Edwards: Favre’s prima donna act would have to end
June 18th, 2009 – 2:56 PM by Judd ZulgadDefensive end Ray Edwards made it clear a few weeks back at a Vikings community event that despite all the speculation of Brett Favre coming to the team, he thought his good friend Tarvaris Jackson should be the Vikings’ starting quarterback in 2009.
Edwards, who isn’t afraid to speak his mind, hasn’t changed his tune today as he appears on ESPN’s many platforms during a visit to Bristol, Conn.
According to our friend Kevin Seifert over at ESPN.com, Edwards had some strong feelings about the fact Favre had his own area in which to dress while playing in Green Bay and with the Jets. “You’ve got to go to war with these guys,” Edwards said on “First Take” on ESPN2. “If you don’t want to share a locker room with [your teammates], that’s kind of b.s.”
Favre did have a locker assigned to him with the Packers and Jets but in both cases he used a separate area to dress. “I wouldn’t like it that much,” Edwards said. “Everybody else has got to share a locker room. What makes you so different?”
Edwards later taped an interview that has been airing on ESPN News throughout the afternoon. Here is the portion that involved questions about Favre.
Q. How would you feel about having Brett Favre as your quarterback?
A. “It would be a great thing to have because he’s a Hall of Fame quarterback. I mean who has been the best quarterback of the past 10 years besides Brett Favre? He’s definitely a Hall of Fame quarterback, put up the numbers and he’ll make things happen for his team. So definitely a great addition to our team.”
Q. I’m curious to whether you’re being politically correct right here because there are a number of stories on the Internet that have you saying that most of the guys on the team do not want him as the team’s QB.
A. “I never said we didn’t want him. We just don’t want him to bring his prima donna attitude to our team. Because I feel that will break a team apart.”
Q. What do you mean by prima donna attitude?
A. “Wanting your own locker room and not signing autographs for your teammates and things like that. That’s kind of prima donna-ish to me.”
Q. So if he does come in with not signing autographs and needs his own locker room how does that play out with you guys?
A. “I don’t think it will divide the team but it will divide us from him. Having his back and things like that. Like I said, you’ve got to trust each other in this game we call football because it’s not an individual sport. So him not having our trust [means] it will definitely be hard for us to trust him.”
Q. How is this playing out with Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels?
A. “They are not really paying attention. I think they are just pretty much battling between each other. Between them who is going to be the starting quarterback this year. Not worrying about the competition that’s not there. That being Brett Favre.”
Q. If the Favre thing doesn’t workout how much confidence does the entire team have in either one of those guys?
A. “I mean Tarvaris took us to the playoffs last year. Why not have confidence in him because he’s proven himself to be able to be that quarterback to take us to the playoffs.”
Q. You have been outspoken in your support of Jackson.
A. “Absolutely. Because he’s a quarterback that can make the plays and make the throws. It has been proven. We won with him last year and we can win with him this year.”
Q. If Brad Childress came to you today and said you get to make the decision who do you want as your QB?
A. “Tarvaris. Hands down. Like I said, he can make the throws, he’s able to escape the pocket if he has to and make plays with his feet.”
67 Responses to "Edwards: Favre’s prima donna act would have to end"
Q. If the Favre thing doesn’t workout how much confidence does the entire team have in either one of those guys?
A. “I mean Tarvaris took us to the playoffs last year. Why not have confidence in him because he’s proven himself to be able to be that quarterback to take us to the playoffs.”
Umm… Ray… Gus Frerotte took you to the playoffs - not Tarvaris.
ray’s on nfl live on espn right now. I’d also add i’m glad he’s not the owner of the team. seems like he’s letting his personal friendship with jackson get in the way of a business decision to field the best team possible.
Wasn’t Ray the one who was going to break the single season sack record????
I think Ray likes to flap his gums.
Go Vikes
Edwards is right, If Favre does come here he should be right besides his teamates in the locker room. Thats the way you get a good feel for the guys around you. Interaction with your team before & after a game can make a big difference with your confidence going into, and coming out of a game. After the game is as important, to go over & fix this or that among themselves & to get pumped for the next game.
Maybe Bretty is scared to dress with other men? He might be ashamed of something…..
Not like our Shank-dog, he isn’t scared of nothing, not even the camera.
Ray should also worry about his own starting job. He might lose it.
Go Vikes
“Umm… Ray… Gus Frerotte took you to the playoffs - not Tarvaris.”
That jumped out at me too.
“Ray should also worry about his own starting job. He might lose it.”
DEAD ON comment John…it’s looking more & more like Robison deserves his spot.
Ray Edwards, proposed current NFL sack leader, should consider wandering into Brett’s locker room and planting one on him. Time he does something useful with his lips!
Ha!! Tarvaris took us to the playoffs? Is he joking?! Tarvaris was on the bench for the majority of the season, and barely beat a third-string Giants team.
I love loyal friends, but friends also need to be honest with each other. Tjack has not shown us that he is an NFL starting QB yet. I’m not saying never, just haven’t seen anything yet.
The T-Joke era is almost at an end. Worst 2nd round selection EVER!
The other problem is that as far as a scrambling QB goes, TJ is the guy! His patience in the pocket is dismal when he trys to throw, forcing it in double coverage but, thats where his legs come in & his speed when nobody is open. He can blow out Rosenfels & Favre easy in a sprint. He made some good yardage last year when he needed to. Don’t have that speed or agility with Brett or Sage, they’ll just get sacked or drop if hurried for negative yards.
ray edwards is another one those players that isn’t as good as he thinks he is.
i am not a fan of favre coming here. i never liked it from the beginning. i think it will make us look a little clueless, and at the same time desperate seeing as we traded for sage not even 3 months ago.
i don’t think t-jax is a good qb. at the same time he isn’t bad either. ultimately he lacked coaching in college at asu because of his natural abillity. d-2 schools just don’t have the money to employ numerous position coaches and a lot of d-2 schools don’t have large film study rooms like the larger universities have. at this point….i still don’t think much is being done in developing tarvaris.
i think if sage can play smart football….keep the ball out of the defense’ hands….and if we can convert more third downs….we can be just fine w/o brett. it is looking more and more like favre is gonna be a viking….so i’m beginning to come to terms with this whole thing.
I think that same thing jumped out at everyone - Jackson had nothing to do with getting the Vikings in the playoffs. In fact I think it’s accurate to say that if he had played the last few games the Vikings would have been watching the playoffs on TV. I think Robison will make Mr. Edwards a backup this year and if Favre does sign here there is a very real possibility that Action Jackson gets traded for a 5th round pick.
T Jack’s physical skills are unmatched by anybody on the Vikes QB roster.
It’s that head of his, that cannot seem to read a D, and freaks out under pressure that’s the kiss of death for him.
Everyone is completely missing the point with this. Who cares if Favre doesn’t want to see another naked fat guy changing in the locker room, that is his choice. It says he has his own place to get dressed. Once he gets dressed I’m sure he is in the locker room interacting with the other guys. And as far as saying T Joke can carry this team, it is just that, a big joke! If Chilly let’s T Joke play long enough he might break Favre’s record…..of interceptions. Listen, I am not defending Favre, he WAS a great quarterback, but he will do nothing for this team same as T Joke. Sage needs a chance to prove himself to the Vikings, T Joke had his now its time to move on.
Raytard Edwards should keep his mouth shut. Tjoke may his friend, but if I’m “going to war” as he puts it, I would certainly rather have Favre as my “General”. If Favre signs he would certainly be a more significant part of the team than either of these two guys.
LOL… as long as we are asking irrelevant members of the team what their opinion is on the matter, could we get an interview with Juan Garcia or Albert Young?
Ray Edwards is quickly becoming a bigger joke then his best buddy. With Udeze coming back and Robison charging hard, I think Edwards may lose more then his starting job. Maybe he and TJack can go up to Canada together and try out for the Ottowa Rough Riders.
“Raytard.”
LOL. That sums it up nicely.
This coming from a guy who said he was the sh&t and was going to break all these records and hasn’t had over 5 sacks a year…
Edwards needs to shut his trap….I guess he was too busy to actually watch the offense play since he’s been on the team if he thinks Jackson has made all these great plays..
Hey raytard, have you ever looked at his stats??
58.4% completion
20Td 18INT
14 fumbles and lost 50% of them..
yup…he’s the man…
Ray better focus on his own job as Robison may take it.
Does everybody forget that this is only TJacks 4th year. And he was forced into it his second year and was yanked very, very early last season but not because he was terrible…only because the team wasn’t winning. He only had 2 picks last year yet we pulled him because Brad was in the hotseat because we had a “super bowl” team and were not winning. Give him a chance…we don’t need a fading Brett Farve late in his career, he has only 1 good FULL year in the last 6 or 7. Give Tjack a chance
And furthermore, there are 2 main plays that stick out in that second game that probably would have saved TJack’s playing time. First is Shiancoe not catching a pass in the endzone that went off his fingertips and the other was a screen pass bobby wade that wade just utterly screwed up when he for some reason didn’t run behind his blockers and was tackled and didn’t pick up an easy first down when they were in the red zone.
T Jack is young…one year learning under a HOF QB can’t hurt him, only help him, right? So what’s the downside of bringing in an experienced, smart QB who can read a D and audibalize?
He won’t need to gunsling, so his rash of INT’s does not NEED to happen.
[…] On one hand, it’s hard to imagine Brad Childress letting go of Jackson, the quarterback he hand selected in his first draft with the franchise. Jackson also continues to have significant support within the Vikings locker room. […]
For Brad’s Sake!
Can you guys with the man crush on Jackson stop it with the “he’s still a rookie” line of reasoning? Dude has had 3 FULL offseasons with the team and has been given more chances to succeed by the current regime then any other player in recent memory. How often do Quarterbacks blossom in their 4th season in the NFL? This clown hasn’t even shown enough flashes imo to deserve a spot on the roster this spring and he is currently 1A on the depth chart. Do a little mental exercise…. Go around the league to each team and ask yourself if Jackson was on this roster where would he sit on the depth chart. We don’t need a guy who would be 3rd string in a lot of NFL cities to be our potential starter.
Remember, in college he couldn’t beat out a guy who plays WR in the NFL and had to transfer to a second rate D1AA school. Its not like he has a body of work to fall back on that leads one to believe he is going to suddenly bloom into a competent NFL QB. He is a reach by a stubborn man who refuses to admit he was wrong.
Jackson DID lead us to the playoffs!
I want Favre to play here as badly as anyone, but it sounds to me like most of you have already forgotten what actually happened last year.
The Vikings were 7-5 when Jackson got the job back, and were actually trailing DETROIT!!! 6-3 late in the first half when Frerotte got hurt after throwing 2 interceptions. Jackson led them to 17 points and the win coming off the bench, but everybody credits Gus with being 8-3 as a starter. He would have been 7-4 with a loss to Detroit if T-Jack hadn’t saved his rear.
Then, Jackson started the last three games, the drive to the playoffs, and had the highest QB rating in the league over those three games. When the playoffs were on the line, he was the best QB playing. Then he tanked in the playoff game and everyone forgot.
Oh well, Go Favre!
Matt Jones makes a good point.
“Oh noes,” says Tarvaris.
Everyone also forgets he was playing QB against defenses that were constantly stuffing the box to stop AD.
How do you NOT have a good QB rating playing against that?
Hey Ed, FYI Tarvaris got us to the playoffs last year, NOT Gus. Frerotte was well on his way to losing to the lowly Lions (shutout at halftime) before TJ bailed his ass out.
Edwards is dead-on. Jackson is the better QB choice at this point in time. What’s with all the Favre worship here? He stunk ten years ago, and now he’s got a bum arm. And let’s not forget he’s a CHOKE artist in the playoffs. 6 picks against the Rams, 4 picks against the Vikes, bonehead INT against Philly in OT, bonehead INT against the Giants in OT, badly outplayed by Vick at Lambeau. Everyone knows he’s the all-time INT leader, but did you know he also has thrown the most INTs in the history of the playoffs. And this is the guy you want? Seriously? What a bunch of absolute MORONS!
Hey Tomb,
If it’s so easy to compile a good QB rating against defenses that stacked the box, then why didn’t Gus do it? It doesn’t work both ways. Face it, Jackson played very well down the stretch.
tomb: simple. by not watching film. by not knowing your hot reads. by not knowing when to audiable at the line because the safety is creeping up in the box. by not having faith in yourself. by not……i could go on all day with this. i like t-jax’s potential….at this point potential is not good enough. sage has at least proved that he can compete in this league. he nearly beat the colts twice last year. people beat sage up for the fumble that turned the game around against indy…..i’d take that anyday. what you saw was a man being competitive doing whatever he can to win.
Matt You are RIGHT! T-Joke is a Joke along with the Chilli Dip Wad. I am not a fan of bringing in Favra, but as a QB he can run circles around either of the two we have.
Goodbye, Ray. Have a good life. BF
You guys obviously missed the respect that coaches and players around the league show Brett Favre wherever he goes.
There is mot more of a team player anywhere in the league. His leadership is unmatched. He works harder in practice than anyone. ExtraSensoryPinnochioNose staffers ought to be talking to former teammates of Brett, i.e., Ahman Green, William Henderson, Robert Ferguson, RYAN LONGWELL, Darren Sharper, Donald Driver, Aaron Rodgers, Bubba Franks, Al Harris, ….as well as coaches: Sherman, Reid, Marriucci, Holmgren….Brett doesn’t have to prove anything. His record speaks for itself.
As for interceptions, I have hundreds of Favre games on tape and you could take all the tipped passes, the batted passes, the coughed up catches ruled as interceptions, the botched pass routes,
and lop off charges against Favre. C’mon guys, you know a quarterback throws to a spot where a receiver is supposed to go. It’s like leading a target in skeet or duck hunting.
All the guys on the Vikings have to do is take care of business and don’t expect ANY quarterback to do your job for ya. Anybody can make another player look bad by missing blocks, missing tackles, running poor routes, dropping passes..you name it BUT the game tapes show who is what!!
I watch my tapes with the sound off, like the coaches tapes, and you would be surprised what you see that way. If you haven’t tried it, do it. You will appreciate what any quarterback can & cannot do when other team menbers sag in the traces!
With or without his own locker, you won’t find many, IF ANY, former Favre team members calling HIM a Prima Donna.
He has taken too many hits and played with too many injuries to deserve THAT.
They should ship out Edwards with Jackson so they can help a different team get to the SB together.
gatorade…Farve does NOT practice as hard as anybody. In fact he has tried to avoid training camps for the last couple of years. So that is false.
Second I have no man crush on TJack, I am saying that I would give TJack another chance then let an ailing veteran into the lineup. Farve LOVES to throw the tight pass, it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t have too, he wants too. So he will have interceptions and by the way with the whole audible thing Brad hates letting his quarterbacks audible, in fact he didn’t allow Brad Johnson (how many year veteran) audible. Granted he isn’t a HOF QB but Brad isn’t going to change a whole lot just because Farve is coming in. Therefore the whole audible thing isn’t that big of a deal for our quarterbacks cuz our coach is dumb enough that he thinks his play is good enough for any defense.
Tomb says…
T Jack is young…one year learning under a HOF QB can’t hurt him, only help him, right? So what’s the downside of bringing in an experienced, smart QB who can read a D and audibalize?
He won’t need to gunsling, so his rash of INT’s does not NEED to happen.
Tomb, I finally agree with you on something!
Fred thinks its refreshing to hear an athlete like Rays Edward give his honest opinion (even if the guy is a kook). Freds gets tired of hearing guys like Greenway spew the same old same, old time after time after time…blah, blah,blah…110% percent, gut check time, hall of fame this or that. We need more guys like Steriod Pat Williams. Now Pat is an interesting listen, if Freds could only figure out what the heck he is sayings.
JKelly, what do you have Tjacks jersey and don’t want to throw it away after your 25 dollar purchase or something? Your blinded by something saying Tjack played well down the stretch.
When you have an outstanding running game and solid defense, you need a game manager, not an over the hill gun slinger. Don’t take a bunch of risks, when all you have to do is not make mistakes. Favre has 3 wins in his last 10 playoff games. He has a QB rating of 77.8 in his last 12 playoff games (wow, good thing he secured those HOF credentials in the first half of his career). In his last 4 playoff appearances he has had 2 of the worst OT picks in history. In his last 8 playoff games he has 14 TDs and 16 picks. Google “favre overrated sal paolantonio” for good reading and more facts on this butthead. For goodness sake Favre RETIRE for good. Give your ego a rest.
Well said Kendel. Freds couldn’t agree more.
I guess Ray Edwards is sore because his good buddy T-Jack coud lose his job. Oh well, to bad.
And Jackson has played so well in the playoffs. So has Sage… oh wait…no, nevermind.
so kendel Favre is overrated…what is Jackson and Sage………not good football players…….
C’mon people, Jackson is just not that good. And Sage is what he is, a career back-up. MAYBE we need a QB with an ego. You guys keep bringing up Favre’s past playoff failures, ok, but with Rosenfels or T.J. Im not so sure we even get to the postseason. And even if we do, same thing that happened last year, nothing. Im just sayin that Brett gives us a better chance at, say 11 or even 12 wins and maybe a 1st round bye. Then, hey if the cardinals can do it why not the Vikings. Maybe old Favre didnt have the talent we do now. The window is small.
Just like I heard on another blog, with Favre, go ahead put 8 or 9 men in the box to stop AD. I dare ya…
I cannot believe that ANYONE in here thinks a 4th year rookie QB who has more often than not looked like a deer staring down a Kenworth on a dark road is a better option than Favre. You guys need to get over your Sid Hartman syndrome. Just because someone is on the vikings does not automatically make him the best player in the league. We have the pieces in place to make a run right now, (sans a legit #1 QB) we don’t have time for a QB to “potentially” amount to more than a hill of crap. Stick Favre with our running game, and we have a much better chance of making some noise. We’ve seen what T-Joke can do, and there really isn’t anyone around the league that has been all that impressed. Hey, maybe he can go get a job in the UFL with Brooks Bollinger.
Well now I know what John Madden is doing in retirement. He is obviously behind half these comments.
Ray Edwards needs to shut his flapping trap, and concentrate on what HE needs to do, in order to be ready to play football. No one wants to hear his opinions, which sound like they’re based on speculation, and hear-say, rather than fact.
you guys are all experts and you’re all right.
there i said it.
you can shut down the blog now Judd and Chip, you’ve done your job!!
you guys are all experts and you’re all right.
there i said it.
you can shut down the blog now Judd and Chip, you’ve done your job!!
Ray Edwards truely is a legend in his own mind !!…How many sacks you going to predict for yourself this year Ray ??..Even when you were healthy last year ~ the X Ray showed very few cracks in the offenses you played against !!!
Favre made an “average” team look very good last year early in the season…With a playbook he didn’t even understand…
Favre with the Vikes…Brett is coming to a very good team…And could become a great team this year with his leadership…When you look at the talent the Vikings have on “both” sides of the ball this year on offense and defense…This could very well be the most talented group “ever” put together on “one team” in purple !!!…
Quick slants,screens,shuffle passes, and reading defenses…Game changing audibles at the line from a “hall of fame” QB !!!…
I really don’t understand why so much attention is being payed to “stats” of a QB that was playing with a bum shoulder the last 8 games season last year ??…The other 15-16 years of his career he played pretty well…
Manning and Brady have a job…Favre would be the next guy on my list to lead this team (for me)…I like our chances with Favre…But if it comes down to where Favre does retire…Sage and T Jack play football too…Vikes have a very good team this year…And should be a lot of fun to watch !!!
Go Vikes !!!
Favre won’t be required to throw 35-40 passes a game like he had to last year. They basically threw his arm off with the Jets. This is the perfect situation for him to play in with AD lining up beside him in the backfield. And Favre at 40 is still easily one of the top 10 QB’s in the league.
I want to know how much of the anti-Favre stuff is because you guys don’t think he can do it anymore, and how much is just because he was a Packer for 16 years.
Judd or Chip -
If Favre does come to town. Who is the odd man out at QB? The Vikings seem to be high on the development of Booty, but there is no way they can take four QBs into the season and also no way they will sneak Booty onto the practice squad. Please comment.
[…] Said Vikings DE Ray Edwards of QB Brett Favre, “I never said we didn’t want him. We just don’t want him to bring his prima donna attitude to our team.” […]
Isn’t Ray Edwards the guy that said he was going to set the sack record last year? How many sacks did he end up with??? I don’t have much respect for what this guy says and I think he should learn to keep his mouth shut.
Ray ~ For the record…
5.0 sacks does not = 22.5 NFL single season record…
Favre does not = prima donna…
Brett is a blue collar QB that leaves it “all” out on the field every Sunday !!!
I am sure that Chilly is relieved that no one on this page today is blaming the head coach.
After all, it is not really his fault that Daunte Culpepper, Brad Johnson, Brooks Bolinger,Kelly Holcomb,Tyler Thigpen,T-Jack,Gus Ferotte, Koy Detmer, JD Booty, or anyone else has been able to run his kick-ass offense.
I am sure that Chilly is relieved that no one on this page today is blaming the head coach.
After all, it is not really his fault that Daunte Culpepper, Brad Johnson, Brooks Bolinger,Kelly Holcomb,Tyler Thigpen,T-Jack,Gus Ferotte, Koy Detmer, JD Booty, or anyone else has been able to run his kick-ass offense.
If Farve’s arm does heal in time you would have to think he is a better option than Rosenfels. T-Jack could probably learn something about reading defenses and leadership from Farve.
But…. only if the arm is ok.
Hey Minnesota citizens and players, coaches, staff, management, fans, etc. of the Minnesota Vikings…
The FAVRE3.0 EXPERIENCE is coming to your town soon!
His act will seem unassuming AND at times sincere, but, you must shower him and his following with utter adoration and glorification and show them (his travelin’ clan)extreme preferrential treatment for the experience to feel complete for EVERYONE involved in Viking land. GOOD LUCK and may the favre be with you.
(p.s. He is just using “ya’ll” to stick it to US Packer fans, so don’t get TOO attached when it doesn’t work out)
It could be that: A) Farve sees an opportunity to QB an otherwise excellent team to the Super Bowl, or B) gbpckr is right and Farve has a hard-on for the Packers. I hope it is option A, but it makes you wonder.
[…] On one hand, it’s hard to imagine Brad Childress letting go of Jackson, the quarterback he hand selected in his first draft with the franchise. Jackson also continues to have significant support within the Vikings locker room. […]
viewtopic
John
[…] Unfortunately, despite the beliefs of these delusional few, there is in fact a negative to the whole affair - the introduction of bad vibes into the Vikings locker room. The potential for this was already demonstrated a few weeks ago when Ray Edwards (bravely, given the profusion of Branch Favridians out there) spoke out about Favre’s diva reputation and his own hopes that Brett will put that aside for once in his life and try to mesh with the team. And now another Viking, Jared Allen, has suggested that the whole Favre saga is beginning to wear on the players. […]
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PianoDraft
Megacool Blog indeed!… if anyone else has anything it would be much appreciated. Great website Enjoy!
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