Vikings gamble on Favre upgrade

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre (4) leaves the field at halftime during their NFL preseason football game against the Kansas City Chiefs at the Metrodome in Minneapolis August 21, 2009.

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Minnesota Vikings have taken a huge gamble in signing veteran quarterback Brett Favre who has come out of retirement for the third time.

Bookmakers have slashed Minnesota's odds to reach the Super Bowl but closer inspection of the 10-time Pro Bowl player's recent record suggests he may not bring guaranteed success to his new team.

"He's a great player, and he's going to help this football team in a lot more ways," former NFL head coach Jon Gruden, a Packers assistant during Favre's first three years with Green Bay, told the Star Tribune of Minneapolis.

"He's a winner, and still has a lot of talent,"

Las Vegas bookmakers agree, cutting Minnesota's title odds to 14-1 from 22-1.

Last season the Vikings, who fielded the league's leading rusher in Adrian Peterson, boasted the sixth-best defense in the NFL and captured the NFC North with a 10-6 record.

However, they lost their first round playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles, due largely to their anaemic passing attack.

All this appears to make Favre, three-time league MVP and holder of many NFL passing records, a great fit in the Twin Cities.

But a closer look at the 39-year-old's past few seasons shows a quarterback that is not only on the decline but may not even be an improvement on Minnesota's starter last season, fourth-year signal caller Tarvaris Jackson.

LATE-SEASON COLLAPSE

Only once over the last four seasons has Favre thrown more touchdowns than interceptions. Although he started well for the Jets last year, he fell apart over the last five games, throwing just two touchdowns against nine interceptions.

Meanwhile, Jackson, who was benched after two sub-par performances early in the year, regained the starting role and led the Vikings for the final three regular season games and their playoff loss.

Over that span he threw seven touchdowns and just two interceptions.

But results have to be the main measure of success.

Favre lost four of his final five starts and Jackson carried two wins against two losses.

What head coach Brad Childress and the rest of the Vikings are counting on is the Favre of 2007, the one that was one interception away from leading the Packers back to the Super Bowl.

The Favre who curbed his gunslinger ways, cutting his interceptions total down to 15 and tying his lowest mark in 11 seasons.

The Favre that was cautious but still extremely productive, throwing for over 4100 yards, his highest total since 1998. Most importantly, he led the Packers to a 13-3 record.

Favre is scheduled to throw his first pass for the Vikings in Cleveland on September 13.

(Editing by Ed Osmond)