The last Vikings player to be larger than the team was receiver Randy Moss. His remarkable talent was often offset by what an amateur psychologist insists was an adult version of oppositional defiant disorder.

The behaviors for ODD sufferers include "actively not following the requests" of authority figures and being "angry and resentful of others."

There are also a couple of behaviors on the ODD list that would fit quarterback Brett Favre, the current Vikings player to be larger than the team. Those are "spiteful or seeks revenge" and "touchy or easily annoyed."

Yet, it's not the diagnosis for ODD that reads like the behavioral profile for Favre, but rather Narcissistic Personality Disorder. There are nine qualifiers for NPD, and they cover what we've seen from Favre over the past week, and the past several years.

For instance:

An NPD sufferer has a grandiose sense of self-importance. He thinks of himself as special or privileged, and that he can only be understood by other special or high-status people. He demands excessive amounts of praise or admiration from others. He does not recognize or identify with others' feelings.

And here's the NPD kicker from last week's Favre-created feud with coach Brad Childress: He feels entitled to automatic deference, compliance or favorable treatment from others.

That trait also was on display this summer, when the Vikings started their relationship with Favre by signing on to a lie.

The Favre/Vikings dance started in early May, and the ESPN crawl on the topic included this addendum: "Vikings would expect Favre to participate in all offseason workouts."

Favre's sense of entitlement and favorable treatment was never going to permit that. With a wink from the Vikings, he forewent all offseason workouts. This included the two weeks in Mankato, before making his grand arrival in Minnesota.

This deference to Favre was covered up with the fable that Childress had made one last call to the quarterback in Mississippi halfway through the exhibition schedule, and Ol' Brett said, "Ah, why not," and headed for the Hattiesburg airport.

If you believe that, you better stay away from vampire movies, since you'll believe anything.

More examples of Favre's NPD surfaced a few days before the Vikings' season opener. Most of the stories on his early days with the Vikings included a mention of his poor play with the Jets over his final five games of 2008.

Four days before the season opener, Favre reminded reporters that he played those final five games with a biceps injury. And then added the Jets knew about the injury, that it was their idea for him to keep playing and, by definition, not to list him on the injury report.

What he was saying, in his aw-shucks drawl, is that people should not question his 2008 finish but rather should be filled with admiration that -- against his better judgment -- he gave it a try as a favor to the Jets.

What a guy, Ol' Brett, and he was shocked when the NFL decided to levy $125,000 in fines against the Jets, General Manager Mike Tannenbaum and Eric Mangini, the departed head coach, for not having Favre's name on the weekly injured list.

When the fines were announced, Favre put on the cloak of his alter-ego -- Brett Fraud -- and said: "I think it's very unfair. I think it's just wrong."

Sorry, Brett. It was too late to put aside your NPD and identify with the feelings of those you worked with in New York. You already had hung them out to dry, in a demand for admiration.

Childress was the victim of a similar Favre display on Sunday. This came in the minutes after an abysmal Vikings effort against Carolina. The evening had included a sideline conversation in which Favre pulled away from his head coach.

Protocol calls for such disagreements to be underplayed for the media -- particularly when involving the coach and the quarterback.

The issue didn't come up with Childress in his postgame news conference. Minutes later, Favre walked in the interview room and revealed that Childress wanted to take him out of the game.

Presto, and with the assistance of Favre's bobos in the national media, this became the NFL's controversy of the week: Childress was limiting Favre's ability to change plays, and had considered taking him out of several previous games over this issue.

The Carolina loss was the Vikings' second lousy offensive game in the past three. With more of his masterful manipulation, the quarterback was able to lay the responsibility for that in Childress' lap, and overshadow the other potential story line:

Another December swoon for Favre?

Chilly, you have been NPD'ed by Favre and his need for deference and compliance, and since that's how this relationship started last summer, there should be no surprise.

Patrick Reusse can be heard 5:30-9 a.m. weekdays on AM-1500 KSTP. • preusse@startribune.com