Trippin’ Tuesday: More spice to Vikes-Pack rivalry
By Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports Aug 12, 3:16 am EDT
MANKATO, Minn. – Brett Favre is gone to the Big Apple, awash in a spin cycle of helicopter tours and glorious punishment laps and stream-of-consciousness musings about his latest life turn.
Meanwhile, back in the NFC North, the nasty rivalry the ex-Green Bay legend left behind is hotter than ever.
Between the quarterback’s abortive effort to land in Minnesota and the tampering charge the Packers filed against the Vikings, who were subsequently exonerated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, there’s a lot of lingering bitterness between the two franchises. Throw in the Pack’s status as a team that finished a game away from the Super Bowl last season and the near-universal coronation of the Vikes as the NFC’s trendy power-on-the-rise, and that Sept. 8 regular-season opener at Lambeau Field can’t come soon enough.
This was confirmed Sunday when I visited the Vikings’ training camp home at Minnesota State University and asked Pro Bowl nose tackle Pat Williams whether he’d been keeping up on the Favre saga.
“Damn, that’s their problem,” Williams said. “They’re going through all that as a team, trying to figure out if Favre or (Aaron) Rodgers was the man, while we’ve got the same team we had all offseason. I’m glad they got all that darn press, ‘cause when we go down there it’ll be the kid’s first start and his first damn loss.”
Williams, a 12th-year veteran, didn’t limit his enmity to Rodgers. He’s also gunning for Packers halfback Ryan Grant, who last year was the only player to rush for more than 100 yards against Minnesota, with 119 in a 34-0 Green Bay blowout at Lambeau last November.
“I’m going to try to crush all of ‘em,” Williams said. “That’s been the focus of my whole summer – the Green Bay Packers.”
Rest assured that Williams isn’t alone. All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen, acquired by the Vikings in an April trade with the Chiefs, has his own welcome-to-the-rivalry ritual in mind for Rodgers.
“Playing Green Bay on Monday night to start the season – that’s everything you want,” Allen said. “Hopefully, I can put my helmet square in the back of his spine. If I can do that and knock the ball loose, it’ll be a good day.”
For what it’s worth, Williams believes the Packers’ decision to choose Rodgers over Favre was a great development for the Vikings.
“They had a nice year last year, but they don’t understand that Brett made those guys better than they were,” Williams said. “He has the game all figured out, and you’ve got to factor all that into the equation. Brett Favre would throw the ball when the receivers hadn’t even made their cut yet, and it would be there waiting for them. Those guys had it good.
“People think it’s the system, but it ain’t no damn system. Brett Favre just knows where his guys are going to be at all times, and I don’t think Aaron Rodgers has got that yet.” :lol:
By Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports Aug 12, 3:16 am EDT
MANKATO, Minn. – Brett Favre is gone to the Big Apple, awash in a spin cycle of helicopter tours and glorious punishment laps and stream-of-consciousness musings about his latest life turn.
Meanwhile, back in the NFC North, the nasty rivalry the ex-Green Bay legend left behind is hotter than ever.
Between the quarterback’s abortive effort to land in Minnesota and the tampering charge the Packers filed against the Vikings, who were subsequently exonerated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, there’s a lot of lingering bitterness between the two franchises. Throw in the Pack’s status as a team that finished a game away from the Super Bowl last season and the near-universal coronation of the Vikes as the NFC’s trendy power-on-the-rise, and that Sept. 8 regular-season opener at Lambeau Field can’t come soon enough.
This was confirmed Sunday when I visited the Vikings’ training camp home at Minnesota State University and asked Pro Bowl nose tackle Pat Williams whether he’d been keeping up on the Favre saga.
“Damn, that’s their problem,” Williams said. “They’re going through all that as a team, trying to figure out if Favre or (Aaron) Rodgers was the man, while we’ve got the same team we had all offseason. I’m glad they got all that darn press, ‘cause when we go down there it’ll be the kid’s first start and his first damn loss.”
Williams, a 12th-year veteran, didn’t limit his enmity to Rodgers. He’s also gunning for Packers halfback Ryan Grant, who last year was the only player to rush for more than 100 yards against Minnesota, with 119 in a 34-0 Green Bay blowout at Lambeau last November.
“I’m going to try to crush all of ‘em,” Williams said. “That’s been the focus of my whole summer – the Green Bay Packers.”
Rest assured that Williams isn’t alone. All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen, acquired by the Vikings in an April trade with the Chiefs, has his own welcome-to-the-rivalry ritual in mind for Rodgers.
“Playing Green Bay on Monday night to start the season – that’s everything you want,” Allen said. “Hopefully, I can put my helmet square in the back of his spine. If I can do that and knock the ball loose, it’ll be a good day.”
For what it’s worth, Williams believes the Packers’ decision to choose Rodgers over Favre was a great development for the Vikings.
“They had a nice year last year, but they don’t understand that Brett made those guys better than they were,” Williams said. “He has the game all figured out, and you’ve got to factor all that into the equation. Brett Favre would throw the ball when the receivers hadn’t even made their cut yet, and it would be there waiting for them. Those guys had it good.
“People think it’s the system, but it ain’t no damn system. Brett Favre just knows where his guys are going to be at all times, and I don’t think Aaron Rodgers has got that yet.” :lol:
