Minnesota Vikings: Brad Childress and His Lucky Break

Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress is already laying the foundation for the upcoming game against the New England Patriots.

In his press conference today, addressing Brett Favre's two, small ankle fractures, Childress said, "Once he's functional, he can play."

Although he went on to say he would not rule out anything until the end of the week, this is the lucky break Childress needed. 

Childress needs to sit Favre, Childress wants to sit Favre.

The problem is, Favre, like an ill-mannered mutt, won't sit. 

In Sunday's game after injuring his ankle, Favre refused to allow the trainer to apply any treatment, ignoring him as he looked over images of the recent series.

For Childress, the time is ripe to sit Favre.

Favre is not playing well right now.

Whether the cause is his surgically repaired ankle, the tendinitis in his throwing elbow or the off-the-field issues, he needs to rest and get healthy—physically and emotionally.

His play can account for three of the team's four losses.

His fumble in the end zone resulted in a Dolphin touchdown in a 14-10 loss to Miami.

He had an interception returned for a touchdown against the Jets in a 29-20 loss and another interception returned by the Packers in the 28-24 loss.

His quarterback rating is currently 68.0, the lowest in his career. This after coming off his best season with a 107.2 rating in 2009.

In 2008, Childress had starting quarterback Tarvaris Jackson on a short leash.

After opening the season 0-2, he quickly made the switch to Gus Frerotte, and the Vikings went on to win five of their next seven games and eventually made the playoffs. 

Jackson's quarterback rating after those two games—64.8.

Of course, it is a lot easier to bench a 25-year-old quarterback with a total of only 16 starts in the NFL than it is to bench a 41-year-old, two-time league MVP with a Super Bowl ring. Especially after you sent three of his teammates down on the team jet to persuade him to return for one more chance at the Super Bowl.

My first choice to replace Favre would have been Sage Rosenfels, who outplayed every other quarterback in the preseason, but unfortunately, he is no longer holding the clipboard for the Vikings.

That leaves Jackson.

In his four-year career, Jackson has started 19 games going 10-9 with 21 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. His career quarterback rating is 77.9.

Jackson would be an improvement over Favre, if for no other reason than his ability to run.

In the Green Bay game, Favre was only sacked once, but he held on to the ball too long waiting for something to develop. When the pressure arrived, he could not escape and threw the ball while being hit, accounting for the three interceptions.

In the win over the Cowboys—Favre's best game of the season—he only needed 19 passes for 118 yards and one touchdown to defeat Dallas.

Jackson can handle that type of load.

Besides, he will be surrounded with some pretty good talent.

Adrian Peterson is currently leading the league with 684 rushing yards and a 114 yards per game average and has five touchdowns this season.

Then there's the X-factor, Percy Harvin.

Harvin has 25 receptions for a 11.6 yard average and eight carries for another 74 yards and four touchdowns on the season.

Thirdly, there's Randy Moss.

Moss still has the ability to stretch the field, and in three games has 13.8 yards per reception and two touchdowns.

Include the extra incentive Moss will have going up against the Patriots, and this week is almost the perfect time to start Jackson.  

The future without Favre may be closer than Childress thought, and the time to get a glimpse of that might as well be in New England on All Hallows Eve.

Perhaps Childress can let Favre run the first play on offense—handing the ball off to Peterson and then lift him in favor of Jackson. That way, his consecutive streak of starting a game continues.

The alternative is to sit back and wait to see if the league will suspend him.

At this point, it can't get any worse, and in the NFC, looking where a 9-7 record could be good enough to make the playoffs, there's no reason to wait.