Brett Favre leaves Lambeau Field for the last time last October after the Packers defeated the Vikings. The loss was one last season that helped define the spiraling demise of a franchise. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

This week, Fansided Minnesota Vikings blogger Dan Zinski of The Viking Age reported his concern over the unstable status of that franchise and why recent developments could indicate that the Vikings’ 50-year tenure in the land of 10,000 lakes is in danger.
Zinski wrote in his blog this week:

“If billionaire Philip Anschutz has his way, Los Angeles will soon have a new NFL team. That team could end up being the Vikings.
“Tim Leiweke, president of the dreaded AEG, has confirmed Anschutz’s interest in purchasing majority stake in an existing franchise, with an eye toward installing that team in AEG’s proposed Farmers Field. Speaking to the Orange County Register, Leiweke named the five teams on his and Mr. Anschutz’s list of targets: Minnesota, St. Louis, Oakland, Jacksonville and San Diego.” (more…)

Chicago Bears
The Bears brought in a franchise quarterback during the offseason in Jay Cutler from the Denver Broncos in a massive trade.  The Bears now have a face to the franchise on offense to go with Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs on defense.  Although I said that Bears receivers are bad a few posts ago (a statement I still stand behind), Cutler makes them a bit better, while the presence of Cutler takes the pressure of Matt Forte and the running game.  So would you throw Vick in this mix?

The Bears already have one gimmick player on offense in Devin Hester.  Hester is the main decoy on many plays and the Bears love to use his vertical speed to stretch the defense and give the coordinators headaches.  Adding Vick would give the Bears two potentially explosive players on offense at the same time.  Putting Vick into the offense without a full offseason and training camp to get everything to work between him and Hester would be a burden for Cutler, who’s learning a new system, and the offense in general.

Also, owner Jerry Angelo and head coach Lovie Smith are classy guys.  While I think Vick should be allowed back in the league as soon as commissioner Roger Goodell can approve of him and I don’t think he’s a threat to society, Angelo and Smith would want to avoid any backlash.  Vick could really work in Chicago, but I feel that Angelo and Smith wouldn’t run the risk of the backlash and something going wrong.

Detroit Lions
It doesn’t seem like things can get any worse for the Detroit Lions.  With last year’s debacle, there is really nowhere for the Lions to go but up.  With Matthew Stafford and revamped linebacking corps, there is hope in Detroit for a few wins here or there.  But would Vick be a fit in Detroit?

The first thing you have to look at his playmakers.  Who are the Lions playmakers?  Stafford isn’t even the starter yet, as he’s behind Daunte Culpepper.  Kevin Smith guaranteed the playoffs this year for Detroit and he does give them a steady option at running back, but he’s nothing too special yet.  Calvin Johnson is the closest thing the Lions have to a star player.  After Johnson, there’s a mess with Keary Colbert, Ronald Curry, Bryant Johnson, Dennis Northcutt, and rookie Derrick Williams.  Those guys are all going for the spots behind Calvin Johnson.  Is there room for Vick in here?  I’d say yes.

The Lions could definitely use Vick’s playmaking ability.  However, Stafford is the quarterback of the future and coach Jim Schwartz wants to use Culpepper as the stop gap.  Vick would be relegated to a Wildcat role and basically be a gimmick player.

Image-wise, the Lions can’t really get that much lower after the 0-16 season.  Getting Vick would show that they are serious about making an attempt to get better.  But then again, they might look as a risk for getting their reputation dumbed down even more.  They could use his talent, but will stay hands off, as there is enough work to do on that team already.

Green Bay Packers
First off, I don’t see Vick in a Green Bay Packer uniform.  Sure, if he was more of a traditional quarterback, I could definitely see Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy run the risk and sign him to back up Aaron Rodgers if Brian Brohm and Matt Flynn can’t improve.  But the fact that Vick is all over the place with his play, I don’t see it happening.  Vick could also serve the purpose of a Wildcat in the Packers offense, but the team has been prolific enough the last few years that they should (and will) stay with what works.

Also, I can’t see Vick meshing too well in Green Bay.  He’s done his time and deserves to be back in, but Green Bay doesn’t seem to be the town to take him.  This is a big year for the Packers, so anything to upset the balance could gain the ire of the stockholders, which the team does not want.

Minnesota Vikings
Finally, the Minnesota Vikings.  There are three reasons why I think the Vikings are the least likely to land Vick in the division: 1) Brett Favre; 2) Percy Harvin; 3) Tarvaris Jackson.

Favre.  Right now, the Vikings are waiting for Favre to notify Brad Childress and the team whether or not he will be returning to football and joining the Vikings on July 30 (or sooner).  If the Vikings get Favre, it can give them a quarterback that can hand off to Adrian Peterson and get the ball down the field and make plays if necessary.  No need for Vick there.

Harvin.  Harvin fills the role of Minnesota’s Wildcat.  He can run with the ball, he can catch the ball, and the Vikings have had him throwing in practice.  If he can do all that, why do they need Vick?  Plus, they’re waiting on Favre; why wait on Vick too?

Jackson.  The Vikings have been dealing with the mobile quarterback with shoddy decision making over the past few years with T-Jack.  Vick is an exponentially better version of Tarvaris, but do the Vikings and their fans really want to go through this ordeal all over again?  I don’t think so.  Small chance of Vick in Viking purple.

Lions, Bears, Packers, Vikings.  That’s the order (from most likely to least likely) of teams in the NFC North going after one Michael Vick.

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First, in early May, running back Kevin Smith wrote that the Lions will be in the playoffs. Wow.

I won’t make a prediction about how many games we’re going to win, but I will say this: We will definitely make the playoffs this season.

Believe it or not we weren’t far off last year. Almost every game we could have won, we were one play or one player short. Except for Tennessee on Thanksgiving, they just came out and beat us to sleep. They manhandled us, but nobody else did.

Okay, now get all that laughter out.

I’m not totally sure what to think about this.  Part of me likes it.  It’s confidence and a little swagger on a team that had neither last season.  On the other hand, it is rather ridiculous to say that an 0-16 team that has an innumerable amount of weaknesses will turn around and be playing in January 2010.  I just don’t really see it happening.

There is hope for the Lions though.  The 2008 season saw the Miami Dolphins, Atlanta Falcons, and Baltimore Ravens all get into the playoffs, showing extreme improvements from dismal 2007 seasons.  This leaves hope for the Lions, especially the fact that Miami came off of a 1-15 season.  However, I see that type of improvement coming more from the Kansas City Chiefs of Seattle Seahawks than the Detroit Lions.

Cliff Avril was a little more judicious in his prediction for the 2009 season.

As for us making the playoffs, I think that is very, very possible. I’m definitely right with Kevin, we have a good enough team. Now it’s all about getting out there and proving it.

Our defense has a lot of new guys like Julian Peterson and Larry Foote, guys who have been in the playoffs and won Super Bowls and know how to win. Larry hasn’t brought out his Super Bowl ring yet, hopefully he’ll do it sometime during the season and we’ll get a few wins.

That sounds more like a guy who knows what’s up.  A “few wins” is a lot more realistic than the playoffs right now.  As for the Lions having a “good enough team,” I don’t think I can roll with that.  Daunte Culpepper is serviceable at best, and it’s hard to tell if he’s even serviceable anymore.  Matthew Stafford has all the potential and Mel Kiper, Jr. hair-grease all over him, but he’s a rookie quarterback, and rookie quarterbacks don’t typically come in and play well.  Some might point to Joe Flacco and Matt Ryan from last year, but they both had great situations.  Flacco had a great defense that didn’t make him do too much on offense and Ryan had a strong running game with Michael Turner, which took a lot of the pressure off of him as well.  Stafford has Smith.  Much work to be done.

It’s nice to see some swagger and confidence in Detroit after watching last year’s pitiful 0-16 season, but I’m still predicting a Packers sweep when the season gets started.

You can say whatever you want, but it’s all saying the same thing: Brett Favre wants to play.  For the Minnesota Vikings.

We all knew this would come.  After Favre’s retirement, messy divorce from Green Bay, and subsequent trade to the New York Jets, the only reason he was playing was obvious: to stick it to Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers organization.  This worked pretty well for Favre for the first half of the season, until the wheels came off the Jets wagon and the team stumbled down the stretch, costing Eric Mangini his job and triggering countless personnel moves (Rex Ryan, Bart Scott, Jim Leonhard from the Baltimore Ravens to New York; Mark Sanchez to New York).

But Favre retired again.  This one wasn’t tearful or as dramatic, but it was a retirement.  We all thought that the issue was finally put to rest, but deep down we knew he’d get that itch again.  And here it comes.

From where I’m sitting, Minnesota wants Favre, and Favre wants Minnesota.  Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson, or “Sagvaris Jackenfels” as they are affectionately known as in some circles, won’t cut it for Minnesota.  Many feel the Vikings are a quarterback away from the Super Bowl.  There is a quarterback conveniently available who, if given the right weapons, can carry his team to a whole new level.

For Favre, he desperately wants to stick it to Thompson and the Packers.  As many have already pointed out, the Chicago Bears have Jay Cutler and the Detroit Lions have Matthew Stafford and Daunte Culpepper.  No room for him there.  Most of the other quarterback situations in the NFC are relatively stable, with the exception of the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but San Fran is years away from competing while Tampa Bay has eight quarterbacks competing for their starting job.  But Minnesota plays Green Bay twice a season, giving Favre two opportunities to stick it to Green Bay.  Minnesota is his best option.

It seems like a match made in heaven (or hell, for Packers fans).  However, Vikings fans should be forewarned.  We saw the carnage left in Favre’s wake in New York.  Mangini lost his job.  GM Mike Tannebaum is on the hotseat, in my opinion.  That organization was turned upside down by the Favre trade and the subsequent effects.

Favre could do the same thing to Minnesota.  If indeed Favre is signed, Brad Childress‘ hotseat gets exponentially warmer.  The personnel people are on the edge of their seats trying to escape the heat.  If Favre fails, wholesale changes go down.  Not to mention the effects Favre’s presence had on chemistry in New York.  Many players resented the fact that Favre could pretty much do what he wanted.  He was reclusive.  He didn’t take the blame for when he cost the team.  Some players, such as Kerry Rhodes, even suggested that Favre take himself out, putting the team before himself.  That never happened in Green Bay.  What makes you think it would have happened in New York.  What makes think it would have happen in Minnesota.

Do you want your players being exposed to this type of cancer now?  While Favre makes the players around him better, he can also bring them down.  Packers fans all remember the start of the 2007 season.  Favre was throwing to this rookie wide receiver from San Jose St. no one had ever heard of named James Jones.  The kid was on a tear.  But then he acquired acute fumble-itis in a Sunday night game in Chicago the Packers ultimately lost.  Favre rarely went back to him for the rest of the season and Jones has returned to that level he was at at the beginning of the 2007 season on only one or two occasions.  Favre lost faith in Jones as a pass catcher and in turn shocked Jones’ confidence.  Imagine the first few times Percy Harvin drops a pass or makes a rookie mistake.  Will Favre chew out the young dope smoker?  Bring his confidence down?  What kind of signal will that send to the rest of the team?

Sure, some of the Vikings say they would be open to Favre coming in to Minnesota.  But how long will they be able to tolerate his “I do what I want” attitude?  It didn’t last long in New York, a team that was overhauled in free agency to “Win Now” in 2008.  Minnesota is in a similar position for 2009.  Whether or not they go all in with Favre remains up in the air.

Also, Favre sent ESPN’s Trent Dilfer a text message reading the following after Dilfer asked him if he would consider playing in 2009:

NO.

In those capital letters.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert says it best:

All I can tell you is that Favre isn’t returning … today.

Follow The Viking Age for all the latest news from the Vikings front regarding this story.

But what is going on with the Packers? Early season prognosticators would have had them at about 5-3 or 6-2 at this point in the year with a comfortable division lead, not at 4-4. They would not have expected the Packers to lose to the likes of the Atlanta Falcons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Tennessee Titans. Aaron Rodgers was thought to be the preseason bust; not Ryan Grant. Rookies would not be calling out their quarterback (cough, Jermichael Finley, cough), and the team would be more united after trading Brett Favre to the New York Jets. But the Packers are struggling with these issues. They are forced to take “moral victories” as they did after the Titans loss.

The main problem for the Packers this year has been injuries. Last season, the only major injury I can think of off the top of my head was losing cornerback Charles Woodson for the game against the Dallas Cowboys with a broken toe, a game in which the Packers sorely missed him. The defensive line also had numerous injuries last year, but none to the same magnitude of the Woodson injury. This year, however, the injury tide has turned against the Packers. Woodson hurt his toe again. Al Harris ruptured his spleen. Nick Collins, Aaron Rouse, and Atari Bigby have all been banged up in the secondary. Grant, after reporting to training camp late, hurt his hamstring, an injury he still hasn’t fully recovered from as he has yet to hit his stride. Rodgers suffered a severe shoulder injury in the 30-21 loss to the Buccaneers, but has Favred-up and played through it. The offensive line has been beset by small nagging injuries, such as the ones to Scott Wells and Chad Clifton, causing a lack of unity which could also be affecting Grant’s abilities. Last season, these injuries weren’t a huge problem for the Packers. This year, they have been.

Luckily for the Packers, though, the rest of the NFC North has stumbled. The Vikings, a sexy preseason pick for the Super Bowl (I’m looking at you, Dr. Z), have stumbled to the same 4-4 record as the Packers. Tarvaris Jackson was not the quarterback they (and I) thought he was at the beginning of the season and he has been benched for Gus Frerotte. Adrian Peterson has performed, but he hasn’t had the 295-yard game everyone has been looking for. On a good note for the Vikings, Bernard Berrian, acquired as a deep-threat in the offseason, has been coming on strong; look for a good matchup between Berrian and Harris on Sunday. The Vikings pass defense, thought to have been shored up with the acquisition of Madieu Williams in the offseason, has been an utter failure. Despite the great pass rush generated by the defensive line, they can’t defend the pass game.

The Bears have been a surprise this year.  Lovie Smith gave the job to Kyle Orton and Orton responded nicely, leading the Bears to a 5-3 record so far.  However, Orton suffered an ankle sprain, giving the keys to the offense to everyone’s favorite quarterback, Rex Grossman.  Orton is going to miss at least a week, possibly two, making everyone ask themselves, “Is Sexy Rexy going to rear his ugly head anytime soon?”  For the Packers, hopefully yes.  The Bears have been winning the close ones, hanging in tough and pulling it out at the end.  The Packers have had a little difficulty coming back late in close games, which they will need to do, as the meet the Bears twice in the last eight weeks of the season.  Remember, Chicago swept the Pack in 2007, costing the Packers homefield advantage in the playoffs (not that it mattered anyway).

The Lions.  Ah, the Detroit Lions.  Matt Millen is gone.  Rod Marinelli is still there (for now at least).  What isn’t there is a quarterback.  Jon Kitna‘s season ending injury gave the offense over to Dan Orlovsky.  Who was horrible.  Flat.  Out.  Horrible.  I don’t think I’d seen a worse quarterback in the NFL.  Besides him running out of the back of the end zone in the game against the Vikings, he just didn’t have it.  His throws were lame ducks.  And he couldn’t run a two-minute drill.  Orlovsky trying to drive the Lions downfield at the end of the team’s 25-17 loss to the Washington Redskins on October 26 was one of the most comical things I have ever seen.  It made me want to cry.  And now the Lions are supposedly going to start Daunte Culpepper on Sunday.  Daunte Culpepper.  Yes, that Daunte Culpepper.  It’s ridiculous.  The Detroit Lions have gone from lovable losers (to an extent) to an absolute joke.  It’s not even inept management anymore.  It’s just like God is screwing with the people of Detroit now.  It’s that bad.  They could actually go winless.  I wish they were playing the Cincinnati Bengals this year.  Now that would be a game to watch.

There is a lot of time for the NFC North to shake up, at least the top three spots.  The Packers have four divisional games left this year, and all will be critical to the postseason push.  The schedule doesn’t get any easier, either.  Besides two dates with the Bears, a date in Minneapolis, and the Lions in Lambeau to close out the year, the Packers have games at the New Orleans Saints and Jacksonville Jaguars, along with home dates versus the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans.  The Saints sit at 4-4 with a dangerous offense consisting of Drew Brees and Reggie Bush and whoever Brees will throw the ball to.  Harris and Woodson will both need to be at full strength for that match, as New Orleans will want to turn it into a track meet.  The Jaguars have disappointed this year at 3-5, but have a dangerous defense and are a superb two-minute drill run by Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers away from the .500 mark.  Jake Delhomme‘s Tommy John surgery has not had a negative impact on this season, as the Panthers sit atop the NFC South with a 6-2 record.  The Packers are 0-2 against the South so far this year, and will want to even that mark against New Orleans and Carolina.  Finally, the Texans, at 3-5, look like the easiest team remaining on the schedule, but with young playmakers Andre Johnson and Steve Slaton, anything can happen when Houston comes to town.  That being said, the Packers still hope to finish up strong.

Best case scenario for the Packers looks like them finishing 10-6.  The only way into the playoffs looks like through the division crown, as the NFC East teams are tearing up the league and making it difficult for any team to rip a wild-card berth away from that division.  Of course, a 12-4 or a 4-12 finish isn’t out of the question, but 10-6 looks like a happy medium.