After a week of saying and doing all the right things preceding today’s game against the Green Bay Packers, Brett Favre returned to the place where he is a living legend—where he quarterbacked and led a team for 16 years, Lambeau Field—and exacted revenge beat his former team 38-26. As with his previous win over Green Bay just four weeks ago, Brett was outstanding. He was 17-of-28 passing for 244 yards and four touchdowns this afternoon as the Vikings improved to 7-1 heading into their bye week and the halfway point of this 2009 season.
I couldn’t be more impressed with …read more

Before Brett Favre finally signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings this past summer, the very idea of him running onto Lambeau Field dressed in purple sent a shockwave of hysteria throughout the National Football League—not to mention throughout the national media, who figured such an occurrence would rank right up there with the parting of the Red Sea. But here we are, a mere four days from this event actually happening, and the excitement is somewhat less than what I had anticipated it would be. Sure, there’s a buzz. A lot of people are talking about the Vikings vs. …read more

Cornerback Antoine Winfield is the heart and soul of the Minnesota Vikings defense. Not only is he a classic shutdown corner—thus virtually eliminating the opposing team’s top receiver—he is also a staunch run defender with no fear of facing much larger offensive linemen or taking on running backs of any size. He plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played—with guts and grit. That’s why the Vikings gave him a four-year, $36 million contract extension back in July.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, they will be without arguably their best defensive player for not only tomorrow’s game against the Pittsburgh …read more

It seems with each passing week of this 2009 National Football League season, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre is reaching a new milestone. Yesterday, Brett turned 40-years-old. Today, in leading the Vikes to a 38-10 thumping of the St. Louis Rams, Brett is part of a team that is 5-0 for the first time in his 19-year NFL career.
After putting in an impressive 18-of-24 passing performance (with 232 yards and one touchdown) this afternoon, Brett proclaimed this Vikings team the best he has ever played for:
“From a talent level, this is the best team I’ve ever been on. Now, I’ve …read more

With his impressive three touchdown performance in leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 30-23 win over the Green Bay Packers last night, quarterback Brett Favre became the first QB in NFL history to have beaten every team at least once. A record Monday Night Football audience watched as Brett exacted revenge beat the team he had become synonymous with for 16 seasons. Brett was an impressive 23-of-31 for 271 yards, finding eight different receivers and throwing the ball as well as I have seen him throw it in his Hall of Fame career as the Vikes improved to 4-0.
Brett has …read more

As Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre makes his 273rd consecutive start tonight, it’s a much-anticipated game that comes against the team he was a legendary member of for 16 seasons—the Green Bay Packers. It will be the first time Brett has played against his former team and if he wins the game, he will have beaten every team in the National Football League.
The media hype behind this game has been extraordinary. But one game does not a season make. Sure, it’s an NFC North division game and a win would give the Vikes an early two game lead on the …read more

As an avid follower of the NFC Central North my entire life, I’ve seen this before. I can’t tell you (really, I can’t) how many times Brett Favre has had less than two minutes to win a football game. And time and time again, he seems to find a way to do it. Just for the record, he now has 42 comebacks from fourth-quarter deficits or ties in his 19-year and counting career.
But he’s supposedly over-the-hill and in his new role as “game manager” for the Minnesota Vikings, Brett has been both conservative and consistent. But successful. Today, against a …read more

Nobody enjoys watching Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson run defenders over more than I do. But if he keeps it up, he’ll be out of the league before he’s 30. A running back in the NFL takes enough abuse without volunteering for more. That’s why the average shelf life is only a few years. AD takes it a step further by pretending to be a battering ram, even along the sideline when there really isn’t anything to be gained—except a headache (and a backache—read on).
As I said, I admire the effort. His old school style reminds me of the …read more

If you’ve watched any sports on television in the past week, I’m sure you’ve seen the new Nike Pro Combat commercials featuring Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. Dubbed “Alter Ego”, it’s the image of AD sitting on front of his locker at game’s end that provides the title for the ad. A 3D overlay treatment of the Nike Pro Combat “deflex” pattern on his skin is symbolic of an implied transformational experience for athletes who wear the product.

Nike Pro Combat is a lightweight, breathable padded protective base layer ergonomically designed to provide sport-specific protection to athletes without restricting flexibility. …read more

Adrian Peterson was “struggling” with dehydration. And he was covered in blood. But on his 25th and final carry, he managed to rumble around and over the Cleveland Browns defense for 64 yards and a touchdown. The run not only sealed a 34-20 win for the Vikings on this 2009 NFL Kickoff Weekend. It also defined the kind of running back Adrian is—which is to say the best in the National Football League. He finished his work day with 180 yards rushing.
My reaction was one of disbelief as I watched on DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket. After running through two arm …read more