FanHouse Sage Rosenfels

When the Vikings and Brett Favre ended their dance and finally agreed to become an item, it was assumed that Tarvaris Jackson would be getting the short end of the straw. It was Jackson's play the last few seasons, after all, that led to the need for a new starter. Sage Rosenfels, the new acquisition via trade, and John David Booty, the developmental quarterback, seemed safe.

Yet Saturday, when the axe fell on the Vikings roster in their pursuit to trim to 53 players, it was Booty who found himself out of a job.

The Monday Night Football game between the Favres Vikings and Texans is certain to have a ton of Brett Favre talk, even with Tony Kornheiser departing the booth. Post-shoulder surgery Favre playing an entire half of football with his new team is news. Football fans will be watching to see if he can make the throws that he wasn't able to make at the end of last season.

But the Favre story isn't the only one to watch in this game. There's a number of interesting stories to look at for two teams that have been mentioned as playoff teams.

When Brett Favre announced that he was coming out of retirement again, Vikings fans quickly rushed to buy tickets. But ESPN.com's Adam Schefter and Pro Football Talk are both reporting that the response within the Vikings locker room was much chillier.

Schefter has the strongest report, as he cites three different NFL sources as saying that there is dissension among the players about which quarterback gives the team the best chance to win. One of the sources called it a "schism."

Surely, some football fans have taken potshots at the NFL media for their coverage of Brett Favre over the years. One of the bigger targets has been Sports Illustrated's Peter King, who's enjoyed a good relationship with the legendary quarterback.

With Favre's latest comeback -- this time with the Minnesota Vikings -- now official, the magazine has decided to try something different. The latest issue of SI, dated Aug. 31, is said to be "Favre-Free."

For Andy Reid, it could be a move that cements his reputation in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, Brad Childress is trying to change the perception about his career as a head coach in Minnesota.

The only person having a worse day on Monday than the entire Green Bay Packers fan base is new Vikings backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels.

Rosenfels has gotten plenty of experience at being a dutiful backup. He spent four years in Miami backing up Jay Fiedler, A.J. Feeley and Gus Frerotte, then spent the next three seasons backing up David Carr and Matt Schaub. But the reason he worked to get traded to Minnesota was because, for the first time, he was going to get a shot at a starting job.

All right, Brett Favre. All right, you maddening flip-flopper and hopeless egomaniac. You asked for it. Last month, when you decided to stay retired after retiring and unretiring and retiring in an 18-month drama requiring daily Dramamine, I wrote the following: "This is it as a football player, Brett. Or else a country that once wanted to love you will view you as a psychotic laughingstock, if it doesn't already.''

Today, America views Favre as a psychotic laughingstock. Because there he was Tuesday, in purple shorts and a purple helmet, wearing his No. 4 as he trotted onto a practice field with the Minnesota Vikings. Why he changes his mind the way the rest of us change boxer briefs, I could not explain if I consulted 100 of the world's leading shrinks. But it's a fair bet that Favre was playing a con game with the Vikings and the rest of us all along, not wanting to participate in offseason mini-camps, organized team activities and the dreadful early stages of training camp. He showed up when he wanted, days before the second preseason game Friday night in the Metrodome -- where he'll be the starting quarterback, of course, so the Vikings can sell more tickets and ramp up sales for those $259 FAVRE jerseys.

At first I didn't know whether to laugh or send the Minnesota Vikings the name of a good psychiatrist. They obviously need one to deal with their codependency issues with Brett Favre.

Then it hit me. So what if they are destined to end up killing each other? That's their problem. We have just been handed one of the most entertaining stories of the year.

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No matter what else he does, Brad Childress' head coaching career is going to be all about his decisions at quarterback.

Two seasons ago, the Vikings had one of the league's better defenses and the NFL's best running back. They were a quarterback and a pass rusher away from being a Super Bowl contender. But it was Childress' misguided decision to turn the offense over to Tarvaris Jackson that doomed the Vikings to a disappointing 8-8 finish. A year later, the Vikings added Jared Allen to fix the pass rush problems and they still had Adrian Peterson at tailback, but the decision to depend on Jackson and Gus Frerotte came back to bite Childress when the Vikings faced the Eagles in the playoffs.

Brett Favre passed his physical and signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday says FanHouse's own Calvin Watkins in an exclusive report.

Favre was at practice on Tuesday afternoon, although he did not participate in contact drills. The plan is to have Favre start Friday night's preseason game, just three days away.

It's difficult to imagine the 39-year-old veteran will surpass his 2008 statistics with the Jets where he threw for 3,472 yards with 22 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. But, considering the Vikings were willing to pay so much and disrupt team chemistry to bring Favre in this late in camp, proves that they feel optimistic. In 2008, Gus Frerotte and Tarvaris Jackson combined for 3,213 yards with 21 touchdowns and 17 interceptions for the Vikings.

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