Following the beating Vikings quarterback Brett Favre took in a 31-28 overtime loss last month at New Orleans in the NFC title game, some wondered why the Vikings' defensive players didn't go after Saints quarterback Drew Brees as a way of trying to even up the score.
It turns out some Vikings simply didn't realize how badly their quarterback was getting beat up as the Saints executed a game plan that relied heavily on punishment of the 40-year-old Favre. Defensive end Ray Edwards admitted during an interview on Paul Allen's show Friday on KFAN that he was among those players.
"Taking those hit that he took [against New Orleans] I wish I would have known that they did that because I don't really watch the offense," Edwards said. "I would have sure done the same thing to Brees because that wasn't right."
The fact Edwards wasn't watching the offense is not a surprise because the defensive players often break into their position groups when they leave the field to go over how they will handle the next series. Thus, unless someone points something out, it's very possible they could be focusing elsewhere while the offense is operating.
Last offseason you might recall Edwards pushed hard for Tarvaris Jackson to be the starting quarterback and wasn't excited at all about Favre joining the Vikings. In fact, Edwards told ESPN last summer that while he never said he didn't want Favre, he also had no interest in the quarterback bringing "his prima donna attitude to our team because I feel that will break a team apart."
But after Favre led the Vikings to a 12-4 record this season and within a victory of the Super Bowl, Edwards makes it clear he would welcome Favre back and would not be upset one bit if Favre doesn't take part in the offseason workouts or even the Mankato portion of training camp. That is a sentiment that seems to be shared by many in the Vikings locker room.
"Definitely, I think he has the ability [to return]," Edwards told Allen and Paul Charchian of KFAN. "Now OTAs and training camp, maybe not. But come the start of the season, I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be a problem with that with most guys and we'd love to have him back if that's the case."
If you want to read more about Edwards and his free-agency situation, check out the post below.
