Vikings coach Brad Childress answered questions after Friday's practice and most of them involved the status of quarterback Brett Favre, who did limited work despite having a stress fracture in his left ankle and a fracture in the same heel. Here's what Childress had to say: (Favre, by the way, made a brief appearance in the locker room but did not stop to talk about how he felt.)

Opening: "OK, not much to say. Good practice. I don't suppose you have any other questions about anything but Favre. He did a little bit more today, which is encouraging. Got out before everybody else so he could move around a little bit and you always want to see by the end of today where he's at and certainly as he comes back in the morning to see where he's at. I'm fond of saying 48 hours to game time. We don't play until [4:15] east coast time so we still have got a lot of treatment time. Can bones heal in 48 hours? Probably not."

Q. Are you working under the assumption that if he can practice on Friday he can play on Sunday?

A. "Those are assumptions that the third estate gets to ponder and write about."

Q. If Favre does not start is it based entirely on his foot? Is it based on the 14 turnovers he has? What's the basis?

A. "Those are things for you guys to ponder and write about. I'm strictly talking about what he was doing here today in practice."

Q. Would you like to keep the identity of your starting quarterback a secret until Sunday? Would that benefit you? Do you want to do that?

A. "I don't think either way. I think like Bill [Belichick] said, 'You prepare for all of them.' It's not like they can't find Tarvaris [Jackson] in some snaps. But you by and large prepare for a system you think you're going to face. The runner, the scheme."

Q. Could you wait until Sunday morning or early afternoon to make the decision?

A. "Probably so. Probably will. Just because the nature of the injury."

Q. Overall how would you rate Favre's mobility today?

A. "Not giving any scouting reports. Better than an iron deer on the lawn."

Q. Favre had a wrap on that foot. Was there some type of orthotic in the shoe?

A. "I'm not a podiatrist. I couldn't comment on that."

Q. Will you have another conversation with him today or over the weekend? Will that be instrumental?

A. "I'll speak with him plenty. It's not like going to a confessional like once a week I have to go to church to speak to him. He's in and around the building all the time. The dialogue is generally ongoing. I know people view that as being called to the principal's office when you sit in my office. We had a pretty good conversation standing right out here today for a long time."

Q. Do you want Favre to be the starter Sunday?

A. "If he gives us the best chance to win, yeah. There's a couple of litmus things. There's, can he protect himself and what gives us the best chance to win?"

Q. Is this as difficult of decision as you've had?

A. "I'm not losing any sleep over it. It will all sort itself out."