Over and out from Lambeau

FELDY: That was, well, entertaining. Got a little too tight in the third quarter for Vikings fans. I was certainly much more comfortable with a three-touchdown lead as opposed to a four-point lead. As well as the Vikes are playing, they need to figure out a way to step on an opponent's throat and put 'em away. I thought the TD that made it 24-3 early in the second half today was the start of that, then Brian Robison treated the football like a shot put on a kick return and the floodgates opened. The Vikes' D was able to pull it together just in time and preserve the 38-26 win.

Nice day for Brett Favre; he was extremely happy after the game, regardless of how he looked during his news conference.

I'm tired; time for bed. The text below is my running blog from Lambeau. I'll hop back on here tomorrow if I get back to Rochester at a decent time.

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We've got 53:10 until game time as I type this. Anybody else have some butterflies yet? I'll try to update this as much as I can throughout the game. Let's start with ...

Brett Favre hasn't taken the field yet for pre-game warmups, but I have a feeling his greeting is going to be almost equal boos-to-cheers ratio. They're running the feed of the Cowboys game on the jumbotrons here and, during a break in that game, they showed a clip of Favre walking into Lambeau off the team bus. The stadium was about a quarter full at the time, but I'd guess every person in here either cheered or booed. It was pretty close to half and half.

Walking through the tailgating lots this morning, there were a lot more purple jerseys than I expected. And there's no doubt this crowd has been waiting for this game since Aug. 18, when Favre made that plane trip from Mississippi to Minnesota, followed by the O.J.-like car ride with Chili to WInter Park.

Speaking of Favre, some creative Packers fan (we're assuming) covered up the "P" on the street sign "Brett Favre Pass" near Lambeau Field. Yeah, that's how a lot of people feel about him around here.

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I was wrong. Far more boos than cheers. With 48:15 to go before kickoff, Favre jogged onto the Lambeau Field turf with the Vikings other QBs. He went straight to the visitors sideline, and seemed to settle into a spot at about the 50 to start warming up. Perhaps he picked that spot because there is a larger contingent of Vikings fans in that area. I imagine the boos will magnify when Favre takes the field for the Vikings' first series.

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This might start looking like a 2003 Packers reunion. You have Favre on one sideline and there's a good chance we could see Ahman Green, Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton play at some point for the Packers today. Tauscher and Clifton are both active; Offensive linemen Breno Giacomini and Jason Spitz are inactive today for Green Bay. That means Scott Wells starts at center for the Packers.

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Other inactives: For Minnesota -- Antoine Winfield, Albert Young, Naufahu Tahi, Jon Cooper, Darius Reynaud, Jayme Mitchell and LeTroy Guion. Sage Rosenfels is the third QB.
For Green Bay: FB Korey Hall, S Matt Giordano, T Breno Giacomini, C/G Jason Spitz, WR Jordy Nelson, TE Jermichael Finley, DE Jarius Wynn, LB Jeremy Thompson.

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View from my press box seat, about 3 hours before game time.

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It's halftime, 17-3 Vikings. Right now, total yards are 157-46 in the Vikings favor.

I'm sure Chili would be taking a verbal beating in Minnesota right now, were it not for the fact that the Packers are starting T.J. Lang at left tackle and Aaron Rodgers has had to hold the ball for way too long.

The Vikings haven't been completely sharp on offense; defensively, they've been outstanding. Their secondary is playing a whale of a game -- sans Antoine Winfield -- for a second straight week. The reason Rodgers has been sacked at least twice is because he's held the ball for so long looking for an open receiver. He's also scrambled out of the pocket a few times and shook off an owie after Kevin Williams tripped him up on one of those scrambles.

The boos for #4 have died out mostly. He's thrown for 90 yards and a TD, with no interceptions, in the first half. He threaded a laser to Sidney Rice with about 48 seconds to go in the two-minute drill, a throw that set up Ryan Longwell's 41-yard field goal at the end of the first half.

I wouldn't be surprised to see some changes on Green Bay's offensive line to open the second half. I know coach Mike McCarthy is trying to build continuity, but the Packers haven't picked up the blitz or run the ball very well.

The Vikings need to carry this momentum into the second half. THey get the ball to start the third quarter. If they can put another TD up, the fans here will become even less interested. Like I wrote in Saturday's P-B, though, this is Lambeau Field, Halloween weekend, against the Vikings. Crazy stuff happens. Hopefully not in the next 30 minutes, but it does.

I'll check  in again after the game.

Comments

[hello]

are we not covering the ice hawks anymore or what