One thing is certain: the quarterback has been the key to the Vikings’ demise over the last ten years. In that time, the Vikings and their fans have been tormented by Daunte Culpepper and his itty-bitty, fumble-happy hands; Jeff George and his phantom sacks; a bunch of other slow, old, white guys; and of course Tarvaris Jackson and his fluttering “five hundred, dead or alive” heaves that even the red-headed neighbor kid knows he can intercept.
And that is precisely why the Vikings need Brett Favre to lead the troops this season. Not because he’s the perfect quarterback, for he might throw as many interceptions as T-Jack would (admittedly scary), but because, for the first time in a long time, opposing defenses would be worried about the Vikings passing the ball.
Clearly, Favre is old and interception-prone. But he still scares people with his arm, and will punish defenses if they key on Adrian Peterson. Furthermore, #4 is still capable of leading the team to come-from-behind victories, especially important because we tend to give up big plays on defense.
It was espn.com’s Bill Simmons who, last winter, was hoping that the Vikings would make the playoffs because he was so excited to bet against them, particularly because Jackson was quarterback (and we all know how that turned out). A Tarvaris Jackson-led (or Sage Rosenfels-led) team doesn’t scare anybody but Vikings fans, while Favre gives us a glimmer of hope.
Plus, we get to stick it to Wisconsin.
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