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Watching Brett Favre perform this season, Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell said the future Hall of Fame quarterback is playing at the same level he did when the two were teammates with the Packers for nine seasons, from 1997 to 2005.
Longwell said Favre is "still the guy that, any time the offense was on the field, you knew they could drive the length and score a touchdown. He looks the same to me."
Favre is completing 69.1 percent of his passes, with 1,069 passing yards and nine touchdown passes to only two interceptions. His rating in five games is 104.1. Those numbers have been put up in part against some poor defenses, but if he were to continue at his current pace, he would have 29 touchdowns and only six interceptions while throwing for 3,421 yards. In comparison, in Longwell's first year with the Packers, 1997, Favre threw for 3,867 yards, with 35 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and a 92.6 rating, and he won his third NFL MVP award in a row that year.
The Vikings are 5-0 with Favre directing the attack, and Longwell said: "Favre looks as good as I've seen him. He looks fresh, he's having fun, the ball's coming out with a lot of zip, and he's enjoying it, which makes a huge difference when you look forward to coming to work and coming to play."
Longwell believes Favre is enjoying himself more with the Vikings than he did with the Packers toward the end of his 16-year career there, when details of a feud between Favre and General Manager Ted Thompson emerged.
"Things change over time," Longwell said. "Your teammates change, and management changes, and for whatever reason, it might not be as fun. This last year at Green Bay, they had a great squad going to the [NFC] Championship Game. The Jets thing was a whole other episode, and I just think this is a good fit for him. He's healthy and playing really well for us."
Asked about how well Favre has been accepted in the Vikings locker room, Longwell said: "He's a guy you want in the locker room. I mean, there are those guys you certainly want, and he's one of them. He brings a calmness, yet a lot of fun to the locker room, which you need as the games get more and more important."
Longwell said he knew Favre would fit in with the Vikings. "I knew the type of guy he was in the locker room over there in Green Bay all those years, and I knew he would fit in with our group of guys," Longwell said. "We've got a good group of guys, and he's just another piece of the puzzle of the guys we have in the locker room. He's been a great fit and a great addition.
"... You talk to the guys in the offensive huddle, and there's always a calm to him. He'll explain stuff in the huddle, and he's just a guy you know can get the job done. There's just so much confidence to have that guy under center that you know, no matter what, he's going to get the job done for you."
Longwell said he wouldn't be surprised to see the now 40-year-old Favre play a couple more seasons.
"I've seen him do some crazy things over the years," Longwell said. "That's just the way he plays the game. He plays it 100 miles an hour, full speed, like he used to in junior high and high school. He doesn't know any different, and that's what makes him so endearing and why he's so loved by his teammates, because of the way he plays.
"I think if he stays healthy, he can play as long as he wants. Whether he wants to or not, obviously that will be a discussion much later. But if he stays healthy through the season and enjoys it, then there's no reason why he couldn't."
I knew Favre a little bit when he was with Green Bay. I've got to know him a lot better here. He is not only a great player but like another coach on the field and also is a good person.
Praises Triplett, Butler Lee Campbell, who blocked a field goal, had an interception and 11 tackles in the Gophers' victory over Purdue on Saturday, described fellow linebacker Nate Triplett as one of the most impressive athletes he has been around. "He is strong, he is fast and he works hard and he has got a shot now and he is playing well," Campbell said.
Describing the starting linebackers, he said: "Me, Nate and Simoni [Lawrence], we have been working together and we have spent a lot of extra time in the film room and working on the little things, and it is starting to pay off. Now that we are going to get into the brunt of our schedule and start playing some difficult football teams, I think we are going to see what we are all about."
Campbell credits linebackers coach John Butler for the success of the trio. "He is a fantastic coach, he knows more about football than almost any coach I have ever met," Campbell said. "He knows the fine-tuning details that it takes to be a good linebacker, and I think it is starting to rub off on us and I think we are a direct reflection of him."
Jottings The Vikings-Ravens game Sunday is a sellout, and other games at the Metrodome that appeared to be in blackout trouble early in the season are doing much better with the team having a 5-0 record. ... Steve Hauschka, who punted for the Vikings in training camp last year, is now punting for the Ravens.
Among the Gophers baseball team's commitments is Eden Prairie catcher Matt Halloran, son of Eagles coach Mike Halloran, who caught for the Gophers from 1984 to '87. Others expected to sign with coach John Anderson's team in November are infielders Kyle Crocker of Brainerd, Bobby Juan of La Crosse (Central), Wis., and Michael Handel of Sun Prairie, Wis.; and lefthanders D.J. Snelten of Lakes High School in Lake Villa, Ill., and Tom Windle of Osseo High School.
In the 76 Classic men's basketball tournament over Thanksgiving weekend in Anaheim, Calif., the Gophers play Butler -- a school that has averaged 28.3 victories per season in each of the past three years -- in the first round, and either Portland or UCLA in the second round. The other half of the field includes Long Beach State, coached by former Gophers coach Dan Monson. ... The word is that the Gophers' Trevor Mbakwe, who was charged with felony assault after an alleged incident with a woman in Miami, will likely have his trial shifted from December to March. Mbakwe claims he is innocent. Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi hasn't decided as yet whether he will let Mbakwe play.
The Wild has two of the NHL's 50 best players according to the Sporting News. Goaltender Niklas Backstrom comes in at No. 40 and right winger Martin Havlat ranks No. 43.
Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com
