Favre On “Pitch Count” Tonight

Sports Illustrated’s Steve Aschburner reports that Brett Favre and Joba Chamberlain of the New York Yankees may have more in common than people would think – that is, both are under strict pitch counts in their respective sports.

Head coach Brad Childress is employing a commonly-used baseball tactic for his new 39-year-old QB, in an effort to preserve his arm strength as long as possible.

“You have a tendency to get on it a little bit harder with coaches around,” Childress said. “I think by his own admission, he probably threw 200 balls in the Jets’ first day of practice [last summer] and probably set himself back last year. With the fans and the crowd and trying to throw deep, showing off a little bit. So you have to make sure.”

With ESPN reporting Monday that Favre may already have a cracked rib, Childress would be wise to take every possible precaution in regards to Favre’s health. After suffering a torn biceps tendon last year, Favre’s abilities descended exponentially in his last few games with the New York Jets last season, as they stumbled from an 8-3 start to a 9-7 finish, on the outside of the playoffs looking in.

Monday, August 31, 2009 at 10:54 pm by bryan

Favre playing catch-up

Minnesota Vikings veteran quarterback Brett Favre is trying to play catch-up while preparing for the season with his new team.

Many felt that Minnesota was the perfect landing spot for Favre given his relationship with head coach Brad Childress and knowledge of the system.

Nonetheless, Favre is still trying to get comfortable with his new surroundings and get a better grasp on the offense.

He is expected to be the team’s starting quarterback with Sage Rosenfels serving as his backup. Tavaris Jackson could be released or traded, as could John David Booty.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at 7:37 pm by steve

Favre to Play Full First Half vs. Texans

One week from tonight, Favre makes his Monday Night Football debut in a Vikings uniform, and will have a full half to adjust to game-time decisions for the Vikings’ offense.  Vikings coach Brad Childress announced that Favre needs as much time as possible to gain chemistry with his offensive teammates.

“He’s doing everything he needs to do to get up to speed,” Childress said. “[I'm] confident we’ve got the type [of team] and distance to be able to do that.”

Coaches in the NFL tend to play their starters the most during the third game of the preseason, however; this trend only started within the past ten years (to avoid potential injuries), as Favre is old enough to remember when starters played well into the fourth preseason game.

For Favre’s part, after only completing one of his four passes against the Chiefs Friday night, he sounds as confident as ever in his abilities.

“Each day it has gotten a little bit smoother after all of the newness has worn off,” Favre said. “It’s really [become] just about football.”

Coach Childress will monitor the amount of throws Favre logs between now and the start of the regular season.  While the Vikings won’t have their own version of the Yankees’ “Joba Rules,” they do hope to limit his passing to allow his partially torn rotator cuff to heal.

Monday, August 24, 2009 at 9:32 pm by bryan

Favre Debuts in Purple, Goes 1-4

QB Brett Favre made his debut as a Minnesota Viking on Friday night at exactly 8:12 P.M. against the Kansas City Chiefs, receiving a standing ovation from the home crowd.

The fans hope his regular season performances will go a little more smoothly than his night tonight. Considering he only signed on Tuesday and had only two practices under his belt, Vikings fans have reason to be optimistic.

In the game against the Chiefs, Favre entered to a standing ovation from the crowd who reviled him for so long while he was the leader of the Packers. He played a total of eight plays, going 1 for 4 with his lone completion a low ball that WR Percy Harvin dived to catch.

The Vikes ran three run plays with Adrian Peterson during Favre’s time on the field, including a fourth-and-1 that AP lost massive yardage on.

Backup QB Tavaris Jackson, who was officially relegated to the bench this week after Favre’s unretirement (and potentially playing for his QB spot on the Vikes?), looked sharp in two quarters of action, completing 12 of 15 passes for 202 yards and two TDs. QB Sage Rosenfels, who Jackson had been competing with for the starting job before Favre’s arrival, sat the game out with a sprained ankle.

Friday, August 21, 2009 at 11:46 pm by bryan

Favre signs with Vikings

In a stunning turn of events, Brett Favre has come out of retirement and signed with the Minnesota Vikings.

Favre had considered a return to the Vikings through the early summer months but stunned everyone when he decided to remain in retirement.

Now he has stunned everyone again, only this time by reversing his decision and deciding to suit up for Green Bay’s main rival.

The quarterback signed a two-year contract worth $25 million, so he isn’t playing for peanuts by any means.

This immediately puts Minnesota in the conversation of legitimate Super Bowl contenders. It’s hard to find any weakness on that team.

at 4:37 pm by steve

Vikes WRs Excited for Favre

On Brett Favre’s first day in a Vikings uniform, Percy Harvin made sure to be the first to introduce himself to the QB legend.  Favre asked him for something he’ll never forget, ESPN reported.

“Make me look good,” Favre requested.

“I’ll do my best,” Harvin replied, with a grin.

Later, Harvin couldn’t hide his true excitement about Favre’s arrival.

“I couldn’t be in no better situation, no better place right now,” Harvin said.

The offense of the Vikings almost unquestionably improves with the addition of Favre (assuming he remains healthy), but none are more excited than the receiving core and TE Visanthe Shiancoe.

“There was a lot of promise. You could see it in guys’ eyes,” Shiancoe said after Favre’s first practice.

However, Shiancoe and the other receivers do face the added difficulty of learning to adapt to Favre’s throwing style - Shiancoe referred to all Favre throws as “fastballs.”  With a few drops in practice the first few days of Favre’s days in purple, the Vikes hope to iron out the kinks in the offense by opening day, with their new legend under center.

Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 8:43 pm by bryan

Favre Un-Retires; Will Play for Vikes

Three weeks ago, 39-year-old QB Brett Favre of Green Bay Packer fame told Viking head coach Brad Childress that he was officially done with football.

Not so fast.  On Tuesday, Favre signed a two-year, $25 million deal with the Vikings and was in camp with the Vikes later that day.

At his introductory news conference, Favre explained his decision: “I felt I did everything I possibly could do to get where I need to be.  You’re 39, your arm may not feel like it did at 21. But the pieces are in place that you don’t have to do that much and I agree with that.”

“If they were willing to take that chance, I was, too.”

Coach Childress has already announced that Favre will be the starter on Friday as the Vikes take on the Kansas City Chiefs, giving Viking fans their first official look at what Favre’s #4 looks like in purple.

The Brett Favre saga lives on for (at least) one more season.

at 6:30 pm by bryan

Starting quarterback job still up for grabs

The Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback job is still up for grabs, although one player may have the upperhand.
 
After a strong performance in the first preseason game, veteran Sage Rosenfels appears closer to earning the nod.
 
The team brought in Rosenfels via trade in the offseason to start or at least push Tavaris Jackson.
 
So far it seems that their plan has worked out well, as Rosenfels is making Jackson work hard while also showing he can be the starter.

Monday, August 17, 2009 at 6:56 pm by steve

No Favre hurts Vikings

All along, the Minnesota Vikings were completely convinced that quarterback Brett Favre would return to the NFL for the 2009 season and be their starter.
 
After Favre stunningly walked away from the game yet again, the Vikings found themselves doing damage control to restore their confidence in their current stable of quarterbacks.
 
Tavaris Jackson’s knee injury seems to have further hurt his chances of being the starter, and he might just find himself No. 3 on the depth chart if he isn’t careful.
 
It appears that Sage Rosenfels will win the job, and despite a solid arm, he simply makes way too many mistakes to be a starting quarterback for an entire season in the NFL.

Monday, August 10, 2009 at 4:39 pm by steve