Brett Favre: Ranking the Fallout If No. 4 Actually Sits This Weekend
If No. 4 actually sits this weekend, won't we all be stunned?
Nevertheless, the possibility remains.
And there are any number of scenarios that would result from Favre sitting this week. Inside we explore some of them and rank them from least exciting to most earth shattering.
As if the Vikings-Patriots showdown--a very likely Super Bowl matchup before the season started--and the return of Randy Moss to New England wasn't a big enough story.
No. 10: Nothing.....Wait A Week
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Favre has broken bones in his ankle. How much can they really heal with one week off?
Sitting this week doesn't magically make him 100 percent for the next game.
And even though the Vikings cannot afford to lose any game at this point in the season, they might have to just discount this week's trip to New England. It's against one of the toughest teams in the NFL, on the road, and you have major problems at the most important position in the game.
So Tarvaris Jackson's on-the-fly start against the Pats isn't likely to show what they have in their backup quarterback. An extra week of preparation could.
The conditions are much better a week from Sunday: at home, against an average Cardinals team, with having had a week to knock off the rust.
The fallout after THAT scenario, would be much different.
No. 9: Favre Sits, Returns Next Week
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Win or lose against the Patriots, the Vikings aren't going to be out of the NFC North race, and certainly not the wild card race. Even at 2-5, their season isn't over.
There aren't six teams better than them in the NFC.
Maybe a week off will be just what Favre needs to heal his ankle, his elbow and his psyche.
Minnesota returns home to the Dome a week after the game in New England, and since they're playing the Cardinals, perhaps the team can start up the 8-1, 7-2 run that earns them a four-, five-, or six-seed.
No. 8: The Patriots Pull Even With the Jets
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Favre's potential absence doesn't only affect the Vikings.
The Patriots would be favored in this matchup no matter what: they're at home, they have a much better record, Favre has not played well as of late. But that doesn't make this one an easy win for New England.
Minnesota's defense kept the Jets offense under wraps long enough to let the offense make a near miraculous fourth quarter comeback. They don't make that comeback without Favre.
Therefore, without Favre, the Patriots have an easier game against Minnesota than the Jets had against Minnesota.
If New England wins this game, they might be able to point to it as the turning point in the season, in which they pulled even with the Jets (who have a tough game against Green Bay), then overtake New York for the AFC East. And part of that would be due to Favre's absence.
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No. 7: The Packers Take Control of the NFC North
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Last week, Green Bay took a major step in grabbing the division title back from Minnesota (does anyone really expect the Bears to be there come late December?).
This week, they can nearly shut the door on the Vikings. Both team's have impossibly difficult road inter-conference tests on Sunday. Let's assume the Favre-less Vikings are no match for New England and drop to 2-5.
That same day, if the Packers can actually go to Giants Stadium and beat the Jets, there will be no question who the top team in the division is.
With a 2.5 game lead in November, the Packers would be in the driver's seat.
No. 6: An Already Over-Worked Defense Suffers
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Lost during all the drama of the Vikings 2010 season is how well their defense has played.
The stats aren't all that impressive, but they have kept the team in games (Miami, Jets) that they probably had no business being in, because of offensive ineptitude.
Another problem for the offense--Favre's absence--means another consequence for the Vikings defense. Without Favre and with Jackson, the Patriots can ratchet up their focus on Adrian Peterson.
Even with Randy Moss and Percy Harvin, Bill Belichick might just leave his secondary in single coverage, daring Tarvaris Jackson to make accurate throw in the face of a heavy rush.
With eight or nine players stacked around the line of scrimmage Adrian Peterson is not going to be able to run. That means shorter series for the offense and more plays for the defense.
Against Tom Brady and the Patriots offense, that will really hurt Minnesota and they will not be nearly as effective as they would be if they had more time in between series.
No. 5: Tarvaris Jackson Becomes Unemployed This Spring
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The Vikings traded Sage Rosenfels to the Giants (in part) because they believed that Jackson was both the future and a capable replacement should Favre miss time.
He should get an opportunity to prove them right this weekend. And if he proves them wrong, what kind of message does that send to the fans for 2011? He's a free agent this offseason, but because he is young and knows the system, they had to be interested in re-signing him.
Presuming that Favre misses just this week, a one-game audition on the road against the Patriots, isn't a fair test. But he isn't a rookie either. He was the starter just two years ago. And he doesn't necessarily have to win to show he's a capable quarterback.
But if he looks awful, Minnesota might have to rethink their plans for 2011. Minnesota might let him walk.
No. 4: Randy Moss Explodes...in a Bad Way
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For whatever reason, Randy Moss was unhappy in New England. And that was with a three-time Super Bowl winning quarterback, in a fairly pass-happy offense.
He orchestrated his departure from the Patriots and was "excited" to return to Minnesota. To return to Foxboro less than a month after leaving is a dream scenario for him...or a nightmare.
He can rub it in the faces of the front office, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, the fans, everyone, with a win and a big game. Both are much less likely without Favre. If Tarvaris Jackson throws poor passes at him when he's open or just doesn't target him enough, then his growing frustration could boil over.
Remember, in three games with the Vikes, he is averaging just four catches. Part of that is learning a new system, but Moss still wants the ball regardless.
No. 3: Brad Childress Gets Canned
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It probably won't happen until the day after the regular season, but if Favre sits on Sunday, Brad Childress might be looking for a new job soon.
For better or worse, he brought in this season, and gave him the starting job without any offseason or training camp work. The Vikings didn't have to necessarily win the Super Bowl for that move to keep him from being fired, but they had to do better than this.
The Vikings and Childress bet the whole season on Favre, and it would seem they have lost. Favre on the sidelines this week, with the team getting crushed by New England to fall to 2-5, is the type of visual image that would make an owner wonder why he is shelling out hundreds of millions of dollars.
That usually leads to someone getting axed.
No. 2: Favre Has Played His Last Game
9 of 10
Tarvaris Jackson is more mobile that Favre. He should be able to avoid the types of hits that have caused Brett to take some nasty shots in the 2010 season.
Of course, in terms of passing the football, Jackson is 10 times worse than Favre, even a beat up 41-year-old Favre. But the quarterback doesn't have to be phenominal for Minnesota to be successful.
Jackson can throw jump balls to Randy Moss to score. He can hand off to Adrian Peterson to score. He can flick slip screens and short slants to Percy Harvin to score.
That type of efficient, not spectacular, play from the quarterback might be what Brad Childress is looking for. And No. 4 hits the bench and isn't heard from again...until the Jenn Sterger ruling arises.
No. 1: A Quarterback Controversy
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Even if Tarvaris Jackson is outstanding against the Patriots, even if he throws five touchdowns, no interceptions and leads the team to a road blowout of the Patriots, as long as Brett Favre is 50 percent or better, there will be pressure to play him.
Childress and the front office doesn't want to look stupid for begging him to come back. And he is a future Hall of Famer who has won 13 playoff games. Not only that, he's shown flashes of last year's excellence against the Jets and Packers.
Unless the coaching staff is 100 percent certain that Tavaris Jackson gives them a better chance to win, there is going to be some logic to return to Favre the moment he is near healthy.
If Jackson pulls out a few wins or plays pretty good, a major quarterback controversy is the next episode in this horrible soap opera of Brett Favre and the 2010 Minnesota Vikings.
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