“I don’t think I can go the whole game but I’m going to play as much as I can,” said Rice

Doesn’t sound as though Rice is all that certain about his hip recovery.

It’s likely that while Rice is on the field however, that Brett Favre will try and feed him the ball.  Rusty or not.  That should serve the Packers well as Rice is not the threat he was last year and the first game back on a team in complete disarray won’t help either.  Rice playing could mean another pick for the Packers.

ESPN’s Kevin Seifert has his five questions he would ask Favre at the interview.  The highlight (or the “bomb” question as we like to call it):

A conspiracy theorist could conclude you’re at the end of a remarkable manipulation to get from Green Bay to Minnesota against the Packers’ wishes and despite a “poison pill” inserted into trade language last summer. The plan would include announcing your retirement in February and then quietly asking for your release after the New York Jets drafted your replacement. Try talking us out of that one.

Seifert opened up the comments for the readers to give some of their questions.  And there are some good ones.

From melliot74:

Would you please just go away?

JamesIII012:

6. Why do i read about you?
7. What are the chances of you having a good second half of the season?
8. Are [you] certified to fit me for a pair of Wranglers?
9. Do you care that you have permanently tarnished you legacy?
10. Not a question but you will get pwned this year and i gurantee it

cranksandbeans:

1) Will you be chartering a sex boat to win over your new team mates?

2) How many more playoff intecep… uh, I mean runs do you think you have left in you?

pjacobsen699:

3. Is the high you are feeling from the constant manipulation of your idolators on par with 3 Budweisers and 1 Vicodin, or more like 3 Vics and a 12-pack?

I think it’s safe to say that the masses are through with this story and just want it to end.  Unfortunately, it’ll just keep going.  Now, the five questions I would ask Favre:

1. What is going through your head with all of this?

2. Do you feel a team is stronger if they have a great back like Adrian Peterson and (less than) decent wide receivers like Bernard Berrian and Sidney Rice?  Or do you feel that a team is stronger with great wide receivers like Donald Driver and Greg Jennings and a decent running back like Ryan Grant was during the 2007 season?

3. What is the exact source of your ill-will towards Ted Thompson?  The drafting of Aaron Rodgers to be your successor?  Not acquiring Randy Moss?  Or what?

4. What are your thoughts on Aaron Rodgers, NFL quarterback, not Aaron Rodgers, Brett Favre’s successor?

5. If you run out onto Lambeau Field on Sunday, November 1, 2009 as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, what thoughts will be running through your mind?  What will your feelings towards the fans of Green Bay be?

Bonus question: What if this doesn’t work out?  At all?

There we have my questions.  Feel free to chime in with your own.

Again on JSOnline, Michael Hunt has a great piece highlighting the last year and how Favre’s actions this year have made him look like one of the most egotistical athletes of all time.

Remember how he flew into Green Bay last summer in one of the most egocentric stunts ever pulled by a professional athlete. Remember how it was his intention all along to play for the Vikings after his first retirement. And remember how he began to distance himself from his teammates by dressing in a private chamber, away from the locker room.

If Favre wants to play for the Vikings because they have a scary good defense and a freak-of-nature running back, and if he truly believes he can somehow stay within himself to become that final piece to get them to the Super Bowl, then more power to him.

But if his driving motivation is to stick it to Ted Thompson, such an impulse would be misplaced and pathetic beyond reason, sort of like the way Warren Spahn ended his Hall of Fame career in New York and San Francisco.

Either way, should Favre decide to further risk his dignity and legacy by dragging himself back on the field with Minnesota, he would do so without the heroic illusions that accompanied his 16 seasons in Green Bay. And there would be the good in crossing over, because if anyone didn’t know it by now, these are just guys, most of whom don’t play for altruistic reasons.

It’s a great piece.  Head on over to read the whole thing.

Because of instantaneous new media, such as Twitter, we’re able to get a constant view on things that are going on.  Take NFL Networks Scott Hanson‘s (@hansonscott) latest tweets from today:

Back in good ol Hattiesburg. Might have a Brett Favre update later. To quote [Brad] Childress, “stay tuned”…
about 8 hours ago from mobile web

Waiting at the airport for Favre to take a private jet to NY for his Joe Buck interview. If we catch his departure, you’ll c on NFLN.
about 6 hours ago from web

They are fueling up the jet we think Favre will be on. First video of Brett post-op soon… we hope.
about 4 hours ago from web

Jet has been fired up on for over an hour… no Favre. (maybe changed mind?) ha – that would re-define irony.
about 2 hours ago from mobile web

And we have a Favre sighting. Got in the jet and just took off 10 sec ago. How’d he look?
27 minutes ago from mobile web

how’d he look? watch NFL Network and find out. (and check out his right hand/arm.)
24 minutes ago from mobile web

In my humble opinion, this is just insane.  Of course, we all want to know what is going on with Favre as soon as we can, but putting the “Favre-arazzi” out there to Tweet is every move is a little over the top.  I feel NFL Network is so much stronger than ESPN, but this is an ESPN-like move right here, to film the flight’s departure from Hattiesburg.  And it’s not even like he’s going to Minnesota to meet with Childress and Zygi Wilf.  He’s meeting with Joe Buck.

The Joe Buck angle is another interesting aspect of this scenario.  How will Buck interview him?  According to sources, the interview is supposed to “revolve around the celebrity status of pro athletes.”  I doubt that will last.  I have never seen Buck give a one-on-one interview such as this, so I have no idea how he will deal with Favre.  If definitely will not be like Favre and Greta Van Susteren last year, and I doubt it will approach the Alex Rodriguez and Peter Gammons lovefest that came after the New York Yankees star’s steroid admittance.  If it was an ESPN interview, we would definitely expect that, as all the ESPN personalities have reputations for being on their knees for Favre making any interview on ESPN for Favre impossible to take seriously.  But for Buck, this is different.  If he conducts a smooth interview and does not cater to Favre’s ego and asks Favre the tough questions, I will have a whole new respect for him.  If he peters out as the interview continues, he will fall down the list of my respected broadcasters.  Buck’s reputation could be as much as stake as Favre’s.  After all, he will have to broadcast a Packers-Vikings game this year for Fox.

So there we have.  Five hours and twenty minutes until interview time.  Let’s see what happens.

Favre would be right at home under the big top right now.  By himself with all the attention, of course.

Coaching

Mike McCarthy really miffs me sometimes.  I give him props for owning up to making a mistake in challenging Adrian Peterson‘s touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, costing the Packers their second timeout, which would have been vital to a two-minute drill.  Having the second timeout would have given the Packers at least one more play, which would have allowed them another chance to get the ball closer for Mason Crosby.  No matter who the kicker is, I’d feel more comfortable with a 48-yarder than a 52-yarder.  Heck, a 50- or 51-yarder probably would have been good the way the ball was flying.

Tying into this, throwing a one-yard pass to Donald Driver with just over 30 seconds left on third-down was not the smartest decision on Aaron Rodgers‘ part and the play call was not the best on McCarthy’s.  I know the Vikings were bringing the house and if Driver breaks Madieu Williams‘ tackle, it’s a big gain, and Crosby’s field goal is a chip-shot.  However, a five-yard out along the sideline would have been a much better play call by McCarthy or a better throw by Rodgers.  I hate second guessing McCarthy, as I have tremendous respect for him, but that play just really left me scratching my head.

Another decision that I was really curious about was McCarthy going away from Ryan Grant and the running game.  Grant was having one of his better days, with 75 yards on 16 carries against a stout Vikings run D.  Earlier in the season, 16 carries would have barely netted Grant 20 yards against an average team, but Grant was showing that his stride is coming back.  McCarthy rode this horse to the NFC Championship Game a year ago; he needs to get back on it.  I love McCarthy was a coach, I have to say.  But that being said, he just makes some real head-scratching decisions.

Passing Game

Rodgers was fairly efficient in this game, completing 15 of 26 passes, but only for 142 yards and he could not connect with any of his receivers for a touchdown.  It would have also helped if he could have spent some more time on his feet.  The Vikings were in the backfield the whole entire game.  Jared Allen had two tackles, a sack, and helped force a critical safety.  Napoleon Harris was a human torpedo, leaping into the backfield on more than one occasion, getting a sack.  Linebacker Ben Leber probably had the hit of the game, as he absolutely laid-out (and I do mean absolutely laid-out) Rodgers as Rodgers attempted to go deep.  The Packers quarterback was visibly shaken up and you have to wonder how his shoulder has to be holding up after taking a beating like this.  I would say pass protection is the main reason that the passing game was struggling.  Chad Clifton was absolutely owned by Allen, and Scott Wells did not have a good game at center.

The Packers did bust out “The Big Five” for the first time this season, using the five-receiver set six times.  They netted four completions and 51 yards out of it, but it may have been counterproductive, exposing Rodgers to a vicious pass rush and some unnecessary hits.

Speaking of the wide receivers, the Packers star pass catchers were kept silent for most of Sunday.  Driver led all receivers with five receptions for 46 yards, including a great catch on a deflection during the Packers frantic two-minute drill.  Greg Jennings was shut down, catching only three passes for 37 yards.  He needs to have big games for the Packers to do well, and he was been neutralized in recent weeks.  One name appearing in the box score I haven’t seen in a while is James Jones.  Jones had one catch for five yards late in the game.  The second-year wide receiver was a key to the Packers early season success in early 2007, but has basically fallen off the map after his infamous two-fumble game against the Chicago Bears in Week 5.  I personally blame Brett Favre for Jones’ disappearance, but let’s not get into that.

Running Game

I just about covered this earlier.  Grant had a good game with 76 yards on the ground and a touchdown, but was basically written out of the game plan.  He needs to get going for the Packers to win.  It is absolutely imperative for Grant to have good games down the stretch for the Packers if they even want to make the playoffs, let alone win in them.  It was just total crap.  I know the Vikings have a great run defense that was holding Grant back and that the offensive line play was suspect, but give Grant the ball and let him make plays.

Pass Defense

The pass defense is what kept the Packers in the game for this one.  The secondary held Gus Frerotte to 151 pass yards on 15 completions out of 28 attempts.  The team picked him off three times, with Nick Collins returning one for a touchdown to cut the Vikings 21-10 lead to 21-17.  Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams also got in on the party.  Williams’ interception, however, was canceled out, as he gave up an early touchdown pass to Sidney Rice.  Williams foolishly gave up inside leverage on Rice near the goal line and Frerotte easily hit him for six.  Frerotte also had another touchdown pass to Chester Taylor after Taylor broke a Desmond Bishop tackle attempt and scampered for six.  Bishop was replacing Nick Barnett who had left with a knee injury.  Taylor was the Vikings’ lead receiver with four receptions for 84 yards with half coming on the aforementioned touchdown catch and run.  Peterson was the second-leading receiver with three catches for 33 yards.  Bobby Wade led all Vikings wide receivers with 24 yards on three receptions.  The Packers pass defense performed the best of all the units on Sunday.

Rush Defense

Can you say, “sieve?”  Well say it again, because that is what we were looking at folks.  The statline for Peterson: 30 rushes, 192 yards, one touchdown.  The Packers were absolutely gashed.  There is no way to really describe it, other than the fact Peterson was a man among boys, breaking tackles and turning gains of nothing into gains of something.  Just reading that statline should show how bad the Packers rush defense played.  There is really nothing else to say about it.  Young running backs seem to be the Achilles’ heel for the Packers: Peterson this week; Chris Johnson and LenDale White of the Tennessee Titans last week; how will Matt Forte of the Bears do next?

Special Teams

As I alluded to earlier, Crosby’s miss had a direct correlation to McCarthy’s timeout mismanagement and questionable play calling.  I trust Crosby’s leg moreso than any Packers kicker since Ryan Longwell.  People should not get down on the kid for missing this field goal.  It was makeable, but he missed.  Life goes on.  The Packers should have even been in this situation where they needed a game-winning field goal.  Why?  Field position.  The Packers took it somewhere oh so unpleasant on this facet of the game.  Their best field position came at the end of the game after a great kickoff return by Will Blackmon.  If the Packers field position had been better and they had not ended up with the ball inside the ten-yard line on numerous occasions for certain reasons (I’m looking at you, Blackmon), the Packers could have easily avoided those two safeties.  Take the safeties away, and what’s the score?  27-24.  Packers win.  But instead it was 28-27.  Packers lose.  So although I apologized to Blackmon yesterday for calling for bad things to be happing to him after his horrible decision and subsequent punt return for a touchdown, I’m not totally happy with him.  If he could get the ball out of deep in Packers territory, the safeties would have been avoided, causing at least a four-point swing.

The Packers could have come out of Minnesota with a 5-4 record and a share for the division lead.  Instead they come out 4-5, gasping for air and trying to stay above the water in the NFC North.

The first quarter was a defensive slugfest with the score at 0-0 after the first fifteen minutes. Early in the second quarter, the Packers defense held strong, stalling the Vikings in Packers territory which lead to a Ryan Longwell field goal and a 3-0 lead for the Vikings. The Packers answered with a five-play, 62-yard drive, aided by countless defensive penalties on the Vikings. The flagship play of the drive was a 56-yard throw over the middle to Greg Jennings. Rodgers put the ball in the perfect position for Jennings to get, and the third-year man out of Western Michigan did the rest. The Packers scored a few plays later on Korey Hall‘s first career NFL touchdown. The guys at ESPN could not get off this play, as Rodgers went to the fourth receiver in his progression and hit Hall while falling backwards. The Packers added a field goal with 3:26 left in the half and 10-3 lead. Here’s where my problem with Mike McCarthy. With time winding down in the first half, LET RODGERS TAKE A SHOT. Instead of taking a risk, McCarthy took the clock down to :04 before sending Mason Crosby and the kicking team out. It was blocked. If the Packers lost by three or four points, I would have been furious.

The Vikings opened up the second half with another Longwell field goal, cutting the lead to 10-6. The Packers appeared to answer on a 68-yard touchdown pass to Donald Driver, but it was nullified because of another penalty on Tony Moll. Moll was penalized often Monday night, but I’ll get to that later. The Packers made up for the mistake by stopping the Vikings on the next drive, forcing a Chris Kluwe punt. Oft-injured cornerback Will Blackmon, who I was merciless on on the fact he was having trouble returning punts, took the punt, went up the right sideline and cut back up field and was gone, giving the Packers a 17-6 lead and shifting the momentum back to Green Bay. After the ensuing kickoff, the Vikings embarked on a 15-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 4th-and-1 touchdown pass from Jackson to Sidney Rice, a 23-yard completion. The Packers snuffed out the two-point conversion attempt.

At this point, I got the jitters. A 17-12 lead is not a safe lead. The Packers couldn’t get anything going on their next possession and neither could the Vikings. The Packers took over a critical possession with 8:34 left on the game clock. It seemed like they were just going to run the clock down as much as possible and try to add another field goal, when Ryan Grant broke off a 57-yard run down the Minnesota two-yard line. After a penalty put the ball on the one, Rodgers took it up the gut for the Packers third touchdown of the game, giving them a 24-12 lead after the Crosby extra-point was good. Rodgers relished in his first Lambeau Leap ever, endearing himself to the fans.

The game was not over yet, as the Vikings responded with an 11-play, 80-yard drive in 3:24, capped by an Adrian Peterson touchdown. The extra point was good, and the Packers lead was cut to only five, 24-19. The Packers failed to run the clock down on their next drive, giving the Vikings the ball with 1:51 remaining. However, Jackson came through for all us Packer fans, throwing an interception to Bigby in Green Bay territory. Rodgers kneeled, and he had his first victory as a starting quarterback in the NFL.

Rodgers was definitely the MVP of this one.  He completed 18 of 22 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown.  He also had eight rushes for 35 yards and a touchdown.  Undefeated as a starter!