FanHouse Minnesota Vikings

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.

For the second time this offseason, Percy Harvin has had to skip out on a required function because he's been too sick to participate.

The first time, Harvin landed in an Atlanta hospital with severe dehydration that forced him to miss a Vikings minicamp. This time he was sent home from the NFL's rookie symposium. In both cases, Harvin did everything right -- he notified everyone who needed to be told and was excused --- but it's a little worrisome that the Vikings' first-round pick seems to be felled by the sniffles multiple times during the spring and summer. The ex-Florida Gator hasn't even started to see what a flu season during a Minnesota winter can be like.

Harvin apparently is the only NFL draftee who's not at the rookie camp, although he did report before being sent home.

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!).

Word on the street earlier today was that Brett Favre and the Vikings had, GASP, already signed a contract. It was shocking, spicy, etc., and properly panned by Ryan Wilson: it doesn't really matter whether there's a deal in place or not, because at no point in the next six months will we stop talking about Favre.

Seriously, he can even say "I'm retiring 4eva" and it won't matter, because he's said that before. But, it's at least worth mentioning that Mike Florio's scoop was quickly denied this evening by everyone's favorite sports agent, Bus Cook.

One way or another we'll know something about Brett Favre's NFL future by the end of next month. Training camps will be underway and he'll either be in Minnesota preparing to march the Vikings to the Super Bowl (even though it's not clear he's a better option than Sage Rosenfels at this point in the proceedings), or he'll spend his days at the ole fishin' hole, accepting the fact that he is, finally, retired.

But for now, Brett's still in the mix, and if his comments on Joe Buck Live (the only way to make this show more unbearable is to have Tim McCarver playing the role of Ed McMahaon) are any indication, he's "considering" playing for the Vikes this season.

Brett Favre is a despicable, ego-driven, legacy-destroying, traitorous 100-year-old diva who personally trashed the New York Jets season and is one step away from boxing Jose Canseco.

Whatever gets him the most attention.

That's what I've been hearing as the latest Favre retirement saga hits critical mass. And boy, are the masses critical.

I get why people are tired of the waffling. I even get why a lot of Green Bay fans wish Favre would retire to a Turkish prison with a cellmate who likes men in Wrangler jeans.

What I don't get is why so many people recoil at the thought of Favre taking another snap.

The Minnesota Vikings are still awaiting a final determination of Brett Favre's playing status for 2009. All indications are that they want him, and he wants them.

However, the potential of signing Favre this late in the offseason doesn't sit well with all the players, nor do stories of Favre's relationship with his teammates. Defensive end Ray Edwards has been the most outspoken on the matter, and he was at it again this week during a stop at ESPN headquarters.

We're well on our way to the inevitable. As much as Green Bay Packer fans may not want to think about it, Brett Favre, their 16-year icon, appears destined to play for the division rival Minnesota Vikings. How do the fans feel? Well, there are some who appear to be sticking with the team no matter what, while others are talking about following Favre wherever he goes -- even if that's to Minnesota. Who's right? Both of them have their points, which Bruce Ciskie will lay out as he essentially debates himself.

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