Week Five Favre Watch: Vikings Roll To 38-10 Win Over Rams

(Are you smiling with Brett?)

The arm should be falling off. The fingers, folding back.

His bones should be brittle and breaking down. His ligaments and cartilage, gone.

He's 40-years old, and this is not how he should be playing.

The Vikings should be 3-2, at best, and Adrian Peterson should already have 600+ yards and close to 10 touchdowns. And if this season was going how so many Favre-bashers dreamt it would, Favre would be back at his home again, retired, after a miserable start.

But, alas, fair Favre-hating folk, the old man is still at it.

He's proven through five weeks that despite his waffling, indecisive ways off the field, he still has it when it comes to making the calls on the field.

Five games, no losses, nine touchdowns, only two picks, and over 1,000 yards passing.

Not what you expected from your average 40-year old NFL quarterback?

No, by now, many were expecting (or hoping) that the biceps injury would flare-up, that Favre's already half-way damaged rotator cuff would dissolve, or that his preseason ribs injury would render him immobile and ineffective.

But, while numbers can often shade the truth and protect players from their true identity, Favre's 2009 numbers only offer support to the legend.

Favre played magnificently, once again, but this time as a 40-year old, as he shredded the Rams awful defense for over 230 yards and a touchdown.

It wasn't anything compared to what he did in the final minute versus the 49ers. It didn't touch the dramatic and emotional win over the Packers. But it was simply a bonus.

As next week's performance against the Baltimore Ravens will be.

Let's not ignore Favre's excellent supporting cast. Adrian Peterson has surely helped take the focus off of the passing game (as it goes both ways), while Minnesota's relentless pass rush and run-stuffing defensive tackles have added insurance.

The beautiful thing about what's happening in Minnesota, via Favre's legendary arm, or channeling through Peterson's legs, is that it's only the beginning.

The Vikings are 5-0, heading back home to Minnesota to take-on a deflated Ravens team than just fell to 3-2, and they still haven't even got it all together yet.

But that's a good thing. While it's always nice to start the season hot and at the top of your game, Brett Favre, of all people, is well aware that you're only remembered for how you finish.

And I'm calling on you, once again, Favre-haters. As you wait, hope, and pray for those final games that could bring a potential Favre meltdown. As you dream all the different ways that Favre could fail in the playoffs, I ask of you to at least quiet down.

Suck it up, and admit that this was worth it. The NFL deserved this, and we're all better for it.

Acknowledge that Brett Favre playing on a team, any team, made the game of football better than it would have been without him, even if it eventually means another failure at the end of the season.

Because right now, Favre and the Vikings are perfect. And even the strongest opposer of Favre shouldn't want that to change.