Cause for concern with Favre?

Brett Favre knew exactly what many were thinking after seeing him throw two third-quarter interceptions in the Vikings' 30-17 loss Sunday at Arizona. "I'm sure people are saying - you guys may have already said it - 'Well, here we go. Now, it's December,'" the quarterback said.

Favre, 40, was making a reference to the fact that in recent years his performance has fallen off late in the season, and he's right, it's hard not to think about that given that statistics back up that point. As former Star Tribune Vikings writer and current ESPN NFC North blogger Kevin Seifert detailed in May, Favre's numbers have dipped sharply in the final five games since 2005.

An argument could be made that last season shouldn't count because Favre was dealing with a partially torn biceps tendon in his right (throwing) arm. That could have explained why he went from having a completion percentage of 70.6 with 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in games one through 11 with the Jets to having a 56.1 completion percentage with two touchdowns and nine picks in the games 12 through 16.

But that doesn't explain why in 2007, a season the Packers went 13-3 and made it to the NFC title game, Favre posted a 68.5 completion percentage with 22 touchdowns and eight interceptions in the first 11 games but then followed that with a 59.1 completion percentage with six touchdowns and seven interceptions in the final five regular-season games.

In fairness to Favre, he had been playing well beyond anyone's expectations before Sunday and certainly can't be criticized for having one mediocre to below average game. The Vikings laid a collective egg at Arizona and Favre was asked to guide an offense that never found a rhythm. He completed 30 of 45 passes for 275 yards with two touchdowns, two picks and was sacked three times.

The criticism of Favre in December is actually twofold. One factor is that his performance as a whole has tailed off and the other is that many believe he is no longer the dynamic cold-weather quarterback who once dominated opponents at Lambeau Field. Truthfully, the second factor shouldn't be that big of deal. Favre plays his home games indoors and the only true cold-weather game on the Vikings schedule will be Dec. 28 in Chicago.

The Vikings could have the NFC North locked up by that point so getting hung up on how Favre plays in cold weather is probably a waste of time. Keep in mind, all signs indicate the road to the NFC title will go through New Orleans and its domed stadium.

"Had they dropped the interception and we somehow go down and kick a field goal, everybody would have been saying, 'He's great late in the year.' Last year I didn't play very well and it was late in the year. I could sit here and say that it was because of my arm, but that would be the easy way out. I'm sure that didn't help, but I still had to make decisions and lead the team. I apparently didn't do a very good job of that. I thought I did the year before as well as I had in any year."

Favre admitted during his mid-week news conference Wednesday that he goes through times of physical and mental fatigue just like everyone else in the league and joked that the "rookie wall" really should be called "the older guys' wall."

He also stressed that success, or lack of it, is a weekly thing and not something that can be easily portioned out into segments. "That's the way it is and I don't pay much attention to it," he said. "This is where you make it or break it from a team standpoint. We've done well up to this point. We would have liked to have done a little bit better, but if we want to get in and see what happens, this is where we make our push. I look forward to this way more than I do early in the year."

No fan of the cold

Favre did have some interesting comments about the success he experienced in the cold weather during his 16 seasons with Green Bay. According to the Packers' media guide, Favre went 43-6 at home and had a 92.0 passer rating when the game-time temperature was 34 degrees or below. However, he was 1-6, including playoffs, on the road in the same circumstances. Overall, he was 65-22 when the temperature was 45 degrees or less.

"It's easy to relate it to age, I guess," Favre said. "We old people don't really like the cold weather, which is true. Most of us old people don't have to play in it. I always found it funny that they put that stat up [about his success in the cold]. I was a Mississippi boy. When I first got [to Green Bay] everyone wondered, 'How will this guy adapt to our winters?' and all that stuff. I hated it. It wasn't that I was like, 'Man, I'd much rather it be 20 than 65.' I didn't particularly like it from day one. I was fortunate enough to always play on teams that found a way to win and playing against teams that really didn't want to be there. Believe me, as a young kid from Southern Mississippi 50 degrees was cold growing up.