While fielding questions on Thursday about whether or not there is a schism (which means divide) between players in the Vikings’ locker room regarding who will start at quarterback this year, defensive end Jared Allen had this to say:

“I don’t know where this came from. Like I said, I don’t think anybody on this team knows what schism is, let alone could use it in a sentence. I thought it was an STD when I first heard it. And I was like whoa, we preach abstinence around these parts.”

That was the first thing I heard when I woke up this morning and I was freaking rolling. Thanks for getting my day started on the right foot, Jared.

When I first read the report that a player had used the term schism, I found it interesting…then I had to look the word up myself.

You know the game “telephone” right? That’s what happened here. Somebody in the media heard that some Viking players wanted Tarvaris Jackson to start, while others said they wanted Brett Favre under center. So they passed the story along, but somewhere along the line, somebody used the word “schism” and then the story got twisted into how a player had used the term.

But I’m with Allen – there’s no way a Vikings player used that word. There very well may be a divide in the locker room, but the word schism was never used to describe the situation.

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.