Giving credit where credit is due

Some quick thoughts on Brett Favre and other items of interest from a largely entertaining Monday Night game, plus the oddly timed firing of Chiefs OC Chan Gailey and how it affects that offense...

- I am as tired of the entire Brett Favre saga as much as the next person (assuming the next person isn't Rachel Nichols or one the other ESPN reporters who were forced to camp out on Favre's Hattiesburg, MS front lawn all summer), but I have to admit I was rather impressed with what #4 showed against the Texans.

From a pure football standpoint, my questions with this latest Favre comeback included the status of his injured arm (elbow, rotator cuff) and the likely lack of rapport, timing that he would have with his offensive teammates considering he was showing up about an hour before the season started.

On the first point, Favre's arm looked lively and he did not appear to be pulling any punches on his passes against an improving Texans defense. Though he was more game manager than gunslinger, the Vikes new QB was more than effective, completing 13-of-18 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown. There was also no sign of discomfort from a cracked rib that Favre himself speculated about before the game. (Seriously, if we are going to waste all this time on Favre, shouldn't there be some sort of inquiry into the validity of all these suppossed injuries that he suffers yet heroically plays through? I am not calling BS on all them, but the level of exaggeration grows each year. At this point, it is hard to know what is real and what is myth when it comes to John Madden's favorite human being.

As for getting the offense to click, certainly having Adrian Peterson bust out a 75-yard scoring run on the first play from scrimmage helps. The Vikes offense "only" managed to score on two other drives, one starting out from deep inside Texans territory, but Favre orchestrated a nine-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 28-yard catch and run score by Chester Taylor. They also had only one 3-and-out series with Mr. Wrangler Jeans directing traffic. With AP, Taylor, Bernard Berrian, rookie Percy Harvin, Sidney Rice and Visanthe Shiancoe, Favre has plenty of weapons at his disposal and his familiarity with the playbook appears to be making the introduction to the players on the field an easy one, schism and all.

Fantasy owners need not fly Favre up their draft boards as the run-heavy attack will limit his numbers most weeks, but he could still post three touchdowns in a given game, making him a potential rotation fantasy option for some and a mid-to-high QB@2 for most.

- speaking of the ultra-quick Harvin, the in-game results were mixed (had three receptions for 31 yards, but missed a catchable pass in end zone and was flagged for two penalties), but the potential he flashed was bold and bright. The Vikes lined him all over the field, including as a wildcat QB with Favre sent out wide, and he showed the ability to break tackles in the open field. He will not be a week in, week out type option, but Harvin is the kind of lightning in the bottle type player that defenses fear (seriously, how will defenses be able to focus on him AND Peterson at the same time) and fantasy owners crave. His ADP has jumped two rounds since July, but his game breaking potential makes him a fair value and upside play as a WR3/flex type even in the 8th round.

- Watching AP sprint down the right sideline for that long score erased any lingering concerns I had about taking him with the #1 overall pick in an upcoming non-PPR draft (was debating trading the pick, not taking another player), but seeing that Chester Taylor score reminded me that I will also need to stock up on Maalox before the season starts.

- In terms of where he is going in drafts, Matt Schaub is my favorite fantasy quarterback this year outside of the top-4, but the brittle one showed once again why he is also one of the scariest passer options this season when he suffered an apparent ankle injury late in the first half. The Texans quarterback gutted out the drive, one that was capped off by a Steve Slaton score, but did not return, though the team said he could have if it was a regular season game. Since the injury factor is the biggest knock against Schaub, seeing him limp around did not change his ranking (7th on my draft board) in my eyes, but it emphasized the point that Schaub owners need to take a quality QB2 perhaps a round or two earlier than they normally would.

- Kevin Walter, another one of the Texans I love this year, went out in the first quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return. Walter's q-rating among fantasy owners has been rather low already and this will not help his cause, making the Texans #2 receiver a very attractive value pick around the 8th round, assuming the injury is not serious. Andre Davis would likely step in if Walter missed time and would be worth a roster spot in most leagues if pressed into service.

- In other news, the firing of Chiefs offensive coordinator Chan Gailey means Todd Haley will pull triple duty as rookie head coach, quarterbacks coach and veteran play caller, having served in that third role as the OC for the Cardinals during their Super Bowl run last season. Based on Haley's volume passing approach with the Cards, it was already assumed the Chiefs would throw early and often and those expectations may now be understated with their no longer being a middle man in Gailey calling the plays. This should be good news for Matt Cassel, once he returns from injury, along with Dwayne Bowe and the Chiefs other receivers. The same cannot be said for the overvalued Larry Johnson, who caught only 12 passes last year and was already in danger of losing playing time to backup and third down RB Jamaal Charles.