Sunday: 9:03 a.m. It’s time for all things Favre. There’s a picture of Brett Favre on Star Tribune.com. Gosh, his hair is really gray, even for a guy nearing 40. His agent, Bus Cook, (what a great Southern name) could be talking endorsement deal with Just for Men right now.
9:05 p.m. Thought I might receive a last minute call a few days ago from a friend who has a private jet. He runs free transportation to Vikings and Gophers games. I’ve always wanted to see Cleveland in September.
9:45 a.m. KFAN’s Dan Barreiro is pontificating about how talented the Vikings are and the test coach Brad Childress faces to have this team realize its potential. In his fourth season, looking for a first playoff win, Childress is on the spot—at least on talk radio.
10:26 a.m. I assume Childress has decided who will be the No. 2 quarterback today. The easy choice here is Tarvaris Jackson.
12:14 p.m. Favre’s first regular season play as a Viking is a handoff to Adrian Peterson. Moments later he completes his first pass and not long after is sacked for the first time in Purple. Life has its ups and downs.
12:32 p.m. Favre and wide receiver Sidney Rice are out of sync on a potential touchdown pass. The easy explanation is Favre hasn’t been practicing with the team long enough. Vikings settle for a field goal and a 3-3 first quarter tie.
1:20 p.m. TV color man Brian Billick asks, “Will the Vikings let Favre be Favre?” Billick never answers his own question but on this day Favre doesn’t force a lot of passes and the Vikings offense stays conservative.
2:12 p.m. Favre shows his child-like passion for football after throwing a six-yard touchdown pass to rookie Percy Harvin. Favre piles on top of Harvin after throwing the pass that puts the Vikings ahead 24-13 in the third quarter. It’s evident the Vikings have a special trio developing in Favre, Harvin and Peterson.
2:45 p.m. With typical determination and speed, Peterson runs 64 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game away as the Vikings take a 34-13 lead over a mediocre (charitable description?) Browns team.
2:46 p.m. Peterson is a swell runner but I can’t rate him ahead (yet) of all-time great Jim Brown who played nine seasons for the Browns in Cleveland before starting a forgettable acting career. Brown, with a cane at his side, watches this game from the sidelines.
Cleveland, drafting at No. 3 in the 2007 draft, was one of the teams that let Peterson slip all the way to No. 7 where the Vikings said, “thank you.” If I am a Cleveland fan, I am ticked off even though the Browns did choose Joe Thomas, a Pro Bowl offensive guard.
3:16 p.m. Childress is asked on his KFAN radio post-game show to describe Peterson who ran for three touchdowns and 180 yards. “He’s relentless. That’s the thing that comes to mind,” Childress said.
5:11 p.m. Sports Headliners emerges from a two-hour post-game analysis with this: the Vikings didn’t dazzle today but their talent prevailed with the promise of more difficult days and also better performances ahead. Next week they play at Detroit against the NFL’s train wreck franchise, the Lions. Who could blame Favre if he’s thinking this schedule is a pleasant way to begin life as a Viking.
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