Vikings vs. Packers: 'Brett is back'

GREEN BAY, WIS. — A year ago, the Green Bay Packers were a 1-2 team with a veteran quarterback whose best years seemed to be a distant memory. Brett Favre's name was being bandied about in trade rumors, and it appeared that if he was going to break Dan Marino's NFL regular-season record of 420 touchdown passes, he would do it by overstaying his welcome.

At that point, with 19 touchdowns to go, many felt Favre already had committed the sin of not getting out in time. A broken-down Favre wearing the No. 4 jersey of a team other than the Packers had gone from the "perish the thought" stage to a potential reality. A sad finish to a Hall of Fame career seemed inevitable.

Today, Favre needs only one touchdown pass against the Vikings to break Marino's record. He is 11 days from his 38th birthday. The Packers are unbeaten, and some say he has never played better.

"He looks like the MVP that he was," said Vikings safety Darren Sharper, who spent his first eight NFL seasons as Favre's teammate. "He's making all the right reads. Has confidence in his receivers. ... I think he's making better decisions. You don't see him making some of those throws he was making previously. He looks like that guy who is picking teams apart."

Just ask the Giants and the Chargers. Favre led the Packers to victories over those teams, helping Green Bay to its first 3-0 start since 2001. Last Sunday, he completed 28 of 45 for 369 yards, no interceptions and three TDs in a 31-24 victory over the Chargers.

Favre enters today's game 14th in the NFL with a 93.5 quarterback rating and has six touchdown passes. More importantly, he has thrown only two interceptions. That would put him on pace to throw a career-low 11 interceptions in a 16-game season; two years ago he had a career-worst and NFL-leading 29 picks as the Packers finished 4-12.

The refrain around Lambeau Field last week was "Brett is back" followed by "Brett is having fun again." Favre's teammates dispute both points.

"I never thought he was gone," veteran receiver Donald Driver said. "That's the crazy part. We see him out there every day at practice throwing and having fun like he's been doing since I walked in here in 1999. So, his attitude and the way he plays the game -- I don't think it has changed at all."

The difference

So what has changed for Favre?

Is it the version of the West Coast offense that coach Mike McCarthy installed in 2006 when he replaced Mike Sherman? Or is it Favre's willingness to finally manage the game instead of trying to win it singlehandedly?

"I wish I had something real special for you," said McCarthy, whose relationship with Favre dates to 1999 when he spent one season as the Packers quarterbacks coach. "We installed the offense and it was a lot of carryover conceptually from systems that he has run here in Green Bay in the past. ... He's in a rhythm right now, particularly the last two weeks. He's making good decisions but his urgency and accuracy with the football has been very impressive."

Impressive enough that opponents are making references to Favre playing like he did during his three-year run as the NFL's Most Valuable Player (1995-97). In typical Favre fashion, he doesn't want to hear it. At least not publicly. Just as he attempts to downplay any talk of breaking Marino's record with an aw-shucks demeanor that comes complete with his Mississippi drawl.

"Everyone's on this Brett Favre bandwagon now -- 'He's playing the game differently,'" Favre said. "I don't feel like I'm playing any differently, but statistics and our won-lost record would say different. My approach to this year has been no different than any other year.

"I realize that if I make a lot of mistakes, that puts our team in jeopardy. We don't win many games when I do that. And I think coming into this year, I felt probably more pressure than any other season, offensively speaking. I know our defense is playing better. I know that we have higher hopes for our defense. But I also know we have to score points."

Favre has been helping the Packers do just that. Green Bay's 82 points are second in the NFC to the 116 scored by Dallas. A passing offense that ranks sixth in the NFL has done all the heavy lifting. The Packers are dead last in the NFL in running the ball.

It's an unusual recipe for success that Green Bay is likely to continue to use today against a Vikings defense that is dominant against the run and suspect against the pass.

One from history

The Packers' reliance on the passing game means Marino's record could fall early this afternoon. It will be among Favre's greatest accomplishments and a testament to both his ability and his durability.

The latter might be the most impressive.

Favre, who is in his 17th NFL season, will start his 241st consecutive regular-season game today, surpassing former Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff for the league's second-longest starting streak on record. If you include playoffs, Favre's streak is about to hit a remarkable 261 consecutive games.

Considering the reputation Favre has carried for much of his career as a guy willing to throw the ball and hope for the best, it seems fitting that on the same day he could set the touchdown record, he also might reach the career mark for interceptions thrown. The record of 277 is held by George Blanda; Favre is three away from breaking it.

Favre's attempt to tap-dance around what any of these figures mean to him disappears when he's asked if it's important whether he's considered one of the best quarterbacks of all time.

"I think it matters a lot," he said. "I think we all want good things said about us, regardless of what we do. We all think highly of ourselves. In fact, we probably all have an overinflated opinion of ourselves. But I'll say this: In my career I've played the way I've wanted to and more importantly, the only way I've known how to play it. At times it has been wonderful if you're watching and at other times maybe not as exciting.

"Do I consider myself one of the best? I think if you base it off of individually, statistical, whatever, yes. I would rank up there. I think when you look at it from a winning standpoint, [I've] been involved in a lot of wins. I think it's great to be compared with the best. I grew up playing this game a little old country kid in south Mississippi, and I had high dreams and hopes and aspirations. But what kid doesn't? For me, they'll all come true. I think that means something. It's not what carries me; it's not what drives me."

What seems to drive Favre is the chance to prove that he still belongs. That he remains one of the NFL's top quarterbacks; that when most have written him off, he again looks like the guy who led the Packers to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances and one title in the late 1990s.

Remember, there was a time when there were serious questions about Favre's ability to win in the Metrodome. Through 2002, he had a career record of 2-9 in the building and his quarterback rating was under 100 in nine of those games; since that time he is 3-1 and has a rating of 100 or better in each.

Classic Favre. Tell him he can't do something and then watch him do it. Tell him he's done and then watch him undo defenses.

"He's been absolutely fantastic," Green Bay right tackle Mark Tauscher said. "You look at those last two games there's nothing else to say, he's been unbelievable."

Tauscher could have been talking about Favre's career.

Staff writer Mark Craig contributed to this story.

Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com