Brett Favre and E.J.

Now that Brett Favre is back we can all take a collective breath, including those Non-Vikings fans. No more drama, no more obsessive media, and no more overall madness. The time for real non-preseason football is fast approaching and its time to make some hasty generalizations and inarticulate statements.

With Favre back the Vikings should by all accounts make another serious run at the Superbowl. Now to make such a declaration is quick and overall dooming to the team, especially to a Vikings fan. There is no doubt we are cursed, some eerie phantom has lodged itself in our spine. That does not mean will not have a good year, it simply means that we will have to be weary of nearly everything that occurs during the playoffs, and my god figure out how many men are in the huddle.

The return of E.J. Henderson and Brett Favre should stimulate both sides of the ball. The defense can only play better with the addition of some veteran cornerback savvy in Lito Sheppard and youthful athleticism in Chris Cook. Another question mark despite leading the league with 48 sacks last season, is can the Vikings consistently apply pressure in the big games. Sure they had a decent pass rush against mediocre teams but overall can they provide pressure on elite competition like Saints, Cowboys, Packers, and some other random team that might make a run at it.

This truly is the Vikings last shot at a Superbowl for the next six years. If they fall flat Brad Childress will be fired, Leslie Frazier will be hired by some desperate team, and the rebuilding will begin. Also, the amount of free agents the Vikings will have after the 2010-2011 season, assuming there is a season is frightening. Sidney Rice, Ray Edwards, and Brian Robinson are just a few from the pool of many.

The time is now to succeed and I worry that the expectation of a Superbowl berth will crush this team completely. Psychologically they are not the toughest group of grunts. Those situations where mental toughness is required will most certainly appear in the playoffs. Will the team have evolved? When Favre was literally getting smashed into the ground in NFC Championship as the defensive live stood motionless, it would have been worth a players ejection to have sent a message to the Saints in a similar manner.

Nonetheless the Vikings should make a superb run at it and a trip to the Superbowl might just occur, but the truth is the Vikings need more to go right then to go wrong. The team is rapidly aging, and their chances at a Superbowl victory are fleeting. Nobody realizes that more then the players do hence why they took a buddy buddy road trip to see Favre. The pressure of their own ambitions may very well crush the Vikings.