Brett Favre gave the Minnesota Vikings and their fans exactly what they wanted to see Monday night in their 3rd preseason game in Houston.  Anyone outside Winter Park didn’t honestly know what to expect when Favre took the field against the Texans – it could have been magic, and it could have been miserable.  

It’s hard to argue against magic: Favre ended his night 13-18 for 142 yards with one TD and a QB rating of about 114.  I don’t think anyone could have asked for a better outcome than that; Vikings fans went from starting to waver with doubt about Favre taking over their talented team to fully cheering on the former hated division rival.  And why not?  Favre’s first outing of the season didn’t leave anyone with anything worth drawing conclusions from, playing only a couple of series and largely just trying not to look like a guy who had joined the team less than a week before, which he had.  The 2nd game was such an improvement that most Purple faithful either slept as peacefully as a man in a coffin or were insomniacs with excitement, with Randy Moss’ famous refrain of “Super Bowl, Homeboy” dancing through their heads.

Here comes the objective analysis: there is no questioning that Favre played competent, experienced, and entertaining football with the steady hand of a veteran surrounded by genuinely talented skill-position players.  And this was without Bernard Berrian, the Vikings’ No. 1 receiver, who will undoubtedly add to the new-old QB’s arsenal of weapons this year when he returns to the lineup.  But if we’re going to look at this objectively, we all have to take off the Purple-tinted glasses for a moment.

The Houston Texans looked awful on defense outside of Mario Williams, who continues to look like he was deserving of the No. 1 pick a couple years back.  Adrian Peterson flat-out burned the entire unit on the first play from scrimmage, and while no one will say that should come as any surprise given Peterson’s ability, he did make it look really easy.  Not even the Chicago Bears or San Diego Chargers ever opened the door for AP quite like the Texans did on national TV last night.  More objectivity: Favre has NEVER played with a talent like this at tailback.  Few QB’s in the history of the NFL have had this luxury.  For opponents (and particularly for division rivals), this is a huge problem.

But once again, the other side of the coin says that with Peterson’s talents come Peterson’s shortcomings: at least twice last night AP showed he has made very little improvement on his pass-blocking skills, and don’t think for a millisecond that opposing teams aren’t going to exploit that armor-chink at every opportunity.  That kid has got to protect that rickety old man.  Combine that with his inability to bail Favre out as a pass-catching safety-valve, and Peterson could soon prove to be a liability despite what he brings to the table as a runner.  To keep the Super Bowl-train moving as a tailback, you’ve got to be a complete player.  Adrian Peterson showed on Monday night that a complete player he is not.  

Another apparent weakness would be the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, Brad Childress.  I share the opinion of many pure-bred Vikings fans that Childress shouldn’t be coaching a Pop Warner team, let alone an actual NFL franchise.  And the man walked right into that description last night, calling two Wildcat formations featuring Percy Harvin.  If you have any real plans of utilizing the latest Macarena-style trend in the NFL this season, why in the world would you run not one but two plays with it before the season starts?  He also kicked the tires on a reverse to Harvin, giving every opponent on the schedule at least some film on the “brilliant trickery” Childress may want to deploy in 2009.  

Is all this enough to derail a potential Super Bowl run for Minnesota?  I don’t know, and I doubt it.  But when you combine these casual-observer pitfalls with the very real late-season breakdown of Brett Favre in 2008, it doesn’t exactly instill confidence in a skeptic like myself.  Here’s the skinny on the Favre-inator last season with the New York Football Jets:

Much has been made of the December slump that Favre went through last year, but it started well before that.  After the Jets’ early-season Week 5 Bye, Favre threw 10 TD’s and 18 picks.  The late-season slump of course still has teeth; after an encouraging Week 12 win vs. the Titans (in which the Jets handed Tennessee its’ first loss of the year), Favre never broke a 62 QB rating and the J-E-T-S went 1-4 and missed the playoffs.  Say what you will about a gimpy rotator cuff, but who is to say that it doesn’t happen again this season?

And yes, the Vikings are more talented and have a better defense than that of the 2008 New Jersey Jets.  But Favre had an All-Pro tailback in Thomas Jones last year too, not to mention a very capable counter-punch in Leon Washington.  AP and Chester Taylor will likely prove to be an even better combo, but will Favre even last that long after getting lit up in the pocket as a result of blown protection?  

Favre will throw his share of picks – everyone is accepting that as a given.  But add to it Peterson’s penchant for fumbling, and after all the combined turnovers, where will this team stand?  Most likely still in the hunt for the division title, if not still winning it walking away.  But Favre has not shown himself to be capable of winning outdoors in the playoffs in recent years, and if the Vikings have to go on the road in the postseason, look for yet another early playoff exit, another misty-eyed press conference, and another off-season of pointless speculation and hand-wringing over whether or not Favre will finally, mercifully, hang ‘em up.

Brett Favre: “Waahh, I’m old!”

Look, Favre unquestionably represents an upgrade for Minnesota and gives them the best chance to win on any given night or afternoon.  And as a NFC North guru, I couldn’t ask for a better story – when was the last time all three ‘real teams’ in the division looked this good?  

But what are the chances, at 39 going on 70, that Favre has more good games this season than bad ones?  Not great.  And just how does one go about benching Brett Favre if he isn’t injured, but just ineffective?  Despite this, it was the right choice for Zygi Wilf, Brad Childress and Brett Favre to make in putting him in a purple uniform – Sage and T-Jack weren’t leading anyone to the Promised Land.  But please, slow that train to Miami down just a notch or two, okay?  Gracias, amigos.

Tags: adrian peterson, brad childress, Brett Favre, chester taylor, gimp, houston texans, mario williams, Minnesota Vikings, Monday Night Football, new york jets, nfl expert, nick thomas, Percy Harvin, thomas jones