Could I have been wrong about Brett Favre?

I will be the first person to admit it. I had no idea what I was talking about when I predicted that Brett Favre wouldn’t make that much of a difference for the Minnesota Vikings. Turns out, Favre has won several games for the Vikings, a couple of them where the Vikings didn’t get much from Adrian Peterson. That is something I never thought would happen, but as it turns out, I may have been wrong about Brett Favre.

That’s right! I said it! I was wrong!

I said that the Vikings wouldn’t be much improved with Favre. Don’t misunderstand me though, I knew that Favre was a massive improvement over their other quarterbacking options, but I didn’t think he was going to be this much of a factor. I just couldn’t see past the Favre I grew up with. This is the same Brett Favre that went to Super Bowls but also had some of the silliest losses in the history of the NFL. The Favre that can throw 35 touchdown passes in a season, but the same Favre that could throw 25 interceptions in a season. So while I knew there was tremendous upside with Favre, it was the downside that caused me to project that the Vikings would miss the playoffs this year.

And for that I’m sorry.

Because it seems apparent that the Vikings have a stronghold on the NFC North, and they appear to have visions of grandeur with a first-round by in their sites. So the Vikings are indeed going to the playoffs.

But why am I still skeptical?

Look, I have no problem saying that I’m wrong, because when it comes to NFL predictions, I’ve been wrong before and I will be wrong again—that’s just how the parody of football works. But even in understanding that I have been wrong about Favre and the Vikings to-date, I still don’t see them making much headway in the playoffs.

First of all, who have the Vikings really beaten this season?

Look, they had a nice win over Baltimore, but the Ravens are 4-3. At that rate, they may not even be a playoff team, so how good was that win?

And yes, the Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers, but they aren’t a playoff team either—at least they haven’t looked like one.

The Vikings win over San Francisco was impressive, but let’s be real. The Vikings almost lost that game, and the 49ers are 3-4, not exactly a stalwart in the NFC right now.

That leaves us with the Vikings most impressive performance coming against the Pittsburgh Steelers—but they didn’t even win that game! Yes, they played them close, but when it’s all said and done, they lost, and Favre was a big reason as to why they loss.

Sorry, if I can’t see past that, but it’s the truth. The Vikings don’t have a win over a projected playoff team at this point in the season, and their one loss was due in part to a bad performance by Favre down the stretch. So you tell me. Is there any other way to look at this situation?

I don’t want anyone to think I am a Brett Favre hater, because I am not. I am glad he is still in football. I was happy when he went to the Jets. I was happy when he got on with the Vikings. I was overwhelmed when he beat the Packers on 2 occasions to shove “it” in the face of the Packers brass that thought he was too old to play, because I love it when labor sticks it to management!

But once I get past my affinity for Favre’s play and his quazi-comeback, I still see a guy who is just as capable of blowing up as he is of being the savior. And the proof is in the pudding. This man has thrown more touchdown passes than anyone in the history of the NFL, and he has thrown more interceptions than anyone else in the history of the NFL. So when it comes to Favre, you win some and you lose some. Perhaps, that’s what is happening to me right now. Last year with the Jets, I would have been right; in the end, the Favre experiment didn't work out in New York. But this year with the Vikings, I am wrong. He’s playing extremely well, and he’s winning, and my prediction is losing. I guess it’s always a roll of the dice when you’re betting against #4.

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