Tag: Brett Favre (Page 43 of 64)

Report: Vikings give Favre ultimatum and deadline

According to a report by ESPN.com, the Vikings want a decision from Brett Favre on whether or not he wants to play for them sometime this week.

This is a smart move by the Vikings. They know Favre is the king of waffling and they can’t continue to wait on him and keep current quarterbacks Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson in limbo. The season is still months away, but OTAs wrap up this week and training camp will begin in about a month so they need a decision.

But this hardly seems realistic. According to the ESPN article, Favre has done some light throwing following recent surgery to repair a tear in the biceps of his throwing arm, but he doesn’t feel confident enough yet to definitively say that he’s coming back. And if Favre doesn’t believe he’s at full strength, why would the Vikings rush a decision from him?

If Favre believes he’ll be healthy in two to three weeks and the Vikings truly want him, then they should allow him that time and then hold a workout. If he’s ready to go, then they can sign him in time for training camp. If he doesn’t feel that his arm is 100%, then they can move on without him and go with Rosenfels or Jackson. But even after all of this will-he-or-won’t-he-come-back discussion that has been drummed up over the past couple weeks, the Vikings giving him a deadline of this week still seems a little premature.

Then again, Favre can’t be trusted when it comes to making a firm decision, so I don’t blame Minnesota for giving him an ultimatum with a deadline. The Vikings have an entire team to think about – not just a decision about whether or not to sign Favre.

I just don’t know if a couple of days is a long enough for Favre to know whether or not he’s completely healthy. I can certainly understand the Vikings wanting to put pressure on him to make a decision if he were healthy, but it’s out of his hands whether or not his arm will be completely ready by the end of the Vikings’ supposed deadline.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Vikings hold him to this deadline and more importantly, whether or not they’ll officially move on if he tells them he still needs more time.

Favre has surgery, but will he play?

According to a report by ESPN.com, Brett Favre underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn biceps in his throwing arm, but it’s still unclear at this point if he’ll comeback this season.

A month ago, Favre tried some non-surgical procedures in efforts to get back onto the field this season. He had cortisone injections and also tried exercise therapies that included weight lifting in efforts to release the damaged tendon naturally. But neither worked because he was still having trouble in throwing sessions and that’s why he opted to have surgery.

If the surgery worked and he’s able to throw at or near 100% without any pain, he’s expected to come back. But if he were still limited after testing the arm, then his most recent comeback would appear to be dead in the water.

One thing is for sure: Favre wants to come back. He wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble if he didn’t have intentions of playing. But the problem (outside of whether or not he can still throw the ball without pain) is that the Vikings want to see him throw in one of their camps. They wrap up their OTA sessions this week, so that means if they’re going to sign him, it’ll be before training camp starts in another month.

It’s a waiting game now; if Favre can throw without pain, then the Vikings will probably sign him and get him into camp. If he’s still having trouble throwing, then his comeback will be derailed, possibly forever. It’s all on Favre’s biceps now. (Or so it would appear.)

2009 fantasy football is coming soon—a look back at 2008 QBs

Remember when we were instructed to draft running backs with our first two, and in some cases, our first four, fantasy football picks? Yeah, that was so 1999. Heck, that was so 2004 or 2005 when LT and Shaun Alexander were dominating the gridiron. But a funny thing has happened. Running backs by committee are not only keeping legs fresh, they are wreaking havoc on fantasy rosters. Also, a recent trend toward pass-happy offenses is making quarterbacks and receivers more valuable. Last season, QBs were dominating — here is how the Top 10 QBs finished fantasy-wise in 2008 (your league may have scored differently than mine) and what you can expect from them in 2009:

1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints—Brees fell 15 yards short of Dan Marino’s single season passing yards record, finishing with 5069 yards, along with 34 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Is he going to match that? There’s no reason to believe he won’t.

2. Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers—I had LT last year and one of the reasons his stats suffered was because this guy kept throwing the damn ball. Rivers threw for 4009 yards with 34 TDs and just 11 picks. This year, will they go back to more of a run-first offense? Probably not — not with LT a year older.

3. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals—Ah, the Fountain of Youth is a beautiful thing. Warner drank from it often, and of course when you have guys named Boldin and Fitzgerald to throw to, it can make you look good and feel ten years younger. Still, who expected 4582 yards and 30 touchdowns with 14 picks and a trip to the Super Bowl? Not me. This year, Warner may not have Boldin, who just keeps whining about his contract, but don’t think the QB’s numbers will suffer all that much.

4. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers—Brett who? You certainly won’t hear anyone blaming the Packers’ 6-10 season on Rodgers. It was in fact their defense that failed them, because Rodgers passed for 4038 yards with 28 TDs and 13 interceptions. And just for kicks, Favre’s numbers with the Jets were 3472 yards, but 22 TDs and league leading 22 picks. Going into 2009, Rodgers’ stock has to be even higher.

5. Jay Cutler, Denver Broncos—On what planet does 4526 yards and 25 touchdown passes get you run out of town? In Denver, where new coach Josh McDaniel screwed up and tried to trade for Matt Cassel. Oops. Cutler is now in Chicago, so that means his fantasy stock automatically drops a few notches.

6. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts—The Colts got off to a horrible start and in fact didn’t win the division for the first time in years. But Manning finished strong, with 4002 yards, 27 TDs and just 12 picks. Marvin Harrison is no longer catching his passes, but that doesn’t mean Manning doesn’t have weapons.

7. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles—It was a roller coaster season in 2008, but the Eagles came within about a quarter of reaching the Super Bowl. Somehow McNabb held it together (what, they have ties in the NFL?) and wound up having a great season, passing for 3916 yards with 23 TD passes and 11 picks. He only had 147 rushing yards and 2 rushing scores, but that’s what Philly has Brian Westbrook for. McNabb is getting long in the tooth, but he’s smarter and as accurate as ever.

8. Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys—Okay, so there may be trouble in paradise and there is no T.O. anymore, but Romo is still a very good fantasy QB. His 3448 yards and 26 TDs were a bit off his 2007 pace (4211, 36 TDs), but part of that is because he missed a few games with a thumb injury.

9. Matt Cassel, New England Patriots—With zero pro experience and almost zero college experience, who would have thought Matt Cassel could come in for Tom Brady and have the season he did? Okay, so he is no Brady, but Brady is in a class of his own anyway. Cassel’s 3490 yards with 21 TD passes and just 10 interceptions were good enough to land him the starting job in Kansas City. How that will affect his fantasy stats remains to be seen, but don’t expect too much of a drop-off on an improved Chiefs’ team.

10. Chad Pennington, Miami Dolphins—You know Chad is still gloating after being pushed out of New York by Brett Favre, and then leading his Dolphins to the division title. Pennington is always risky as a fantasy QB because of injuries and inconsistency, but 3653 yards and 19 TDs is not shabby, nor was his microscopic total of 7 picks. If he stays healthy, Chad should have another good season.

The other name you’ll have to consider in 2009 is Brady. He missed the final 15 ¾ of the season after getting knocked out of the opener against Kansas City, but early reports are that Brady is looking and feeling great and will be at full strength in 2009. Randy Moss is salivating, and so will fantasy owners, though they will do so skeptically.

Are you ready for some football? I know I am and feel great just talking about it!

(Next week: Wide Receivers)

Former QB great Tarkenton says Favre’s actions ‘despicable’

Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton apparently isn’t a huge Brett Favre fan these days.

Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton, appearing on 790 The Zone in Atlanta, said “it’s all about” Favre when discussing the subject and also had some interesting comments about NFL owners in general. Tarkenton, a resident of the Atlanta area, didn’t need any encouragement to go after Favre and was especially critical of how the future Hall of Fame QB has treated the Packers after playing 16 seasons in Green Bay.

“I think it’s despicable. What he put the Packers through last year was not good,” said Tarkenton, who played for the Vikings from 1961-66 and again from 1972-78. ”Here’s an organization that was loyal to him for 17, 18 years, provided stability of organization, provided players. It just wasn’t about Brett Favre. In this day and time, we have glorified the Brett Favre’s of the world so much, they think it’s about them. He goes to New York and bombs. He’s 39 years old. How would you like Ray Nitschke in his last year [playing for] the Vikings, or I retire, and go play for the Packers? I kind of hope it happens, so he can fail.”

Favre did the retirement dance with Green Bay for multiple years and then ultimately got upset with the team when they decided to finally commit to Aaron Rodgers (after giving Brett at least two chances to return) last offseason. Then he wanted to be traded, so the Packers obliged. Then he retired after one year with the Jets, but now wants to play for the Vikings to burn Green Bay GM Ted Thompson. And for what?

Favre should have played in Green Bay until his arm fell off. He would have been a hero not only in Green Bay, but he would have been one of the biggest sports figures to have ever played. Instead, fans are tired of hearing about him and even a Hall of Famer is calling his actions ‘despicable.’ It’s sad in a lot of ways, because we’re talking about one of the best quarterbacks of all time, yet he has set himself up to be criticized with the way he’s acted the past couple of years.

Vikings’ decision on Favre coming this week?

According to SI.com’s Peter King, the “mating dance” that Brett Favre is currently doing with the Vikings (or is it the other way around?) will be over sometime this week.

He’s going to have a make a decision whether to join the Vikings very soon, probably by this weekend, because the Vikings want to know what their 2009 future is at quarterback. I’m told the organization won’t wait for a decision much longer, and if he has to get a minor operation to snip the damaged right biceps tendon that has been giving him pain, he has to do it soon. Like, within a week.

I get the strong sense that if the Vikings are going to do any deal with Favre that coach Brad Childress wants to be assured that Favre will report to training camp in game shape, with no restrictions on throwing or his condition. They’d also like Favre to be involved in the mental part of team activities before camp. He has missed the first week of Organized Team Activities (last week), and he’s all but out of this weekend’s final mandatory full-squad mini-camp before training camp. Ten OTA practices remain for the Vikings — June 2-5, June 8-11 and June 15-16.

Although he’s a very reliable source, the notion that this Favre-Vikings charade will be over by this weekend seems to be more of King’s opinion than a factual statement. Since he knows the Vikings won’t wait much longer, King seems to be estimating that Minnesota will have a decision by Favre by this weekend. But everyone knows that Favre has a tendency to drag things out, so who knows.

I agree that the Vikings probably won’t be willing to wait much longer on Favre. They traded for Sage Rosenfels this offseason and aren’t completely ready to give up on former second round draft pick Tarvaris Jackson either. So if Favre can’t make up his mind soon, I would have to image that Brad Childress and company will go forward with what they have.

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