by Grand Rapid Press

Favre has started a league record 293 straight games in the NFL. For Stafford, it's start No. 2.

"As far as advice goes, my motto has always been 'Keep slingin' it,' " Favre said Wednesday during a conference call. "Really, at any stage of a player's career, they have to be able to handle adversity. To me, it's as much, if not more, than about handling success. Because that's what we expect as players, we expect success. I don't know what's going to happen with him this year or their team. Time will tell on that.

"You've just got to be resilient and I'm sure he is. You've just got to come back the next play. It's kind of an old cliche, but it's so true. If you can handle those bad and down moments, then you'll persevere and I think Peyton (Manning) is a good example of that because he started right away. Look where Peyton is now -- that's a good model to follow."

Stafford grew up in Texas and was a big Dallas Cowboys fan, but he was also a fan of Favre.

"He's one of those guys who is willing to take chances and he's fun to watch," Stafford said. "I like to throw the ball down the field just like everybody does."

It's those downfield throws that concern Vikings coach Brad Childress.

"He can hit it from anywhere on the field. When you know a guy's got a buggy whip for an arm, there is no backside that you're not paying attention to because he can go anywhere with the Football at any time," Childress said. "Like a young Brett Favre, you say 'He can't throw it that far' and the next thing you know, it's over the top of your head."

Lions coach Jim Schwartz already has made clear what he thinks of Stafford because the team selected him with the first overall draft pick. But there are limits.

"He's got a long way to go before we're comparing him to Brett Favre," Schwartz said.

Stafford is coming off a rough outing in his first start, completing just 16 of 37 passes for 205 yards and tossing three interceptions.

"He's got all the tools, there's no doubt about it," Favre said. "There's only one way to get better and that's to play. They drafted him for a lot of reasons. From what I can tell, he'll have a bright future."

Favre, though, made it clear there might be some dark days to endure first.

"The easy throws, we should all make. The tough ones, sometimes they go your way and sometimes they don't, but you've got to be willing to come back and sling it again. That doesn't mean it's without fear," Favre said.

"Every guy has his own personality and the way he handles things but he'll gain a lot more respect from your teammates if you handle it with class and things like that and from what I can tell, he's done that so far," Favre said. "He's said the right things and done the right things and just keep doing that."

Lions add defensive end

The Lions claimed defensive end Turk McBride (Kansas City Chiefs) off the waiver wire and released veteran Orien Harris to make room for him on the roster.

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