By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn.(AP) -- Brett Favre's unfathomable season in
Minnesota could be analyzed like a corporate earnings report.
Through two quarters, the Vikings are meeting - or beating -
expectations. How, then, will Favre fare in the next half of the
2009 season given his recent performances of fading down the
stretch?
The answer won't come until later, but Favre could not have done
more to fuel confidence in his ability to hold up.
Sixteen touchdown passes, only three interceptions and a
completion percentage of 68 have equaled seven victories and one
loss for the Vikings.
"It's a pretty good position to be in at the bye week," Favre
said in Green Bay after beating his old team for a second time.
With a firm grip on the NFC North race and a good vibe among
Vikings coaches and players, the reviews of this glaring move to
bring in the 40-year-old Favre are naturally glowing.
"Everybody is working well together," defensive end Ray Edwards
said. "There's no separation, there's no division, and no
schism."
Edwards backed Tarvaris Jackson as the starting quarterback all
summer. Before Favre signed, Edwards publicly suggested the
NFL's all-time leading passer was a diva who would disturb
locker room dynamics.
Well, whatever skepticism he had seems to have disappeared.
Favre has clearly ingratiated himself with these Vikings,
rookies and veterans alike.
"Brett came in from Day 1 fitting in well, even though he's old
as I don't know what," Edwards said. "He's old enough to be some
of our guys' fathers, but he's definitely been accepted and just
out having fun with us."
Safety Tyrell Johnson, one of so many players who were in
elementary school when Favre started his prolific career, walked
in the darkened video room at Winter Park for a study session
one evening. He thought he had the place to himself, until
hearing a clicking noise on the other side.
"Who's that?" Johnson asked.
"It's me, Favre," came the reply.
Johnson said he found that funny - and remarkable.
"I used to think he knows everything because he's been playing
so long," Johnson said, "but he's still in there watching film
and working hard."
In the training room, too.
"He's been in the cold tub more than in the past," coach Brad
Childress said. "He spends a lot of time in this building."
Favre's stays at the facility, Childress said, have lasted into
the night so frequently he's befriended the custodian who cleans
Winter Park after hours, and even learned some Spanish from him.
All those durability records aside, Favre must get as much
treatment as he can given his age.
He looked old and played cold at the end of the 2007 season when
the Packers lost in the NFC championship game. Last year in New
York, another strong start gave way to a poor finish while
Favre's rocket right arm fell apart with biceps problems.
Favre has landed on the injury report this season with foot,
ankle, knee and hip issues. He complained of a strained groin
before the Green Bay game last week.
According to sports researcher STATS LLC, Favre has been knocked
down 40 times and hurried eight times. Through the first eight
games in 2008, he was knocked down 39 times and hurried 14
times.
Favre took 16 sacks with the Jets in the first half of the
season and 30 overall, his most since 2000. Through eight games
this year, he has been sacked 18 times.
The heat actually helps him, even though it might lead to more
Monday morning soreness.
Always adept at reading the blitz, Favre has frequently shown
off that ability this fall. According to STATS, Favre is leading
the league with a 91.9 passer rating when under pressure,
measuring performance on attempts when the quarterback is
knocked down or hurried. Carson Palmer, Drew Brees, Peyton
Manning and Aaron Rodgers round out the top five in that
category.
The Vikings have also protected Favre well when it counts most.
He wasn't sacked and was barely touched in either game against
the Packers, and with the bye symmetrically placed at the
season's midpoint Favre has a better chance this time to be
fresh for the end.
"His body's doing just fine. He's taking good care of it,"
Childress said.
So what about the arm? It sure looks strong.
Favre saw Dr. James Andrews, the noted Alabama physician, for
surgery in May on the shoulder that bothered him at the end of
last year and nearly prevented him from coming back for a 19th
season. Patient privacy laws prevent Andrews from specifically
addressing Favre's case; he can acknowledge the procedure only
because Favre first divulged it. Andrews said in an interview
with The Associated Press that, in general, this type of surgery
- which involves releasing the partially torn biceps tendon to
alleviate the shoulder pain - doesn't guarantee good results.
"There could be continued pain, weakness and an inability to
really throw with accuracy and velocity," said Andrews, who
sends Favre a text message after each game. "It's a little bit
of an unknown situation. From a scientific standpoint, we still
don't know the exact function of the tendon. However, the good
Lord put it there, so it's there for a reason."
Favre is in Minnesota for a reason, too.
Super Bowls aren't decided in November, though, so the Vikings
aren't boasting about their boldness despite criticism for their
seemingly desperate desire to sign Favre. Owner Zygi Wilf
politely declined to comment this week, and Childress routinely
downplays any subject raised to him as a big deal.
"My emotions are just that he's a member in good standing just
like everybody else," the coach said, adding: "It's not like I
wake up and say, 'Oh, gee, what note am I going to slip Brett
today?' He's a professional football player, and he does a good
job with it."
Childress called this Vikings team a "unique group of men" with
"tremendous chemistry." That doesn't sound like the superstar
has been a distraction, with the swirl of hype and attention
that surrounds him.
"The dust is kind of settled now. He's just a teammate now,"
Johnson said. "He's not the new guy anymore, not the big star to
us. To us he's just Favre, the teammate. He's another player,
like us."
The Jets started 8-3 last season, but these Vikings appear
better poised for championship contention. With Adrian Peterson
running through the line, Percy Harvin returning kickoffs and
Jared Allen racking up sacks, Favre isn't forced to do it all.
Despite throwing 50 passes in the loss at Pittsburgh, he is only
on pace for 512 attempts. That would be his fewest since 2003.
As the Vikings chase New Orleans (7-0) for the NFC lead, their
schedule is favorable: three straight home games following the
bye, and only one game in the cold when they visit Chicago on
Monday night, Dec. 28.
"That's the satisfactory part. We haven't underachieved," Favre
said.
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