2 Minnesota VIKINGS
ONE YEAR after leading the Vikings to the NFC Championship Game in his 19th season, Brett Favre surprised almost no one in returning for a 20th. It did take all manner of pomp and circumstance to finally get him to the Vikings' facility—a clandestine meeting with three teammates in Hattiesburg, Miss., a private jet, a slow-speed car chase—but the Vikings ultimately got their man.
"The leadership he brings elevates the entire building," says Vikings defensive end Jared Allen, who joined guard Steve Hutchinson and kicker Ryan Longwell on what might be called Operation Arm Twist, the mission to Hattiesburg on Aug. 17. "He excites everybody that has anything to do with football. He's back, and let's go try and win a championship."
Brad Childress, the Vikings' coach, put the unique pursuit of the quarterback icon this way: "It wasn't me wanting him back. We wanted him back."
Like last year, the courting of Favre was flashy but messy, with quarterbacks Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels once again booted to the sideline weeks before the season opener while Favre missed another training camp. A 6--0 start smoothed over bruised feelings in the locker room a year ago, and another quick start this season would likely do the same.
But the Vikings' road to the Super Bowl already looks more difficult, and not just because of what could be a killer October (at Jets, Dallas, at Green Bay, at New England). As Favre was riding into town, his receiving corps was taking two huge hits. Sidney Rice, who last season caught 83 passes for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns, underwent hip surgery in August and could miss the first half of the season. And during Favre's first practice, second-year speedster Percy Harvin, who has been battling migraine headaches, was taken away in an ambulance after collapsing on the field. (While Harvin returned to practice the following week, the Vikings quickly signed Favre's former Green Bay teammate, receiver Javon Walker, for much-needed depth.) The Vikings also lost versatile third-down back Chester Taylor, who took his pass-catching ability and penchant for blitz pickup to Chicago as a free agent.
Beyond the hoopla of Favre's return, the question the Vikings will have to answer is, Can a 40-year-old quarterback who's coming off ankle surgery lead Minnesota to its first Super Bowl title? "People are going to break it down and say this is wrong, this is right, this is inspirational, this is whatever," Favre said. "Everyone is going to have their take on it."
Said Childress, "As [Favre] told the team, he's here for one reason and one reason only. You can say we're pushing it all into the middle of the table, but we do that every year. We feel like we have a good football team. We've got to be able to back it up."
Minnesota's defense should help. To the best front four in the NFL—Allen, Pat Williams, Kevin Williams, Ray Edwards—the Vikings added depth at defensive end in fourth-round pick Everson Griffen, who should find himself in the pass-rushing rotation as a rookie. The Vikes also brought in cornerback help, drafting Chris Cook in the second round and signing free-agent Lito Sheppard because of uncertainty about starter Cedric Griffin, who tore his ACL in the conference championship game.
Defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, for one, isn't putting Minnesota's success or failure entirely on Favre. "If our defense improves, it should put us another step closer to winning a championship," he said of the unit that finished sixth in total defense last year. "Red zone defense, third-down defense, run defense, sacks—we want to improve on what we did a year ago. If we do, with the guys we have returning, we have a chance to have a special season."
Inside the noisy Metrodome in 2009, it was clear how much the Vikings' defense and offense fed off each other, an Allen sack leading to a Favre touchdown on the next series, and back again. Minnesota wants to recapture those moments and carry them into a new year, and Favre will be the catalyst. But in the encore that everybody saw coming, the outcome is anybody's guess. —D.H.
PROJECTED STARTERS
WITH 2009 STATS
COACH BRAD CHILDRESS
OFFENSE
2009 Rank: 5
QB BRETT FAVRE
G 16
ATT 531
COMP 363
PCT 68.4
YARDS 4,202
TD 33
INT 7
RATING 107.2
RB ADRIAN PETERSON
G 16
ATT 314
YARDS 1,383
AVG 4.4
REC 43
YARDS 436
AVG 10.1
TTD 18
FB NAUFAU TAHI
G 15
ATT 3
YARDS 5
AVG 1.7
REC 10
YARDS 67
AVG 6.7
TTD 1
WR PERCY HARVIN
G 15
REC 70
YARDS 790
TTD 8
WR BERNARD BERRIAN
G 16
REC 55
YARDS 618
TTD 4
TE VISANTHE SHIANCOE
G 16
REC 56
YARDS 566
TTD 11
LT BRYANT MCKINNIE
G 16
HT 6'8"
WT 335
LG STEVE HUTCHINSON
G 16
HT 6'5"
WT 313
C JOHN SULLIVAN
G 16
HT 6'4"
WT 301
RG ANTHONY HERRERA
G 14
HT 6'2"
WT 315
RT PHIL LOADHOLT
G 15
HT 6'8"
WT 343
DEFENSE
2009 Rank: 6
DE RAY EDWARDS
G 16
TACKLES 51
SACKS 8½
INT 0
DT PAT WILLIAMS
G 15
TACKLES 44
SACKS 2
INT 0
DT KEVIN WILLIAMS
G 16
TACKLES 30
SACKS 6
INT 0
DE JARED ALLEN
G 16
TACKLES 51
SACKS 14½
INT 1
LB BEN LEBER
G 16
TACKLES 46
SACKS 2½
INT 0
LB E.J. HENDERSON
G 12
TACKLES 83
SACKS 2
INT 0
LB CHAD GREENWAY
G 16
TACKLES 99
SACKS 0
INT 3
CB ANTOINE WINFIELD
G 10
TACKLES 55
SACKS 1
INT 1
FS MADIEU WILLIAMS
G 16
TACKLES 74
SACKS 0
INT 0
SS TYRELL JOHNSON
G 15
TACKLES 57
SACKS 0
INT 1
CB CEDRIC GRIFFIN
G 16
TACKLES 73
SACKS 0
INT 4
SPECIAL TEAMS
P CHRIS KLUWE
PUNTS 73
AVG 43.9
NET 37.8
K RYAN LONGWELL
FG 26--28
XP 54--55
POINTS 132
PR DARIUS REYNAUD
RET 30
AVG 10.3
TD 0
KR PERCY HARVIN
RET 42
AVG 27.5
TD 2
TTD: Total touchdowns
2010 SCHEDULE
2009 Record: 12--4
September
9 at New Orleans (T)
19 Miami
26 Detroit
October
3 BYE
11 at N.Y. Jets (M)
17 Dallas
24 at Green Bay
31 at New England
November
7 Arizona
14 at Chicago
21 Green Bay
28 at Washington
December
5 Buffalo l
12 N.Y. Giants
20 Chicago (M)
26 at Philadelphia
January
2 at Detroit
(M) Monday (T) Thursday
SCHEDULE STRENGTH
NFL Rank: T14
Opponents' 2009 winning percentage: .504
Games against 2009 playoff teams: 8
ANALYSIS
It's drama from the get-go as the Vikes kick off with a rematch of the NFC title game, leaving Brett Favre little time to round into shape. Another playoff rematch, against the Cowboys, comes in Week 6, followed by Favre's return to Lambeau and a third road game in four weeks, against Tom Brady's Pats. Three home games from Weeks 13 through 15 will help as Minnesota jockeys for playoff position.
SPOTLIGHT
Adrian Peterson, Running back
FOR MUCH of the off-season, the Vikings' superstar tailback worked on ball security, a nagging issue in his three otherwise dynamic seasons. Peterson has fumbled 20 times in the regular season and did so twice in the Vikings' NFC title game loss to New Orleans; he also misconnected with Brett Favre on a handoff inside the Saints' 10 at the end of the second quarter. "Right there on the goal line, that cost us," Peterson says of that giveaway, which was officially ruled a Favre fumble. "Sometimes I get too loose with the ball."
Part of Peterson's fumbling is a function of his confrontational running style. He seeks out contact, throwing out forearms even as he races downfield. In his signature run of the 2009 season, against Cleveland in Week 1, Peterson broke five tackles in a 64-yard touchdown dash. Along the way, he dished two stiff-arms, including one in which he tossed Browns cornerback Eric Wright over the left sideline with the heel of his right hand.
Those flourishes, however, have sometimes been canceled out by the fumbles, and never more so than with a Super Bowl berth at stake in New Orleans. "To get that close and fall short was something to learn from," Peterson says. "It was motivation to pinpoint things I could work on." Like becoming more aware of the defenders around him while not changing his violent running style. "It's just keeping [the ball] high and tight," says Peterson. "In traffic, when guys are coming at me full speed and I'm making cuts, it's just being fully aware of that."
PHOTO
JOHN BIEVER
FOUR PLAY Favre's 2009 passer rating of 107.2 was the highest of his 19 seasons.
PHOTO
BOB ROSATO