This should come as no surprise.
Former Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton is again taking aim atBrett Favre and this time it's not just about Favre's decision to play for Minnesota after so many seasons in Green Bay. That was Tarkenton's platform before the season started. Now, Tarkentonis focusing on Favre's performance in the Vikings' overtime loss Sunday at New Orleans in the NFCtitle game. Favre's interception late in the fourth quarter meant the Vikings could not attempt a last-second field goal to win it.
(Before starting with the quotes, I will say it seems as if Tarkenton isentering some dangerous ground here since he was 0-3 as the Vikings quarterback in Super Bowls. Favre also has a Super Bowl ring and Tarkenton does not.)
"[The Vikings] were the better team,"Tarkenton told 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia (via sportsradiointerviews.com). "Their offense turned the ball over five times, but still if he didn't make that stupid play at the end of the game they would have won the game. Now you are in Philadelphia, remember a few years ago when Green Bay played you guys for the, I think it was the championship [actually it was the divisional round in 2003] ... I think you guys went into overtime. I mean he throws the ball straight up in the air, freefalls [and it gets picked by Brian Dawkins and the Eagles kick a field goal to win it]. Do you remember that?
"I have never seen any quarterback much less -- well he is going to bea Hall of Fame quarterback -- make plays like that at a critical time. He has done the same thing in the Giants game [when he threw an overtime interception in 2007]. He plays at home, has the better team and plays against Eli [Manning]. He was a young kid, right? And [Favre] throws the pick ... and then he does what he did the other night which is just shameful because great quarterbacks, and he is a great quarterback, they don't do that. You don't see Peyton Manning do that."
It's not as if Tarkenton doesn't have a point. Those playoff passes that were pickedin the 2003, 2007 and 2009 seasons all can be linked as extremely poor decisions by a guy who certainly knows better. However, Tarkenton's issues with Favre are such that it's clear he has an ax to grind with the guy. Either that or he just likes the publicity that comes with ripping Favre.
In the same interview, Tarkenton objected to how Favre was "flapping around and jumping around," on the field and points out that he played with a torn ACL. However, in Favre's defense he did get beat up pretty bad on Sunday and clearly was limping on a bad ankle.
Finally,Tarkenton predicts Favre will return fora 20th NFLseason but expects plenty of dramatics.