So much for deciding about next season.NFC North blog
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The Minnesota Vikings are still waiting for an announcement from the quarterback about whether he will be back, although coach Brad Childress has been in regular communication with him.
Childress said he spoke with Favre on Monday, when the 40-year-old grandfather told him he was "spraying weeds" at his home in Mississippi.
"I didn't ask if was DDT, RID or whatever they spray weeds with down there," Childress quipped. "He seems to be doing well."
NFL Network analyst Steve Mariucci, Favre's first quarterbacks coach with the Packers, said on WFAN Radio in New York on Thursday that Favre was still hobbled by the ankle injury he sustained in the NFC Championship Game loss to the Saints.
"He's trying to heal up. His body is recovered except for that ankle," Mariucci said on WFAN. "That's not quite ready yet. It's an ankle that he had surgery on twice before and it's still pretty puffy. You remember he came out of that game with the ankle and went back in, but it's still swollen.
"He's trying to determine: Is his body telling him something here? Or is he going to be feeling better in due time?" Mariucci said. "He still hasn't made up his mind, and the Vikings are not rushing him. That's what's a little bit crazy about it. I thought maybe they'd say, 'Listen, could you tell us by draft day please so we could determine where we're going to go?' But I don't think their draft needs are having to do with Brett. I think they are OK at quarterback. If he plays or if he doesn't play it doesn't matter. I think Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels will be there to play."
Childress said he followed up their conversation by sending Favre a cell phone picture of the practice fields outside Vikings headquarters to show off the recent sunny weather in Minnesota.
"It's so green and warm here that you almost think you're next to the equator," Childress said.
Then on Tuesday, Childress said he sent a text message to Favre after learning the Vikings are scheduled to open the season Sept. 9 in New Orleans in a rematch with the Saints.
Might that be extra motivation for Favre to return and avenge that defeat?
"There's no sense in killing an ant with a sledgehammer. I think he'll be able to connect the dots," Childress said.
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