Farbror the Guru

Comment from BillyIdle
Time: January 24, 2010, 4:57 am

Favre’s first season in Minnesota has so far been a magical one, with the 40- year-old fitting right in as the missing piece for a talent-rich Vikings squad that captured a second consecutive NFC North title with a 12-4 regular-season record. The future Hall of Famer did his part by delivering one of the best statistical seasons of his storied 19-year career, amassing over 4,200 passing yards and placing second in the league in touchdown throws (33) and quarterback rating (107.2) in addition to completing a personal-best 68.4 percent of his attempts.

The three-time NFL MVP, who will become the oldest quarterback to start a conference championship game, further illustrated that he still has what it takes during last weekend’s Divisional round of the NFC Playoffs. Favre threw for 234 yards and set a career postseason high with four touchdown passes to fuel Minnesota’s 34-3 rout of the Dallas Cowboys, putting the Vikings within one win of advancing to their first Super Bowl in 33 years.

Favre himself will be trying to get to the Big Game for the first time since the 1997 season, when the former Green Bay star took the Packers to the second of back-to-back Super Bowls. He came close to making a return trip during his final year with the Pack, but threw a crippling interception in overtime of the 2007 NFC Championship that set up the deciding points in the New York Giants’ 23-20 victory that day.

The Vikings have been through some gut-wrenching outcomes in the NFC Championship as well. Minnesota has lost in each of its last four bouts for the conference crown, the most recent being a 41-0 shellacking by the Giants in 2000. Two years earlier, a heavily-favored Vikings team that went 15-1 during the regular season was upset in overtime by the Atlanta Falcons in a game best remembered for usually-automatic Minnesota kicker Gary Anderson’s missed 38-yard field goal try late in the fourth quarter.

The Saints certainly know a thing or two about hard times. A franchise that has produced only nine winning campaigns in 43 years of existence and didn’t make the playoffs in its first 20 seasons will be playing in the NFC title game for only the second time in its history come Sunday.

New Orleans’ only other berth in the NFC Championship came during its storybook 2006 season. One year after both the city and team were decimated by the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, the Saints orchestrated a remarkable seven-game turnaround to reach the playoffs before having their Super Bowl dreams dashed by a 39-14 loss at Chicago.

The 2009 Saints have also experienced plenty of highs and lows. After ripping off 13 straight wins to start this season, New Orleans limped into last weekend’s NFC Divisional matchup with Arizona on an untimely three-game losing streak. The top-seeded Saints quickly regained their early-year form, however, by coming through with a resounding 45-14 triumph over the defending conference champion Cardinals.

New Orleans had all three phases operating at peak efficiency against Arizona. The NFL’s top-ranked offense piled up 418 total yards and received three touchdown passes out of All-Pro quarterback Drew Brees, the defense forced two critical first-half turnovers that were converted into touchdowns, while dynamic running back Reggie Bush had a back-breaking 89-yard punt return for a score in the third quarter.

Like his counterpart on Sunday, Brees had a huge hand in getting the Saints to this point. The gritty field general established an NFL single-year record with a 70.6 completion percentage and also led the league with 34 touchdown passes and a 109.6 quarterback rating. Those sensational numbers were a big reason why New Orleans finished atop the NFL with 510 points over the course of the regular season.

Minnesota stood right behind the Saints in that category with an average of 29.4 points per game, making Sunday’s clash the fifth conference championship that will pit the league’s top two scoring teams.

. . . .American Sports Wire