GREEN BAY, WIS. — No one lobbied harder for his team to trade for Randy Moss this past offseason than Packers quarterback Brett Favre. He didn't get his wish, but that hasn't stopped his deep passes from raining touchdowns during Green Bay's 7-1 start this season.

"Brett is trusting his young receivers more and more, and you're seeing the results," said 24-year-old wideout Greg Jennings. "It's not something he hasn't done before in his career. He's just executing it with a new receiving corps that he's been patient with and is now starting to feel comfortable with."

Favre's career high for 40-yard touchdown passes in a season is seven, set in 1998. He already has five. The past two weeks, in road victories at Denver and Kansas City, he had touchdown passes of 87 yards to rookie James Jones and game-winners of 82 and 60 yards to Jennings.

"You don't just line up and start throwing deep balls," Favre said, while explaining the time it has taken for him to get in sync with new receivers and second-year coach Mike McCarthy.

It would appear the Vikings are in trouble today. They rank 31st in the league against the pass. And Favre has thrown at least two TD passes in nine of his past 11 meetings with the Vikings, including the NFL record-setting 421st career touchdown pass to Jennings in the 23-16 victory at the Metrodome on Sept. 30.

Favre is 7-4 in those 11 meetings and 16-14 with 51 TDs against the Vikings. The 14 losses are the most against one team for Favre, who praised the Vikings defense this week.

"They're obviously great against the run, and I think they're deceptively good against the pass, based on the fact no one can run against them, so you throw," Favre said. "We had to earn everything we got against them last time, and I don't see that changing at all in this game."

More info, please

Hall of Famer Don Shula telling the New York Daily News this week that "this Spygate thing has diminished what [the Patriots] have accomplished" wasn't the first public comments along those lines, and they won't be the last as the Patriots (9-0) march toward an undefeated season.

That's why the NFL needs to release details of the findings in the investigation that led the league to fine Patriots coach Bill Belichick, the team and also take away a draft pick next year. Specifically, the NFL needs to say exactly how the Patriots benefitted from videotaping the sideline signals in violation of league rules.

Give the public the information and let it decide whether the Patriots' accomplishments are diminished.

Dungy's Achilles' heel

Wes Welker's 23-yard punt return that set up the Patriots' winning touchdown drive against Indianapolis last week wasn't a surprise to those who have followed the Colts' successful run under coach Tony Dungy in recent years.

The Colts rank last in punt coverage this year at 18.7 yards per return. They were 31st in punt coverage last year when they won the Super Bowl, 30th in 2005 and last in 2004.

"It's shocking that we're 32nd in the league. I didn't think we were that awful," Colts special teamer Tim Jennings said. "I knew last game was bad, but ... we've got to get better and not let that stuff happen."

Stat of the week

We don't want Lions fans to get too excited, but 76 percent of the teams that started 6-2 during the Super Bowl era (111 of 146) have made the playoffs. Of course, six teams since 2002 have missed the playoffs after a 6-2 start. That list includes the 2003 Vikings, who started 6-0 before a four-game losing streak led to a 9-7 finish.

Mark Craig • mcraig@startribune.com