Favre: He wears it well

The circus act the Vikings put themselves through to get Brett Favre was worth it.

Sure, it might have caused a few headaches, but eight games into the season, there is little doubt coach Brad Childress and owner Zygi Wilf would do it all again.

The Vikings are enjoying their bye week with a 7-1 record and a 2 1/2-game lead in the NFC North. Along with New Orleans (7-0), they appear to be the class of the conference, and the 40-year-old quarterback with the surgically repaired biceps tendon and the partially torn rotator cuff, not to mention an assortment of other aches and pains, is a major reason.

His 16 touchdown passes tie him for the NFL lead, and his 106.0 passer rating is fourth-best. Plus, he has thrown only three interceptions.

"He's a coach and a player at the same time," said Sidney Rice, who has emerged as the Vikings' leading receiver in large part because of Favre. "He's been in this game 19 seasons, he knows what's going on out there at all times. He's just talking to us, staying in the receivers' ears, letting us know what he's thinking, and he'll tell us out there on the field. Right there in the huddle and we'll just run with it."

Favre, who received a two-year, $25 million contract that included $12 million in guarantees, has brought more than anyone could have expected.

Criticized by some Jets teammates last season for an aloof demeanor, Favre has blended in with his new teammates. He has two lockers at Winter Park (so does running back Adrian Peterson) but makes no obvious attempt to avoid anyone.

An early report that Favre's late decision to join the Vikings caused a "schism" has resulted in a running joke among players who now frequently use a word that several had never heard previously.

But all the goodwill Favre has off the field wouldn't mean anything if he wasn't producing on it.

So far, so good

Many thought Favre would serve as the game manager of a West Coast system he ran for 16 seasons in Green Bay. That theory was bolstered in a season-opening victory at Cleveland as Favre completed 14 of 21 passes for 110 yards in a 34-20 victory. Peterson was the star that day, rushing for 180 yards and three touchdowns.

But as opposing defenses made it obvious they were going to focus on stopping the run, the Vikings altered their approach. Before Favre's arrival, even if a team keyed on Peterson, he was still the best option. Favre has changed that and subsequently created nightmares for defensive coordinators.

After attempting 48 passes in the first two weeks, Favre came within two of that total in Week 3 against the 49ers. His final throw, a 32-yarder on which Greg Lewis made a remarkable catch in the back of the end zone, pulled out a 27-24 victory. Favre also engineered a fourth-quarter comeback in a 33-31 victory over Baltimore in Week 6 after the Vikings defense had a late meltdown.

Then there are the two victories over the Packers in which Favre threw for seven touchdowns with no interceptions. The latest came last week at Lambeau Field as Favre, booed throughout, threw a season-high four touchdown passes to four receivers.

Asked what Favre has meant to the Vikings, Peterson quickly responded: "The world. You guys are seeing it firsthand. The things that he's doing on the field and along with a lot of guys. ... Offensively, we have so many weapons and so many ways to threaten people. I'm loving it. With Brett back there at quarterback and all the talent we have surrounding him, the sky's the limit."

However, eight regular-season games still remain, and a potential playoff run. And it gets a bit dicey in trying to determine whether Favre can continue at this high level.

Dome sweet domes

Last season, Favre completed 70.6 percent of his passes in the Jets' first 11 games and had 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. In the final five games, four of them losses, he threw for only two touchdowns and had nine interceptions. In fairness to Favre, he was battling a biceps injury and did not have the offensive weapons the 2009 Vikings possess.

But the reality is that Favre's play before and after his 12th game of the regular season hasn't been the same the past four years. During the Packers' 13-3 run in 2007, he had a .685 completion percentage with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions in the first 11 games and a .591 completion percentage with six touchdowns and seven interceptions in the last five.

The Vikings are limiting Favre's throws in practice as a precaution, and for the first time in his career, he gets to play his home games indoors during the cold-weather months.

The Vikings will close out November with three consecutive home games. Their only cold-weather contest will be at Chicago on Monday night, Dec. 28. Three of their five December games likely will be indoors -- Arizona has a retractable roof -- and the Dec. 20 night game in Carolina might be chilly but probably not frigid.

As Favre stood in a cramped interview room at Lambeau last Sunday, he acknowledged that plenty of things must play out before any judgment is made about this season.

"We'll find out how good we are," he said. "We've had some tough tests. For the most part, we've responded very well. As I've said when talking about this football team, how good this team could be, it also has not done anything yet, other than be 7-1. Granted, that's pretty good. At this point, we've put ourselves in a good position. There are things we can get better at. ... But it's a pretty good position to be in at the bye week."