Brad Childress said Sunday that he hasn’t talked to Brett Favre in a couple of weeks and was not told directly by the retired quarterback that he will make a decision about whether to play by the time the Vikings report to training camp on July 30 in Mankato.

But Childress, who was on vacation last week, did see Favre’s recent comments about having a self-imposed deadline. More importantly, perhaps, Childress also saw the footage of Favre throwing to receivers at a high school in Hattiesburg, Miss.

“I liked his throwing motion, the little bit that I saw on tape,” Childress said. “It looked fine to me.”

Childress has received first-hand reports on Favre’s throwing from offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and head athletic trainer Eric Sugarman, who both made the trip to visit Favre in Mississippi two weeks ago. Favre is recovering from arthroscopic surgery in late May to release the partially torn biceps in his throwing arm and how his arm feels is going to be the key factor in his decision on playing another season.

“I think [Bevell] thought he was progressing,” Childress said. “I think Suge felt the same way.”

Bevell’s presence in Mississippi would lead one to believe that he did more than just watch Favre. Although Favre has said he could coach the Vikings’ West Coast offense because he played in a similar system for so many years in Green Bay, there are certain elements of the offense on which Bevell could work with Favre.

“I think that has been just more articulated,” Childress said. “There will be a spot where that happens, providing that he ends up being with us. But I think it’s just been more banter back and forth. ‘What are you calling this? How are you doing this?’ That kind of thing.”

Childress seemed extremely relaxed as he spoke about Favre while attending Matt Birk’s celebrity gridiron challenge flag football tournament at Minnetonka High School. In fact, he seemed far more relaxed than the reporters who have been chasing the Favre story in recent months. 

“[Am I as] fixated on it as you are?” Childress said, jokingly. “No. I’ve said all the way along, he’s going to let us know when [he’s ready]. It’s not like we’re doing anything but being on vacation right now.”

Childress also seemed to have little concern about recent comments by Vikings Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen. Allen told the Los Angeles Times that getting Favre “would be a bonus,” before adding, “Let’s either get it done and get moving on with it, or let it go. It’s not so much that it’s a distraction, because we’re all professionals and we don’t really buy into that, but it’s annoying, let’s put it that way.”

Said Childress: “I know what most of those guys on the football team are thinking because most of them share it with me. I know where they are at.”

Childress, by the way, was the celebrity quarterback for one of the teams at the tournament, which was held to raise money for Birk’s HIKE Foundation. The foundation provides at-risk Twin Cities children with educational opportunities.

Childress’ club started 2-0, beating a team that had Birk at quarterback and then winning against a squad that had Vikings punter Chris Kluwe at quarterback. Against Birk’s team, Childress threw three touchdown passes on his club’s opening three drives and finished with six TD passes. (The celebrity quarterbacks, a group that included former Vikings QB Brooks  Bollinger, were paired with players who entered the tournament.) 

It was interesting to see Childress in this type of relaxed environment where he got a chance to participate in the action. It also was interesting to see Childress and Birk give each other good-natured grief throughout their game. Birk signed with Baltimore as a free agent in March after 11 seasons in Minnesota and part of the reason was believed to be because the veteran and his coach did not get along.

“That’s just not accurate,” Childress said. “That’s the thing. [Birk] said, ‘Come out here and show the media it’s not as bad as advertised.’ But whatever. … Guys can agree to disagree and people go their own ways. I enjoyed coaching him immensely and he was a great professional. I wish him the best of luck except one game next year.”

The Vikings and Ravens will play on Oct. 18 at the Metrodome.

Said Birk: “I think I said before, did we have some differences? Yeah, we had some disagreements. But I think through some honest and sometimes uncomfortable conversations … we might not have resolved all our differences but I certainly respect him. [Attending this] speaks to what he’s about. I asked him to do this not knowing how he’d react and he’s like, ‘My daughter’s getting married and I’m going out of town, but if I’m in town I’ll do it.’ Sure enough he was and that’s pretty cool.”

Birk made a quick trip back to the Twin Cities on Sunday for the event and will return to his family’s new home in Reisterstown, Md. on Monday. Birk’s wife, Adrianna, is expecting the couple’s fifth child shortly after the NFL season ends.

As for the winner of Birk’s event, the Thrivent Financial squad with former Vikings long snapper and current KFAN morning host Mike Morris beat Yardology 38-22 in the final. Yardology was led by KARE sports director Randy Shaver.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at 6:46 pm and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.