Tag: Brett Favre rumors (Page 5 of 11)

ESPN: Favre conflicted about whether or not to play this season

Here’s a shocker: Brett Favre is unsure about something.

According to a report by ESPN.com’s Ed Werder, Favre is conflicted about whether or not to play this season.

With Minnesota Vikings players scheduled to report to training camp in less than a week, Brett Favre remains anguished about whether he should come out of retirement and join the team. That decision, according to sources, has become more difficult in recent days because of the efforts of Vikings players including Adrian Peterson, Jared Allen and Steve Hutchinson, all of whom have now begun calling and texting Favre in an attempt to convince him to become Minnesota’s starting quarterback.

“If it weren’t for the involvement of the Vikings players directly telling Brett they want him on their team, I think he might have already decided against playing again,” a source said.

A source said that Favre is beginning to feel a sense of obligation, not only to Vikings players but to a coaching staff that has been recruiting him since the moment the New York Jets released him in April. According to sources, Favre has been communicating regularly with Vikings head coach Brad Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, who was Favre’s offensive coordinator in Green Bay for three seasons.

Money is not an issue, as a source says that Favre and the Vikings have negotiated a one-year contract worth approximately $10 million. But the quarterback has not decided whether to sign it.
What seems unresolved in Favre’s mind is whether, at age 39, he can reasonably expect to be healthy enough to play 16-plus games for the Vikings while maintaining the standard of performance he expects of himself.

Hey Brett, do you want to play or not? You’re 39 years old – of course there’s a chance you might not be able to make it through an entire season. You didn’t technically make it through last season as you essentially had your biceps duct taped to your arm for the final couple weeks of the year. But again, do you want to play or not?

Favre shouldn’t feel like he has an obligation to the Vikings to play this season because ultimately, it’s his decision. But he does have an obligation to the Vikings to make a damn decision one way or another, especially considering we’re in late July now and not April. Minnesota has been patient this entire time with Brett, so he needs to make a decision so the Vikes can move on either with or without him.

He said he was going to make a decision by July 30. Then he said he should know by this Friday. All indications were that he was going to tell the Vikings yes, now he’s conflicted. It never ceases to amaze me how this guy can draw every last bit of drama out of a situation both for the good and the bad.

Childress: ‘Brett’s throwing motion looks fine.’

Vikings’ head coach Brad Childress said over the weekend that he hasn’t spoken with Brett Favre in a few weeks, but also noted that the free agent quarterback’s throwing motion looked fine when he recently viewed him on video.

“I liked his throwing motion, the little bit that I saw on tape,” Childress said. “It looked fine to me.”

Childress has received first-hand reports on Favre’s throwing from offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman, who both made the trip to visit Favre in Mississippi two weeks ago. Favre is recovering from arthroscopic surgery in late May to release the partially torn biceps in his throwing arm and how his arm feels is going to be the key factor in his decision on playing another season.

“I think [Bevell] thought he was progressing,” Childress said. “I think Suge felt the same way.”

Childress said he liked Favre’s throwing motion…I think I’ll wet myself.

Favre is supposed to make a decision by July 30 on whether or not he’s going to play this season. Until then, all of us continue wait on pins and needles, at the edges of our seats or grasping to our computer screens for him to announce his decision.

Jared Allen: ‘Brett Favre situation is annoying.’

Count Minnesota defensive end Jared Allen in as someone who also finds Brett Favre’s dance with the Vikings annoying.

But even the most patient of hunters has his limits, and Allen pretty much has reached his when it comes to the Vikings’ months-long pursuit of Brett Favre.

“If we get Brett, then that’s a bonus,” the All-Pro defensive end said in a phone interview. “But let’s either get it done and get moving on with it or let it go.

“It’s not so much that it’s a distraction because we’re professionals and don’t really buy into that. But it’s annoying.”

“I say it all the time: If you can get a player of that caliber at any position, you take him,” Allen said. “If Lawrence Taylor came out of retirement, you take him just to see what he can do. … Brett absolutely has proven that he’s one of the best ever at what he does.

“But our goals going into the off-season weren’t, let’s win a championship if we get Brett Favre. It’s, we’re going to win a championship. And I feel like we have two able quarterbacks to get that done.”

One had to wonder what kind of an effect Favre’s song and dance with the Vikings would have on the players currently on Minnesota’s roster – and not just quarterbacks Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson. At some point, if you’re a player on the Vikings you get tired of trying to answer the same questions over and over again.

This is something that seems to elude Favre. Never mind that an entire organization comprised of coaches, players and front office personnel has to wait for his decision – it’s all about Brett and what he wants to do. I don’t blame Allen, or anyone else for that matter, if they’re becoming a little annoyed about this pending marriage.

Favre to give Vikings an answer by July 30

The annoying, ongoing song and dance being performed by Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings could be coming to an end soon.

According to the Associated Press, Favre will give the Vikes an answer on whether or not he intends to play in 2009 by July 30, which is when Minnesota opens its training camp. Favre said that he felt pretty good after a recent workout, but still has yet to commit himself to playing for the Vikings (or anyone for that matter) this season.

Apparently Favre has increased his workouts to four days a week and says his velocity is back after having surgery in early June to repair a biceps muscle in his throwing arm. At 39 years old, he wouldn’t increase his workout regiment if he didn’t intend on playing, so it’s probably safe to assume that he’ll give the Vikings a “yes” on July 30.

If he says that he needs more time, let’s hope that Minnesota officially pulls its offer off the table and tells Favre to stick it where the sun don’t shine. This charade has gone on long enough (even though technically this is a dead time in the NFL) and the Vikings need to show a commitment to either Sage Rosenfels or Tarvaris Jackson if Favre can’t give them a commitment.

Jerry Rice: ‘Signing Favre could backfire on Vikings.’

In a recent interview with the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, future Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice questioned the Vikings’ potential signing of Brett Favre, suggesting that the move could backfire on the team by season’s end.

What are your thoughts on Favre’s likely return?

Rice: “You have two quarterbacks [Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels] who don’t know exactly what is going to happen. All of a sudden these two guys thought they were going to be competing. To be honest with you, I thought Tarvaris would be the starting guy this year. I’ve watched him off and on. The most important thing for him is the consistency. He shows that at times ‘OK, I can do this.’ I think he was moving in the right direction, making progress. Now you have this saga, and everybody is sitting back wondering what is going to happen.”

What do you think the expectations should be with Favre? He’s going to be 40 and is coming off arm surgery.

Rice: “In New York, you hear about what happened, and it was not very good. I think Brett showed some great flashes last year. Did some good things. But then towards the end he didn’t play as well. If they feel like bringing him in is going to get them to the next level, I think they should. But to be honest with you, I think the two guys with the team right now should be the two guys that they should be focusing on.”

What happens if he does struggle or is not healthy with a team that is built to win now?

Rice: ”Then everything backfires. You’ve got a major problem. Also you have to look at the scenario that happened in New York. If he pretty much distances himself completely from the players, then all of a sudden you’re going to divide the players because a lot of the players are going to say, ‘Hey, Tarvaris Jackson should be in here or Sage.’ You don’t want this to divide the team. So this could really backfire.”

I couldn’t agree more with what Rice said on everything. If the Vikings sign Favre, he’s going to start, which probably means Tarvaris Jackson is all but done in Minnesota and the trade acquisition of Sage Rosenfels was somewhat of a waste (although he would be a serviceable backup if/when Favre got hurt).

If Favre plays great and gets the Vikings to the playoffs, then everyone will applaud the move. But what’s the more likely scenario, Favre leading Minnesota on a magical season, or Favre tiring out again and taking the Vikes down with him? As with the Jets, he might play at a high level again over the first part of the season, but there’s a very real possibility that his 40-year old arm will unravel again and the entire team will crash and burn in the second half. And as Rice suggested, then Brad Childress and company will have a team that will largely question why Favre was signed in the first place.

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