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| Andrew Perna. 15th December, 2010 - 4:00 pm
 Believe it or not, Brett Favre isn?t ready to call it a career despite a serious injury that caused him to miss a start for the first time in 18 years when the Vikings took on the Giants this past week.
Favre is dealing with a sprained throwing shoulder, which is serious enough to have sparked reports that Minnesota could end his season by placing him on the injured reserve.
Of course, even if Favre does eventually find himself on the IR, there?s no guarantee that he?ll have thrown his last pass -- which not-so-ironically ended in an interception against the Bills on Dec. 5.
We?ve been down this road so many times that we?ve become apathetic to Favre?s playing status, career and even his allegedly exposed lower appendage. Will he play? Is he done? Did he send an attractive woman inappropriate photos? We?d all almost much rather hear about Lindsey Lohan?s latest rehab stint or the smoking habits of Miley Cyrus.
It?s sad to look back at a young Favre and flash-forward to now when he?s lumped into the same category as young pop stars with questionable judgment.
The man has thrown more than 10,000 passes for more than 70,000 yards and 500 touchdowns, but the twilight of his career has been so mismanaged (by himself, the Jets and Vikings) that the Packers look like geniuses for ending the Hall of Famer?s run with Green Bay three years ago and handing the reigns to Aaron Rodgers.
Vikings interim coach Leslie Frazier said Tuesday that Favre is his first choice to start against the division-rival Bears this coming Monday night. Regardless of whether or not Frazier is becoming the third coach (behind Eric Mangini and Brad Childress) to wrongly hitch his wagon to Favre; this week?s game would be a perfect end to a career that has run too long.
Lack of Options
Coming off perhaps the most productive and efficient season of his career in 2009, Favre has looked terrible in 2010 (regardless of his multiple injuries). His completion percentage (60.4%) has hit a four-year trough and is lower than all but six of his 19 complete seasons. His decision-making has also dulled, with a touchdown-to-interception ratio (0.55) that is low even for his standards.
His passer rating (69.6) is the lowest of his career.
Despite entering the season with Super Bowl aspirations, the Vikings are just 4-7 with Favre as their starting/primary quarterback.
As bad as he?s been, with Tarvaris Jackson?s turf toe and his horrible outing against the Giants, Favre is the team?s best option heading into Week 15. Starting this week would give Jackson time to heal and Frazier time to bring Joe Webb along further or find and educate a veteran replacement to start in the final two weeks of the season (if needed).
Da Bears
There isn?t a team in the NFL that Favre has played more than the Bears -- he?s faced both Chicago and Detroit 35 times in his career -- and playing his final game against his long-time rival would be fitting.
Favre is 23-12 against the Bears in his career (he?s 26-9 against the Lions) and he?s thrown more touchdowns (59) against Chicago than any other club.
He has spent all but two of his NFL seasons in the NFC North (once Central), why shouldn?t his final game be an interdivisional battle with the Vikings having the opportunity to play playoff spoiler to the Bears?
Delayed Punishment
There have been reports that representatives for former Jets sideline reporter Jenn Sterger are pushing for the NFL to conclude their investigation into Favre?s alleged improper acts before either the season ends or Favre gets the chance to retire.
If Favre is no longer under contract or opts to retire, he?ll no longer be under the NFL?s jurisdiction and would get away without any punishment for the acts Sterger claims he participated in during his lone season in New York.
There?s a bit of a conspiracy theory ongoing with the NFL uncharacteristically dragging their feet as their investigation continues. Holding yet another retirement press conference next Tuesday would officially put an end to any potential action by the league, no matter how unlikely it seems to be.
Prime Time
Monday night?s game between the Bears and Vikings is far from the week?s most compelling matchup (Giants-Eagles, anyone?), but it?s still a chance for Favre to bask in the glow of national attention once more.
His ego has grown larger than life over the last five years and his ?friends? over at ESPN would love to turn what could be a stinker between Chicago and Minnesota into Favre?s latest last hurrah.
Can?t you just hear Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski tripping over one another to praise Favre?s arm, courage and place in NFL history? They?ll have to pick someone from the game and Favre would be a likely selection. In the last two weeks they?ve gushed embarrassingly over Joe Flacco and Tom Brady, let?s feed their quarterback fetish.
His Own Terms
People on the other side of the Favre street have been imploring him to retire for years. Ending his career with two games left in the season would represent one last middle finger to his critics.
The Vikings will play the Eagles on Sunday night in Week 16, but Week 17?s game against the Lions will be an incredibly meaningless season finale.
Let?s see one more touchdown pass, one more interception and watch a graying Favre cry at the podium one more time. Then, the Vikings can turn their attention to evaluating Frazier, finding a quarterback for the next decade and winning football games.
Andrew Perna is Deputy Editor of RealGM.com. Please feel free to contact him with comments or questions via e-mail: Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com. You can also follow Andrew on Twitter: APerna7.
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