Since the guys over at Daily Norseman have a much larger stake in the unretirement of QB Brett Favre, they've been all over his still retirement, and I've been watching from afar. The source of the news is Vikings head coach Brad Childress himself:
Judd just received a phone call from Brad Childress who said he talked to Brett Favre and that he was informed that Favre is staying retired. Childress cited the daily grind both mentally and physically as part of the reason why Favre remained retired.
It's been a major let down for them; months of pursuit amounts to nothing:
To be put in an extremely uncomfortable position as the team heads to training camp this week? To now have to convince T-Jack and Sage that it was nothing personal? That the three month drama about replacing them shouldn't be taken as an insult, and that they should move forward as if nothing happened?
The best thing to do is just forget about it, and get excited about defending the NFC North division title:
Am I angry or disappointed? Nope. Not even a little bit.
Why am I not angry or disappointed? Because the wonderful thing about this resolution to the Favre situation is this:
The Minnesota Vikings are still, with or without Brett Favre, the best and most talented team in the NFC North.
But it won't be easy:
Good stuff from both guys, but obviously, the process of smoothing things over and looking forward has just begun. That's where this team will really be looking to its veterans for some leadership. The bottom line is that whichever quarterback wins the training camp battle will know he wasn't the team's first choice for the starting job. Moving beyond this ugly episode is certainly doable, but it also won't be easy.
Bottom line; although Favre is about to turn 40 during the upcoming season, he was still better in 2008 then either QB Tarvaris Jackson or QB Sage Rosenfels. The Vikings can beat the Packers next season, but neither of those QBs will. They'll have to beat them with their running game or their defense.