FanHouse Brett Favre

There's a feeling of inevitability that Brett Favre will be coming to Minnesota anytime now. But it's not hard to find people who are wondering why he's doing it. Add Jerry Rice to the list of naysayers, as the future Hall of Famer thinks that the Vikings would be better off sticking with the status quo.

"If they feel like bringing him in is going to get them to the next level, I think they should. But to be honest with you, I think the two guys with the team right now should be the two guys that they should be focusing on."

Whether or not the Minnesota Vikings sign Brett Favre, the core of the football team is not going to change much.

Right now, they're built around running back Adrian Peterson and their strong, energetic defense. A huge piece of that defense is stalwart cornerback Antoine Winfield. About to enter the final year of his contract, Winfield has been working out on his own this offseason as he waits for the Vikings to work out a new deal for him. Still without a contract beyond this coming season, Winfield is speaking out on his frustration.

We're entering a dark period of the NFL life right now. Nothing is going on. Players and coaches are on vacation. With that we look at 10 quarterback situations worth looking at before training camps start in late July, because, well, it's always about the quarterback.

1. Detroit. Matthew Stafford vs. Daunte Culpepper.

The situation: It's the same old argument. Do you start the rookie or the veteran? The No. 1 pick of the draft is Stafford, but the vet with a chance to win a few games is Culpepper. Stafford is the future but you don't want to damage it. For every Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco there's a Ryan Leaf and Vince Young.

Solution: Start Culpepper and wait until 2010 for Stafford.

Last month, NFL Network's Jamie Dukes argued that it was "hypocritical to say [Brett Favre] should stop playing because you think it's time for him to stop." Never mind that no one has ever argued that. Instead, most fans -- even those with just a casual interest in the sport -- would prefer Favre not fake retire every offseason. I don't think that's asking for a lot.

Dukes is back. The just-concluded NFL Rookie Symposium prompted Dukes to writes that, "... there is an expectation among the populous that NFL players are supposed to be perfect because they were given the right to play football. THAT NOTION IS LUDICROUS!"

Send your NFL questions (along with your name and location) to NFLFanHouse@gmail.com. Each Thursday, we'll answer the best -- or, if nothing else, most entertaining -- in our NFL Mailbag.

Excluding Brett Favre, which remaining free agent can play the biggest role in 2009?

The easy answer (INCLUDING Brett Favre!!) is Plaxico Burress. He's a high-ceiling, high-impact wide receiver. You saw the way the Giants' offense missed him at the end of 2008, and we've seen a handful of teams express interest in him -- even though nobody knows if he's going to play in 2009. If he is allowed to play, he's your answer. But it looks increasingly likely that he'll be suspended for at least part of the season, if not all. So in the non-Burress division, I have three veterans who could make an interesting impact in the right situation:

Retired NFL quarterback Trent Green is the first-ever guest columnist of MMQB, filling in while Peter King is on vacation. Green provided an interesting read on subjects relating to the league's personal conduct policy, concussions and the expanded season. And of course it wouldn't be a MMQB without a healthy dose of Favre thrown in for good measure.

What jumps out of Green's article is his prediction that 10 quarterbacks will have over 4,000 yards passing this season. He says six are a lock to do it (Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Kurt Warner, Phillip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers), and seven have the potential to do it (Jay Cutler, Matt Cassel, Carson Palmer, Matt Schaub, Donovan McNabb, Tony Romo, Matt Hasselbeck).

Let's put this prediction in context:

While no Kurt Warner, I consider myself to be a morally upstanding citizen. I give up my seat on the subway to the elderly (as well as shoot an annoyed look to the teenagers who do not), refrain from unnecessarily yelling fire in a crowded movie theater, and always take the side that steroid users like Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa have no place in the Hall of Fame. When it comes to fantasy football though, my competitive nature tends to go into overdrive.

In more occasions than I would like to admit I become as desperate as Nick Nolte in the first act of Blue Chips, kick the soapbox to the curve and go all out signing every player with character issues that I can find to help me win. To prevent future me from some deep soul-searching sessions, I have traversed the murky terrain of morally dubious players and separated the individuals that I am allowing myself to own this season from those that will be off-limits.

Back when Tarvaris Jackson was assumed to be the long-term quarterback of the Vikings, his teammates talked around any question of whether Jackson was the right man for the job.

But now that we're just waiting for Brett Favre to make it official that he's going to be a Viking, and Sage Rosenfels is set to be the backup, it's pretty much open season for players (or player's dads) to explain what it's been like in recent years.

Yes, it's Brett Favre again. You know you can't live without him.

As more rumors circulate, and the vision of Brett Favre wearing purple gets closer and closer to becoming a reality, it stands to reason that current members of the Green Bay Packers will be asked for their thoughts on the matter. It's not likely that you'll hear many words of dissent towards Favre. That's just not the way most athletes speak nowadays. Instead, you can expect to see many guys take the high road, ala Aaron Rodgers, and others showing some love for their former teammate.

You simply won't believe this, but it's a day that ends in "y" and there's another Brett Favre/Vikings rumor! It's amazing right? Wrong. It's called "standard operating procedure."

But I guess this one has some meat: a source has informed WCCO's Mark Rosen that, confirming a previous report, Favre and the team have agreed to a deal and that Favre will be at Vikings training camp (they even have a fake Sports Illustrated cover with Favre as a Viking to back it up!).