Favre will compete if healthy

The Vikings have a tough schedule this year and it looks much tougher without Brett Favre.

The Vikings will continue to feature heavily in 2010 as they play four games in prime time, including the opening game of the year on Thursday, September 9 against the New Orleans Saints. Currently, Minnesota has decided to start Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback instead of Favre.

The Minnesota Vikings may still be a Super Bowl contender, as rumors of quarterback Brett Favre’s retirement were blown out of proportion. Favre said he will play this year if he is healthy. However, given that Favre is coming off ankle surgery, that’s a big question mark.

The Minnesota Vikings’ NFL ratings have gone up and down with the rumors surrounding Favre’s retirement. Minnesota is a top Super Bowl contender with Favre, but they aren’t considered without him. Favre has an upcoming meeting with Dr. James Andrews, who performed the surgical procedure. As in past seasons, speculation has been widespread and Favre has yet to declare whether he will return for 2010. Reports surfaced last Tuesday that Favre was retiring, but the following day those reports were refuted by Favre. He has said that his decision will depend on his health and nothing else.

Favre has told the Minnesota Vikings when he plans to declare his decision, but that date has not been made public. Obviously it won’t be until after I’ve seen Dr. Andrews. The Minnesota Vikings have reportedly offered Favre more money to return this year. He was scheduled to make $13 million and the Minnesota Vikings have put up another $3 million plus another $4 million in incentives, so Favre could make $20 million this year for the Minnesota Vikings.

The influence Favre has cannot be overstated. Since he led Minnesota to the NFC Championship, he’s coming off one of his best seasons. Favre is an 11-time Pro Bowl player who has thrown for more than 3,000 yards in 18 consecutive seasons. He has 12 consecutive years of throwing 20 or more TD passes. Although the interception he threw in the NFC title race cost the Minnesota Vikings a chance at the Super Bowl, he threw for 4,202 yards and 33 TDs with just 7 interceptions last year.

Before the news of Brett Favre’s retirement broke, the Minnesota Vikings were a top contender to win the Super Bowl. Minnesota still has an excellent team, but questions remain about how well Jackson will play at quarterback. The schedule doesn’t make things any easier for the Minnesota Vikings as they have their bye week early and face a number of challenging games down the stretch.

A popular computer simulation rated Minnesota’s chances of making the playoffs at over 90% with Favre at quarterback, but only 53% without him, so it’s easy to understand what a difference it makes.