Favre being Favre not a good thing for Bears
Which Brett Favre will the Bears see Sunday at the Metrodome?
Will it be the born-again, 40-year-old master passer who leads the NFL with a 112.1 QB rating?
Or will it be the chuck-it-up-and-go-for-broke gunslinger who has thrown 13 interceptions and just 2 TD passes in his last six games against the Bears, five of which were Chicago victories?
Favre's phenomenal numbers this season with the Minnesota Vikings have been a surprise to anyone who saw him throw 9 interceptions and just 2 TD passes in his final five games with the New York Jets last season, as they fell out of the playoff picture by going 1-4 down the stretch.
But that performance was affected by rotator-cuff problems that have since been remedied.
A greatly improved supporting cast has helped, too, but Bears coach Lovie Smith said this year has been simply a case of Favre being Favre.
"It's not like Brett Favre all of a sudden figured out how to play football," Smith said. "I mean, he's been good a long time. The guy's been one of the all-time greats.
"As far as him coming back and doing what he's done right now, it's hard to count out a great player. We just hope that he doesn't have one of those (Hall of Fame) type games this week."
Unfortunately for the Bears, those types of games are becoming commonplace for Favre, whose passer rating has been above 95 in eight of 10 games and above 115 in six games, including each of the last three, when he has thrown 9 TD passes and no interceptions.
Unlike his glory days in Green Bay, Favre isn't throwing the ball as often, but he's getting more production than ever. He's 18th in pass attempts but second in completion percentage (69.7) and tied for third with 21 TD passes.
He also has thrown just 3 interceptions and has the lowest interception percentage in the NFL.
"He doesn't have to throw it (as much)," Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said. "If you have a balanced offense, if you have a good running game, you're not required to chuck balls all day long, which is good for him."
Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who did not practice Friday because of an ankle injury and a separate illness and is listed as "questionable," is third in the NFL with 999 rushing yards.
"It's making (Favre) that much better of a player and that much more effective when he can hand the ball off, or he can play-fake and everybody's going to bite on it," Bears nose tackle Anthony Adams said. "That's why his numbers are down as far as interceptions.
"He doesn't have to play a perfect game. He doesn't have to throw for 300 yards or even 200 yards to have an effective game. Adrian Peterson relieves some of the pressure off him."
In Week 4, the Packers focused on stopping Peterson, and they held him to just 55 yards on 25 carries. But Favre threw for 274 yards and 3 touchdowns with a passer rating of 135.3.
"Oh, he's good," said Bears right defensive end Alex Brown, who sacked Favre and picked him off the last time they met on Dec. 23, 2007. "He has a great supporting cast around him, too.
"The receivers are making plays. That (tight end Visanthe) Shiancoe is making a lot of plays. And then their defense, they're giving them the ball back. It helps their offense get back on the field and make more plays."
Brown has sacked Favre in four of the last five games they've met. But left end Adewale Ogunleye, who has 651/2 career sacks and a team-best 5 this year, has never once gotten to Favre.
He'd love to sack the future Hall of Famer at least once if, for nothing else, than to have something to brag about in retirement.
"I have a lot of respect for him, and a lot of respect for the way he's been playing this year," Ogunleye said. "He's having one of his MVP-caliber year.
"When it's all said and done, and I'm sitting down in front of my TV a couple years from now and watching (football) on Thanksgiving Day, I'll tell my kids I played against a guy like Brett Favre."