At the end of the 1991 season, a venerable Vikings executive sat in his Winter Park office, gazed over the snowbound practice field and assessed the sad state of Jerry Burns' last team. "Used to be, with Bud Grant, we'd just hang in there until all the other teams collapsed," he said. "Now we're the ones who collapse."

Today, the Vikings can once again enjoy the prospect of winning their division by displaying nothing more inspirational than resoluteness. The rest of the NFC North is getting worse while the local team is getting better.

Brett Favre made his retirement official Thursday while turning into a human humidifier.

The Vikes made three surgical strikes in free agency, dramatically upgrading at receiver; replacing Dwight Smith with a guy who, if he visits a stairwell, will be looking for starving children to feed; and bringing Thomas Tapeh home to play fullback.

Vikings coach Brad Childress, often referred to here as The Chiller, began turning human last season and was able to sell Bernard Berrian on the charms of his offense one year after Kevin Curtis, while watching Vikings films, tried to gouge out his own eyes.

Owner Zygi Wilf -- doesn't "Chili & Zygi" sound like what one could order at the drive-thru if Dairy Queen started selling Italian food? -- is willing to spend what is required to upgrade the roster, and Bryant McKinnie's brawl in Miami ensures we won't have to hear any more about the silly Code of Conduct.

And there is this: Sometimes Rick Spielman looks almost lifelike.

Today the Purple can claim to have the best running backs, offensive line and defensive tackles in the NFC North. And, maybe, the best team.

Aaron Rodgers is a promising young quarterback, but can the Packers seamlessly replace a legend at the top of his game with an unproven kid? Probably not. The Packers went 13-3 last year while being considered overachievers. That can't happen again.

The Bears could trade skill-position players with any team in the Arena League and call it an upgrade. They're in free-fall. A little more than a year after playing in the Super Bowl, the most productive wideout on their roster is Marty "Three Yards and a Cloud of Dust" Booker. And their quarterbacks are, alarmingly, still Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton.

Remember all the jokes we made about the Vikings' passing offense the past two years? Put 'em on eBay. Somebody in Chicago will buy.

The Lions are, tragically, still the Lions. They collapsed at the end of last season, and they're sure to trade away their first-round pick in the draft for three lowers picks, so they can take even more wide receivers. As long as Matt Millen is in charge, they're doomed.

Today what Childress has said for two years about Tarvaris Jackson -- that he need only "manage" the game for the team to win -- is finally true. If Jackson shows even moderate improvement, the Vikings will not face a lopsided mismatch at quarterback when facing division foes. And now, when he throws a deep pass to a wide-open receiver after faking to Adrian Peterson, there is a reasonable chance of the ball being caught.

This season Peterson, Jackson, Childress and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell should have a better antidote to the 12-man fronts they faced last year and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier will have a better grasp of the abilities of his players.

As Dave Wannstedt once said, infamously, about one of his mediocre Bears teams, "All of the pieces are in place."

Except for two. It wasn't long ago we saw the Giants, whose two best players were defensive ends, beat a prematurely legendary team in the Super Bowl. If the 2008 season started today, the Vikings might start Brian Robison and Ray Edwards at end.

Can a team win a division title with players of uncertain pedigree at the three of the most important positions in the game -- quarterback and defensive end?

In the post-Favre era of the NFC North, it should be expected.

Jim Souhan can be heard Sundays from 10 a.m.-noon on AM-1500 KSTP. • jsouhan@startribune.com