Would Favre Have Helped?

By: Matt

After a summer of indecision former Green Bay legend Brett Favre has decided to stay retired and not prematurely end his second retirement to join the Minnesota Vikings. Last year Favre retired, but quickly returned and left Green Bay to join the New York Jets. The Jets became a better team, but they did not make the playoffs and Favre did not go out on top. The Minnesota Vikings, unlike the Jets, were a playoff team without Favre, but few have thought about whether Favre would have made the playoff incumbent a better team.

Even with Favre, the best player on the Vikings Offense would have been third year runningback Adrian Peterson, a pro-bowler in every year of his short career and arguably the most dangerous runner in the league. The Vikings also added Percy Harvin, a multi-faceted players from Florida. Harvin, despite his rookie status, is a dangerous player and playmaker that, along with Peterson, is likely to be a key component in the Vikings offense. The Vikings offense is already highly talented, what they need to win is a game-manager and not a third playmaker. Although Favre is the all-time touchdown leader he also throws a lot of interceptions, last year he led the league with 22, and his gunslinger mentality would be a detriment to a Vikings team that wins by running the ball and playing solid defense. The Vikings have tried using a playmaker at quarterback when they started Tarvaris Jackson in the playoffs, the team lost and Jackson lost his job. Adding Favre would bring experience to the quarterback position, but not the type of mentality that the Vikings need. The current Vikings Quarterbacks, Jackson, Sage Rosenfels, and John David Booty, represent a group much better suited to help the Vikings win. Rosenfels is a veteran game manager who seems to be the best fit; however, it seems likely that a #4 will start games at Quarterback for the Vikings. John David Booty, the current #4 in Minnesota, was a Heisman candidate at USC, a school that has produced countless NFL quarterbacks over the last 10 years, and is also the youngest quarterback on the Vikings roster. Booty has talent and having sat on the bench last year will give him a greater level of comfort with the Offense than Rosenfels. Booty has the right mentality to play quarterback in Minnesota and, if he plays well this summer, could show Head Coach Brad Childress that he is the right guy for the Vikings. The Vikings do not have any big names or amazing talents at the quarterback position, but given the surrounding talent on their offense, one has to wonder if they need one.