would be spending his time getting him prepared and not answering questions about Favre.

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When training camp rolled around last year, Vikings head coach Brad Childress was fully prepared to head into the season with either Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson as his starting quarterback.

Let’s hope he still feels that way.

Judd Zulgad of the Minnesota Star-Tribune reports via his Twitter page that Brett Favre began telling Vikings officials last night that he will not return for a 20th season. Apparently Favre’s ankle has not responded the way he had hoped and he is now leaning towards retirement.

First and foremost, if Favre has been honest with the Vikings about his ankle this entire time, then there’s nothing more the team or Childress could expect from Brett. Both Childress and Favre have stated this entire time that they didn’t know what would happen and neither of them said either way whether or not he would return for another season.

That said, the cynic in me wonders if Favre led Childress and the Vikings to believe that he would return. For a guy that went to great lengths to make sure he didn’t hand the job to Jackson last offseason (including trading for Rosenfels and completely avoiding giving Jackson any encouragement through the media), Childress has been awfully calm about his quarterback position this offseason. Is he really fine with heading into the season with either Jackson or Rosenfels? Or had he known that Favre wasn’t coming back, would he have gotten another quarterback at some point over the last couple of months (either in free agency or the draft)?

Granted, this is Brett Favre we’re talking about. This is a man that absolutely despises training camp and will stop at nothing (including tormenting the media with his annual retirement dance) to avoid it. Jackson could be lining up to take his first snap under center in Week 1 and Favre could come running out of the tunnel to proclaim his return.

You just can’t put anything past him.

However, if Zulgad’s report holds true and Favre doesn’t come back, then the Vikings could be in a world of hurt. They still have Adrian Peterson, a solid offensive line and an outstanding front seven on defense, but without Favre and the threat of an efficient passing game, opponents will just stack the box to take away AP. Plus, Don Banks of SI.com reported yesterday that two of three hip specialists recommended that Sidney Rice have surgery in the offseason, which he never did. If Rice is hobbled, the Vikes’ passing game would take yet another huge hit.

Again, we just have to wait and see what happens. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if three weeks from now the media started reporting that Favre was coming back. Training camp will have wound down by then and maybe his ankle will start feeling better too. (I’m sure Childress would literally rip his own soul out of his body for Brett to return, so that’s an option as well.)

But if he doesn’t return, then the entire landscape in the NFC North changes. The Packers already proved last year that they were serious threats to the Vikings. Without Favre in Minnesota, Green Bay would become the favorites to take over the division.

Update: Childress, in the denial stage of grief, has reiterated to the media that Favre has not told him he’s retiring.