Favre and the Jets

Favre finally came back this week. Three of his stooges had to literally goto his home and get him on the flight back to Minnesota. As ridiculous as that circus was, it was good on two fronts. First and foremost, it put an end to the fake suspense of "will he or won't he". Of course we all knew he will come back, but still had to deal with the endless hype and circus. Secondly, even with all that said and done, between the lines, he is just fun to watch. He is one of the better QBs in a sport dominated by QBs. And his spontaneity and risk seeking attitude make him must-watch TV. I don't buy the whole "he will play the game for free" hype that talking-heads like Chris Berman have been foisting on us for more than a decade, but he does play well for apparently 16 to 20 million a year. As a NFL fan, I don't mind watching this drama queen when he is not in the off-season drama-mode.

But I think this year is going to be more disappointing than last for the Vikings and Favre. He is a legit 40 year-old now and expectations are higher due to his success last season. He still has a good team around him, but the Saints might have given the league a blue-print to get after him in that playoff game last year. Also, all this talk about Chilly's offense being insufficient for him might put more pressure on them to open it up. If that happens, Favre may go back to throwing 20 interceptions again and might also end up pissing Adrian Peterson. Their schedule is much tougher this year and the Packers will put up a better fight too in the division. Given all this, I would say the hype for the Vikings needs to be tempered. Don't put them in the Super Bowl yet. But then again, better them than the Cowboys who have been going to the Super Bowl the last 5 years in some people's eyes.

The other team that's over-hyped in my not-so-humble opinion are the New York Jets. Between Sexy Rexy's personality and Mark Sanchez's charms and Darrelle Revis's talents and the Big Apple's marketability, this team is getting way too much attention since last year's playoffs. The reality is, they sneaked into the playoffs last year because Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer ended up resting against them and then they got deep into the playoffs. It's no guarantee they are going to go farther this season. Patriots are not the same anymore, but they are still the team with Brady, Moss and Belichick and they will have a big say in what happens in that division. Mark Sanchez is no better or worse than Matthew Stafford and it might be a little too early to put that kid in the Hall of Fame. And if Revis does miss part or whole of the season, they will have real big question marks. Antonio Cromatie can make 6 kids with 5 women or whatever and forget their names, but he is no Revis. Hope the HBO show Hard Knocks doesn't end up being the high-point of the Jets 2010 season.