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Week 4 preview: Favre facing down haters

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Kevin Hench

An accomplished film and television writer, Kevin Hench's latest screenwriting credit is for The Hammer, which stars Adam Carolla. His podcast, Spider and the Henchman, is available every Friday on iTunes. MORE>>
Updated Oct 3, 2009 10:06 PM ET
     
 
The only people in the world as bummed out as Niners coach Mike Singletary by Brett Favre's heroics last Sunday were all those haters who had denounced and derided the Ol' Gunslinger's allegedly schism-inducing decision to play for the Vikings this season. (Particularly those haters who thought it would be a good idea to dedicate a paragraph in their football column every week to belittling Favre as he faded into the sunset.) My bad. The crow was merely being prepped and marinated as Favre posted modest numbers in workmanlike victories over the wretched Browns and Lions in Weeks 1 and 2. But it was positively shoved down our throats as Favre threw for 301 yards, including the 32-yard Play of the Year nominee TD pass at the horn against a snot-knocking Niners defense.
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The Favre antipathy — mine anyway — accumulated on three fronts: the Hamlet, to-be-a-Viking-or-not-to-be-a-Viking hemming and hawing; the Unitas-as-Charger, Namath-as-Ram remembrances of bad decisions past; and, quite frankly, a hyper-saturation of breathless canonization from John Madden every time Favre scrambled and completed a four-yard dump-off. Whatever the fits and stops and false-starts of the courtship, Vikings fans couldn't have been more thrilled with the budding romance last Sunday. Though many prognosticators had predicted Favre would lift the Vikes to legit title contenders, fans in Minny, scarred by an 0-4 Super Bowl record and Gary Andersen's missed field goal in the '98 NFC title game, have developed a we'll-believe-it-when-we-see-it circumspection. Against the Niners, they saw it. It was easy to assume Favre's decline phase, which began with that wobbly duck to lose the 2007 NFC title game and continued through his NFL-high 22 interceptions in '08, would accelerate this season. But this season has hardly started as a Johnny U. or Broadway Joe swan song. Favre has already won as many games (3) as Unitas and Namath won combined in their ill-fated farewells. Where once it seemed certain that the image of Favre in purple would be a wince-inducing reminder of a stained legacy, the early returns now suggest absolute vindication. On Sunday I watched Favre deliver that dagger to the heart of San Francisco with about 20 people. In that exhilarating moment — the first monster WOW of the young season — we all began gushing like John Madden. Brett Favre is winning and — though I'm sure he doesn't care — winning over the cynics. But don't worry, there's a new group of haters on the horizon. Those Packers fans who still wear No. 4 jerseys may find it a little tougher to still love him once he starts beating their team. And that begins on Monday night.

Hottest hot seat

The Week 3 Monday night game between the Cowboys and Panthers in Dallas was supposed to determine which coach — Wade Phillips or John Fox — would be on the hottest seat heading into Week 4. And while Fox is no doubt feeling the heat for the 0-3 Panthers, a dark horse has blown past him to assume the lead. Many of us wondered during the Redskins' loss to the Lions on Sunday if Daniel Snyder would even let Jim Zorn get on the plane back to D.C. The vultures are circling and a loss this week to the winless Buccaneers could seal the deal. But then again, the Bucs don't look like they're going to beat anyone any time soon. If Zorn earns a reprieve, he can thank the merciful schedule makers. After a sleep- and boo-inducing 9-7 victory over the now-winless-in-13-straight Rams in Week 2, the 'Skins lost to the then-winless-in-19-straight Lions. After the winless-in-seven-straight Bucs this week, the 'Skins get the winless Panthers and winless Chiefs in Weeks 5 and 6. In other words, it will be a month before we know just how truly bad the Redskins are. (A Philly-Atlanta-Denver-Dallas-Philly-New Orleans stretch looms.) But we could know Zorn's fate much sooner.

Raider melodrama of the week

It seems clear that former assistant Randy Hanson can make a better case against Tom Cable than Cable can make for JaMarcus Russell as a starting quarterback in the NFL. (Read Mark Kriegel's take here.) If Cable ends up suspended by Roger Goodell at least he won't have to stand on the sideline while his scattershot QB misses receivers left and right (though sometimes it's hard to divine which direction he's throwing in). Russell ranks 33rd out of 32 NFL quarterbacks. I know that sounds like a joke, but it's true. (Matt Hasselbeck and Seneca Wallace of the Seahawks both have enough throws to qualify, bumping Russell out of the top 32.) Russell is completing 41.3 percent of his throws. No other QB is below 51 percent. Losing to Florida notwithstanding, how happy is Lane Kiffin?

Worst week of sleep leading up to kickoff

Any quarterback would be expected to toss and turn in the days leading up to his first NFL start. But when you're taking over an offense that couldn't muster a first down until late in the third quarter of a shutout loss, let's just say the restlessness is amped up a bit. Josh Johnson, this is your moment. The 2008 fifth-round pick takes over for Byron Leftwich in Tampa Bay. And in case he's hoping the Buccaneers' running game will take some of the pressure off him, he should realize that his 15-yard fourth-quarter scramble made him the team's game-high rusher in Week 3.

L.A. awaits, franchise relocation watch

The moribund Jaguars showed signs of life on Sunday, forcing a fumble at the goal line to preserve a hard-fought road victory over the Texans. The Jags probably like playing on the road since there are actually people in the seats. This week's leading candidate to come to L.A. would actually be coming back to the Southland. At the rate they're alienating the fans of St. Louis, the Rams, losers of 13 straight, probably have more fans left behind in L.A. and Orange County than they have left in all of Missouri.

Where the bad call bar is set

It's great that replay can overturn some horrendous calls — though not horrendous pass-interference calls — but the fact that Falcons coach Mike Smith had to use a challenge against the Patriots on a first-half incomplete pass that was ruled a fumble on the field was laughable. Matt Ryan threw the ball about five yards forward into the hands of a leaping lineman who batted it to the ground. The ball bounced around a couple of times as the players milled about around the obvious incompletion. The only guys who didn't see it as an incomplete pass were the dudes with whistles. Playing until he heard a whistle, Shawn Springs scooped up the dead ball and ran it in for a touchdown. Smith had to call for one of the most embarrassing replays in NFL history. And when he missed his next challenge he was done for the day. It didn't end up mattering, but it did bring to mind a suggestion for the competition committee. If a blown call is completely egregious, not only should the team not be charged a timeout, they should not be charged a challenge either.

Injury roulette wheel of the week

Hello Tashard Choice. Jerry Jones has announced that Marion Barber will play this Sunday, but the last time we saw MB III he was collapsing to the ground with a groin injury that sure didn't look like it would be 100 percent in two weeks. So one week after Choice got 18 carries as the backup to Felix Jones, who went down with a knee injury, expect him to share the load again at Denver in Week 4. The nice thing for Jones and Cowboys fans is that it hasn't mattered who has been carrying the ball. Dallas has a ridiculous 581 yards rushing through three games, averaging 6.8 yards a carry. Tack on 96 yards receiving and the Dallas running backs are averaging 226 yards from scrimmage per game.

Distraction of the week

If it weren't bad enough being 1-2 after last-minute losses to the Bengals and Bears, the defending champion Steelers got more bad news this week when a Nevada judge refused to dismiss the civil lawsuit filed against Ben Roethlisberger alleging he raped a Lake Tahoe casino worker.

Win that will spark biggest overreaction

When the Cowboys knock off the undefeated Broncos in Denver on Sunday it will be tempting to view Dallas as a legit contender. But the Cowboys' 3-1 record will be largely a mirage, achieved against extremely weak competition with a home loss against their only above-average foe. The offense is certainly good enough to go deep in the playoffs, but there's no big D in 'Big D'. When DeMarcus Ware gets neutralized by chips and double teams, Wade Phillips' 3-4 is toothless. The Cowboys have three sacks and two picks through three weeks. Only the Texans, Chiefs and Bucs have a lower aggregate of sacks+picks.

Fantasy headache of the week

Well, it was fun while it lasted. Fantasy owners (yours truly included) got to enjoy a couple weeks of unfettered Darren Sproles, but now the handcuffs are going back on with the probable return of LaDainian Tomlinson. A first-string Sproles is a dynamite flex option in PPR leagues, but as a third-down back behind Tomlinson he should head to your bench. Which isn't to say he won't take a screen 80 yards against the Steelers and have you kicking yourself for sitting him.

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