What If...Would Brett Favre Improve the Minnesota Vikings?

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Packers fan—a Packers shareholder, in fact. I don't like talking about this story, which seems to be equal parts bizarre, "goofy," pointlessly vindictive, and petty.

As a fan, I've moved on. I guess that is what he wants me to do. I try not to think about the situation or "the player." It's a story that I personally wish would go away, yet it is more prevalent than any story in sports.

I am also a professional spokesperson for a computer, so it does not matter what I think—just what the computer thinks.

The computer can definitively and without bias answer the question, "What would/will Brett Favre mean to the Minnesota Vikings?"

The answer: not much. The Minnesota Vikings mean a lot more to Brett Favre than Favre means to the Minnesota Vikings.

Using the same technology and approach as our 2009 NFL Preview, we simulated the upcoming season 10,000 times with Brett Favre taking every snap at quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.

Without Favre, we simulated the 2009 season with Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels splitting time equally. Jackson is our projected starter in the playoffs. The Vikings utilize a playbook similar to last season with Jackson under center and the team running the ball about 57 percent of the time.

The Favre-less Vikings win 11.05 games on average to take the NFC North title over the Chicago Bears by 2.86 games. They are favored in 15 out of 16 games, only losing at Arizona by a score of 25-18.

Here is the Favre-less Vikings' projected schedule:

Week	Opponent	Win%	Avg Score
1	@Cleveland Browns	92	33-18
2	@Detroit Lions	81	28-19
3	San Francisco 49ers	60	25-20
4	Green Bay Packers	76	28-18
5	@St. Louis Rams	84	30-19
6	Baltimore Ravens	76	26-16
7	@Pittsburgh Steelers	55	18-18
8	@Green Bay Packers	70	25-20
10	Detroit Lions	86	31-16
11	Seattle Seahawks	80	26-15
12	Chicago Bears	62	22-17
13	@Arizona Cardinals	33	18-25
14	Cincinnati Bengals	75	26-17
15	@Carolina Panthers	57	23-23
16	@Chicago Bears	65	21-18
17	New York Giants	53	22-20

Largely due to their victory over Minnesota, the Cardinals finish ahead of the Vikings to earn the second seed in the NFC playoffs and a first round bye (Philadelphia is the top seed).

In the playoffs, Minnesota must first defeat the Giants at home before playing at Arizona. The Vikings lose to the Cardinals on the road—this time by an average score of 28-21. Minnesota is eighth in our initial 2009 NFL Power Rankings.

With Favre and a more balanced playbook, the Vikings win 11.11 games on average to win the division over the Chicago Bears by 2.84 games (the Bears are a little stronger now than a month ago). They are favored in 15 out of 16 games, only losing at Arizona by a score of 25-19. The Cardinals still finish ahead of the Vikings to earn the second seed in the NFC playoffs and a first round bye.

Here is Vikings' projected schedule with Brett Favre:

Week	Opponent	Win%	Avg Score
1	@Cleveland Browns	93	33-16
2	@Detroit Lions	80	30-21
3	San Francisco 49ers	60	25-19
4	Green Bay Packers	74	27-18
5	@St. Louis Rams	83	30-19
6	Baltimore Ravens	74	27-20
7	@Pittsburgh Steelers	51	18-18
8	@Green Bay Packers	71	26-21
10	Detroit Lions	87	34-17
11	Seattle Seahawks	82	28-16
12	Chicago Bears	53	25-20
13	@Arizona Cardinals	31	19-25
14	Cincinnati Bengals	80	28-16
15	@Carolina Panthers	63	26-24
16	@Chicago Bears	67	24-23
17	New York Giants	53	24-23

Essentially the same postseason result occurs, where the Vikings earn the third spot in the NFC Playoffs, defeat the Giants, and then lose in Arizona. Minnesota does leap over the Saints to place seventh in the NFL Power Rankings with Favre.

Brett Favre is worth 0.05 wins to the Minnesota Vikings. Against some teams, Minnesota improves. Against others—typically those more adept at forcing turnovers—the Vikings are not as successful.

They may be the same in terms of wins and losses, but statistically, these are two different teams. The Favre-less Vikings score 25.3 points per game and allow 18.6. They throw for 2,869 yards, 22 TDs, and 10 interceptions and rush for 2,665 yards and 22 TDs.

With Favre, the Vikings score 26.4 points per game and allow 19.7. Favre throws for 3,460 yards, 26 TDs, and 15 interceptions, while the team rushes for 2,355 yards and 20 TDs.

The strength of this team is in its ability to run and stop the run. Adrian Peterson is approaching the prime of his career and should be a perennial MVP candidate. Chester Taylor and rookie Percy Harvin will also provide explosiveness out of the backfield. The offensive line is among the league's best.

Throwing more often may score a few extra points, but it is going to hurt a strong, yet thin defense and will lead to more turnovers. Even if the team runs the same amount as our original projection, the Vikings' turnover rate will still go up due to Favre's presence.

For Minnesota, according to our simulations, Favre does not appear to be worth it. The team does not need a great quarterback to succeed—and Favre is not a great quarterback any more anyway. Plus, last season, Tarvaris Jackson appeared to turn the corner with regards to decision making and limiting interceptions.

Would it be worth it to Favre to come into Minnesota and win a division over his former Packers? The computer does not know the answer to that question. He would likely get far more credit than he should for the projected one-game improvement over last season and the 0.05 win improvement over the current roster. That may make him happy.

In five years, though (or six, or seven, or 10), when Favre is eligible for the Hall of Fame and makes it in on the first ballot for what could have been the most attended induction ceremony ever, Vikings fans are not going to show. Jets fans are not going to be there either. And there will be far fewer Packers fans in attendance than there would have been.

I know one who won't make the trip. I've moved on.

Want to know how the best players of today would do against the greats of all-time? Find out using SimMatchup or build a team of the best ever and compete against others in the SimLeagues.

Paul Bessire is the Product Manager of Content and Quantitative Analysis for WhatIfSports.com, a division of FOX Sports Interactive. With any comments, questions, or topic suggestions, Paul can be reached at [e-mail]. Thanks!