Gunslinging days gone? Favre still brings the heat, but his velocity is no big deal for Vikes

Favre still zings it, but velocity no big deal now

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The zing on Brett Favre’s passes has long been legendary, but at this stage of his career he’s more of a crafty thrower than the gunslinger his image was previously centered around.

Favre’s velocity is not a big deal to the Minnesota Vikings. The transition to their new quarterback has been more about route-running preferences and the timing of his release. There haven’t been any awkward adjustments to his speedballs or horror stories about broken knuckles or blistered fingers.

“When he first got here it was a change of pace, but Tarvaris Jackson doesn’t throw any softer,” rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin said. “Since I’ve been here, I’ve been catching pretty hard balls. I catch them from him so many times it becomes routine.”

Jackson’s inaccuracy and inconsistency at this most critical position prompted Minnesota’s pursuit of the league’s all-time leading passer and bumped him to backup status. Jackson, though, does not lack for arm strength.

Favre’s rhythm with his receivers remains a work in progress, but that’s not because he’s throwing heat they can’t handle.

“It’s fine,” wide receiver Bernard Berrian said. “T-Jack throws harder anyway.”

Here’s where Favre’s skill is still unique, however: The quick trigger.

“As soon as you turn around his ball is right there,” wide receiver Darius Reynaud said. “You’ve got to hurry up and get your hands up. I caught some in practice last week: As soon as I turned around the ball is right in my face. So I had to put my hands up. I almost missed it, but I caught it.”

Tight end Visanthe Shiancoe said he has had to concentrate harder to catch Favre’s passes.

“It’s a really tight spiral,” Shiancoe said. “The spin is the real difference in what I’ve seen from other quarterbacks. Other quarterbacks might throw just as hard, but the spin is a little different so you’ve got to really look it in to your hands.”

Favre showed his risky side with rainbows downfield last year with the New York Jets. But his focus on precision and putting a talented offense in position to score — rather than doing it all himself — is a progression that began a few years ago with the Packers under coach Mike McCarthy.

As Favre has aged, his style has evolved. Through three games, he has five touchdown passes and only one interception. He was off-target for most of last Sunday’s game against San Francisco, but the winning drive in the final minute was a vintage performance. The final throw into the back of the end zone to Greg Lewis was put in the perfect place.

“I want to just play the way I played last week, with a few more improvements,” Favre said, looking ahead to Monday’s super-hyped game against Green Bay. “There are a few plays that I could have made last week that I didn’t. Fortunately, the one that I did make was a huge play for us.”

McCarthy remarked about Favre’s poise from watching the film in preparation for the game this week.

“I think he still throws the ball with good velocity,” the coach said. “I think it was clearly evident just on the last throw of the San Francisco game. It was an excellent throw and a great catch. I think he still has good feet. He’s always had great command of the line of scrimmage, just the way he has handled that aspect of it. I think he looks sharp.”

Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings jammed his right index finger while catching a ball from Aaron Rodgers during an offseason workout, so he’s more impressed with the pass speed of his current quarterback than his old one. Jennings said it looks on video like Favre’s ball isn’t going as fast as it did when he was in his prime.

“Aaron is above that. He throws it with a lot of juice,” Jennings said.

The last time Favre played for the Packers in the Metrodome, he set the NFL’s career record for touchdown passes with a bullet to Jennings. Two years later, the strange sight of Favre in purple will be apparent for all.

“That’s the way the tables have turned, and that’s the case right now, and best of luck to him and their team,” Jennings said. “I’ll pray that no one gets hurt, no one gets injured, and everybody walks off the field healthy — but we leave victorious.”

So the Vikings will aim for a stronger offensive performance than they had against the stingy 49ers, trusting the touch on Favre’s throws as he spreads the ball around will be precise enough again to supplement Adrian Peterson’s running — and that the old man is still sturdy enough to beat his old team.

“As a receiver it’s our job to catch the ball, whether it’s hard or whether it’s soft,” Lewis said. “I couldn’t care less how hard he throws it. If he throws it to me, I’m going to do everything I can to try to corral it.”