Vikings take a break to smell the roses

Zygi Wilf was a popular man on Monday evening as he mingled with fans at the Taste of the NFL event at the International Market Square in Minneapolis. Fans attending the function approached the Vikings owner looking to take pictures with him and make small talk. A relaxed Wilf was happy to oblige.

With his team sitting atop the NFC North at 7-1 and having a bye this week, Wilf had an opportunity to take a breath and enjoy his team's successes. The latest came Sunday, when the Vikings completed a series sweep of archrival Green Bay in which former Packers great Brett Favre went into Lambeau Field and threw four touchdown passes.

"You can see for yourself," Wilf said when asked about what Favre has meant to this team since his arrival Aug. 18. "You have enough to write about. It was a big game yesterday. I'm happy to see that for the division's sake, we were able to put some distance from other teams. That's the most important [thing] for us, and everything else was really sideshows."

Favre's presence on the Vikings roster has created, and will continue to create, plenty of sideshows. But it also is one reason this team is now considered among the NFL's elite. Players, given a six-day break by coach Brad Childress, quickly bolted from Winter Park, with many headed for warmer climates. When they return to work Monday, they will do so with an opportunity to begin working on clinching home-field advantage and a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Already 2 1/2 games up on the Packers and Bears in the division, the Vikings will play Detroit (1-6), Seattle (2-5) and Chicago (4-3) in a rare three-game homestand coming off the bye. The Vikings won't play another road game until Dec. 6 at Arizona.

Running back Adrian Peterson, who is tied for second in the NFL with St. Louis' Steven Jackson with 784 yards rushing, had an interesting observation when asked what has caught his attention about the Vikings' first 7-1 start since 2000.

"What really has impressed me the most is just knowing as an offensive unit and defense and all three phases that we haven't played a complete game," he said. "So I look at that and I'm like, 'Man, once we really cross all the T's and dot the I's, we can really be good.' So that's probably the thing that's positive the most."

The Vikings had a chance to do that Sunday, when they dominated the Packers for the first 30 minutes and held a 17-3 lead at halftime. However, the Vikings were outscored 23-21 in the second half. Peterson said he felt like the Vikings were close to putting together a complete game, adding: "Now we've got a week to relax, the guys will be back, be healthy, our bodies will be fresh and we'll see if we can get it going."

Peterson is part of an offense that is second in the NFL with 244 points, behind New Orleans. The Saints, who already have had their bye, have 273 points after they beat Atlanta 35-27 on Monday night.

"Man, the confidence is so high I can't even lie," cornerback Benny Sapp said of the mood in the Vikings locker room. "Just the feeling of being in here, everybody is talking trash every day. Good trash. I know I'm a trash-talker, and when you have 52 other guys in here talking trash, it's like, Wow."

It's Childress' job to make sure that doesn't turn into overconfidence. That should be easier given that he has veterans such as Favre, Jared Allen, Pat Williams and others to police things.

"It is really a unique group of men," Childress said. "You do this for a while and you remember different teams. It's a good group of guys. They have tremendous chemistry together. They play for each other. They play with each other. And it's a different, it's a varied group of guys. As all you guys know that are in that locker room every day. A joy to come to work with these guys every day."

Long gone are the stories of possible schisms in the Vikings locker room that were reported shortly after Favre's arrival. "The chemistry is just great," said defensive end Ray Edwards, who wasn't exactly excited about the prospect of Favre signing during the summer. "If you've got great chemistry, you definitely can make things happen. That means everybody is getting along, we've got great charisma and everybody is working well together. There's no separation, there's no division and no schism."