Vikings QBs: Well, this is awkward

First, is the situation awkward? Yes. In fact, it really couldn't be any more awkward. You have an incumbent who kinda sorta made strides last year but knows his clock is running out. You have a newcomer thinking he finally is getting a legitimate chance to be a starter, though even when he was acquired it was made clear he was not being anointed the starter.

And these two are duking it out, splitting reps, trying to say all the right things about their relationship with each other. Jackson: "It's good to listen to him talk. Just trying to pick his brain and learn as much as possible." Rosenfels: "Any time you have competition it's going to end up helping the football team."

But the whole time, they both know that no matter how well they perform, it's a competition contingent on the whims and health of Favre. If he can and wants to play, and if he signs with the Vikings, he's the starter.

And that brings up the second question: Is that fair? That, of course, is more complicated.

A good friend of ours would tap his index finger on a table and say, "Look: this is America." And by that, he wouldn't be demanding another slice of apple pie. Rather, he would be saying it's about winning and picking the best person for the job, regardless of whose feelings might be hurt. There is no fair. Only accomplishment. And, we would add, anyone who doesn't think a healthy Favre is the best man for the job is crazy.

Then again, one could argue that Rosenfels was brought in under false pretenses and that Jackson, at least for 2009, might not be given the chance he thought he had earned. Rosenfels has the more compelling case here.

We don't subscribe to the theory that either QB will be tainted because of a fractured ego should Favre end up staying retired -- these men are professionals, and at the end of the day they want to play, win and make money -- but it will be interesting to gauge their moods as the summer of Favre progresses. Things certainly won't get any less awkward or more fair as the days wear on.