Entry #670642, added on 10-07-09 @ 9:28 pm EDT
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| Favre Puts On Another Monday Night Show | Entry #670642 |
Vikings 30 Packers 23
It wasn't as close as the score looks, as Green Bay added some late scores in their desperation.
You would be fooled if you thought it was going to be Adrian Peterson's night. I know I was. Even after Brett Favre clutched the still beating hearts of the San Francisco 49ers with last week's last second heroics. Well, here he came again to put on a Monday night show to rival the night he had in 2003 against the Oakland Raiders after the passing of his father.
Favre put the pedal to the metal when he needed scores. He knew his heir in Green Bay was no slouch and would have been in this fight to the finish, if he only had an offensive line that could keep him standing upright. Aaron Rodgers was on his back eight times, turning the ball over on a fumble and on an interception, plus one safety after being demolished by DE Jared Allen for the 4th and a half time (sacks).
Meanwihle, Favre was like a mint condition, still in it's wrapper Christmas gift that no Packer could open. Peterson, on the other hand, was like the unwanted fruitcake that got kicked about. He was stuffed at the line of scrimmage and held to 55 yards rushing on 25 carries. It's like the Packer's game plan was to ignore the washed up old has-been they tossed away, daring him to beat them with his arm. And he did!
The announcers on ESPN, both in and out of the booth, were gushing over Favre's 'magical' performance. Not like that's being over used. But Favre did say after the game this felt a lot like the Monday night game he dedicated to his dad.
Completing three touchdown passes, Favre directed four of the first five drives the length of the field for touchdowns. If you thought he was going to cool off after his first half performance, you'd be as wrong as head coach Mike McCarthy and defensive coordinator Dom Capers for their game plan to beat him. He marched the team down the field for a TD right after intermission to make it 28-14.
By the way: Capers, who was hired in the offseason to revamp their shabby 4-3 defense with a 3-4, is now 0-7 against the old quarterback. Green Bay defenders looked dazed by the end of the game. Favre spun them into a tizzy, zipping all kinds of throws in and around the likes of Al Harris and Charles Woodson (who many believed would come away with at least a pick after collecting three INTs to start the season).
Favre would finish 24 of 31 for 271 yards with the three TDs and no INTs to give him a guady quarterback rating. Numbers too astronomical or inane to report here. To Favre, after the game, it was about going 4-0 on the young season. He was proud of his team, who had an early birthday surprise waiting in the lockerrom for the near 40-year-old... a rocking chair.
And thanks to the ESPN interviewer Michele Tafoya who reminded Favre he was old, as he was asked all the questions about revenge and how good it felt to beat his old team. He was coy, diplomatic, even funny, but he did not go there. He's thinking about the long haul and hoisting that Lombardi trophy when it's all said and done.
Who's the grumpy old man now, Frank Tarkenton?
Was that a fun game for ya, Mike McCarthy?
Additional notes:
Rodgers does hang on to the ball too long. Some of the sacks are on him because he wouldn't get rid of the ball. If he takes his shots like Favre does he'd hang a few more INTs on his stat line.
Do you think he might have been coached not to be like Favre in that respect? So the fault is with the coaching from the O-line to the QB and even the defense that couldn't figure out a supposed washed up has-been.
The better quarterback won. It's not about the stats like passer ratings. And yet, Rodgers turned the ball over three times (INT, fumble, safety) to Favre's big goose egg in that department.
And the score was close in the end because the Vikings took their foot off the gas. It was just prevent D until the clock ran out on the Pack. Don't give them credit for being in that game at the end. It could have been Vikings with the ball on the one with a chance to go up 35-14, if McCarthy doesn't challenge fumble that turned out to be a safety.
This has been an ongoing joke at PFT:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/10/07/favres-list-of-injuries-grows/
I suggested they add gangrene to the report, if the Packers could have managed on sack.
Also, Farve was named NFC offensive player of the week for his performance. Marks the 14th time in his career that he has done that.
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