The Viking Ship

Ah, Brett Favre!

He always finds a way to get himself in the news, doesn’t he?

The big question since the end of January, not only for Vikings fans, but for football fans in general is:  Will Brett Favre Retire?

Of course, we don’t officially know the answer to that, and it’s likely we won’t until training camp is almost over, but since I’m a blogger and it’s my job to give my opinions on things, that’s what I’m going to do.

Brett Favre Will Play in 2010.

Yep, he will.

There it is.  I said it.

Why do I think so?  Well, for one, he hasn’t retired yet.  That’s the biggest factor in my prediction.  In 2008, when he “retired” from the Green Bay Packers, he announced the decision on March 4th.  In 2009, when he “retired” from the New York Jets, he announced the decision on February 11th.

Here we are on May 12.  OTAs have been going on, training camp is drawing near, and we haven’t heard any definitive “I’m out” from Brett.

Don’t misunderstand… even if Brett had said that he is retiring, it’s STILL not definitive, but the fact that he hasn’t said it yet means that he still wants to play.  In March of 2008 he felt like he didn’t want to play anymore.  In February of 2009 he felt like he didn’t want to play anymore.  As of May of 2010, he claims he is still “undecided”.

The second factor is the Minnesota coaching staff.  I really think that they know more than they’re letting on.  Brad Childress has claimed several times that they’re is no time table for Favre’s decision.  He’s making it clear that he doesn’t want to rush Brett along.

But at the same time, he has claimed that the Vikings have to go on as if Favre is not coming back.  But have they done that?  Did they make any move to pick up a quarterback in the offseason?  They passed one up in the draft.  Is that really the path that a team that is going on as if they don’t have Brett Favre would take?

I can’t believe that it is.

I have a theory that Childress and Bevell know that Favre is coming back AFTER training camp.  I have a theory that they’re just fine with that, because it means that Jackson gets more work with the first team players… work that Brett doesn’t necessarily need.  I think, though, that Childress and the coaches think that it will lower team morale if Brett is excused from camp with no penalty, so rather than saying “Brett is coming back, he just gets to skip camp”, they’re all going with the “Favre hasn’t decided” story.

If that is the case, though, I don’t think I agree with the logic.

I mean, I understand where they are coming from, and it sounds good on the surface, but these players all know they have a MUCH better shot at winning with Favre under center.  I think everybody on that team wants Favre there no matter what… even if it means they have to go to camp and Favre doesn’t.  I actually think the morale of the team would be BETTER if Childress and Favre came out and said that was their plan.  The players would go into camp knowing that they are a Super Bowl contender, and they’d be ready to play hard.

Of course, I could be wrong on all of these opinions… maybe Favre is going to retire.

But if I were a betting man, I’d put my money on him taking the first snap for the Vikings in the 2010 regular season.

Related articles from around the web

• Brett Favre: Ankle Surgery or Retirement? I’ll Pick the Latter (bleacherreport.com)
• Brett Favre’s dilemma: Ankle surgery or retirement (thestar.com)
• Favre says ankle isn’t No. 1 factor in decision (nbcsports.msnbc.com)