To Favre or not to Favre

To a lifelong Vikings fan it seems almost impossible: Brett Favre, the icon of the hated Green Bay Packers, in purple. Yet it seems close to becoming reality, even if it's hard to tell precisely how close. The main figures in the situation - Favre and Vikings coach Brad Childress - have been basically mum, leaving the talking heads on ESPN to speculate without a whole lot of sourcing to back it up (something they have no qualms about). But there seems to be at least a realistic possibility of Favre suiting up for the Vikes next fall.

I've got mixed feelings about it. Early in Favre's career my reaction to him was similar to most Vikings fans: pure, unadulterated bitterness and contempt. As the years passed and Favre kept showing up to play every week with a genuine joy you don't always see in pro athletes, my contempt changed to grudging respect. Then, over the last few years, football fans were inundated by the annual "Will he retire? Will he come back" Favre Watch. Pretty soon it just got annoying and I didn't want to hear another word about him (call it "Favre fatigue").

After all the years, here's what I think about Favre: he's very good, but not as good as he's been made out to be. Yes, he's got a great arm and he's thrown a lot of touchdown passes (464, or about 27 per season). But he's also thrown a lot of interceptions (310, or about 18 per season). For some reason the turnovers have generally been glossed over or even romanticized by the NFL pundits. Where other interception-prone quarterbacks are called "reckless" or "foolish," Favre is usually called a "gun-slinger," "swashbuckler," or just a "good ol' boy tossing the pigskin around in the backyard." The broadcasters' love affair with Favre was almost creepy at times. If he really does un-retire, it's likely John Madden won't be far behind, coming back and telling Favre "I wish I could quit you."

Thos who aren't brainwashed by the "lovable gun-slinger" myth will admit that Favre is turnover prone. But so are the Vikings current quarterbacks, Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels. If Favre is healthy he's a major upgrade over either of them because of his ability to thread passes into tight spots or chuck it deep. His presence would also command respect in the locker room and and help keep volatile youngsters like Percy Harvin in line. But "if he's healthy" are the key words in that sentence. Favre was pretty awful over the last half of the 2008 season with the Jets after tearing a tendon in his biceps. He hasn't had surgery to correct the problem and, if the reports are true, and Childress asked for x-rays and MRIs to confirm that the injury actually has healed on its own, that was a smart move on his part.

If Favre is physically sound, the only reservation the Vikes should have about signing him is his motivation. Is he coming back because he's really committed to working hard in training camp, thoroughly preparing for each opponent and being a team leader? Or is he coming back just to play against the Packers twice and stick it to them for pushing him out? You have to wonder why he's specifically seeking out the Vikings and not another relatively strong team with lackluster QBs, like the Tennessee Titans.

You have to be careful about individual agendas in the NFL, especially at quarterback. No other position has as much decision-making autonomy, and if a quarterback is pressing in order to prove a point, it can be disastrous. Before the Vikes sign Favre they need to make sure of two things: his arm is healthy and he's not just looking to exact revenge on the Packers.