Favre's on fire, Vikes receivers have a hand in it

[November 24, 2009]  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Brett Favre has been fueling Minnesota's passing game with remarkable efficiency, a rhythm reflected by the 40-year-old's career-high completion percentage of 88 posted over the weekend.

The Vikings (9-1) wouldn't be thriving, though, without the success Favre's new pass-catching friends are having up and down the field. Sidney Rice has become his favorite receiver, and rookie Percy Harvin and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe also are consistently finding openings with sharp, smart routes.

They're all making their share of tough catches, too, part of the reason why Favre has just three interceptions on his record next to 21 touchdown passes.

"It really helps," Favre said, "to throw a ball and have guys make it right."

For all the blame placed on Tarvaris Jackson and the other quarterbacks, Minnesota's past passing problems under coach Brad Childress also resulted from a lack of productivity and reliability in the receiving corps.

Guys like Travis Taylor, Marcus Robinson, Troy Williamson, Robert Ferguson and Bobby Wade just couldn't get open -- or hang onto the ball -- enough. Rice was a rookie and Shiancoe struggled to grasp the offense in 2007. Bernard Berrian, who has been in the shadows this season while fighting through a nagging hamstring injury and totaling only 332 yards on 32 receptions, was a boost last year but the 2008 group wasn't nearly as threatening as now.

"Everybody's just running their routes, and with us having so many weapons, nobody can be double covered," Harvin said. "You kind of choose your poison in this offense."

Adrian Peterson was the only player opponents were concerned about during his first two seasons, as evidenced by the stacked fronts he often saw with eight and even nine men in the invisible box defenses draw around the formation five yards off the line of scrimmage. Peterson ran 24 times for only 82 yards in Sunday's 35-9 victory over Seattle, further proof he's still the first guy to stop for Vikings foes.

What's different this year, however, is the coverage in the secondary.

Instead of almost exclusively man-to-man looks, with safeties scooting up to help stop Peterson, they're seeing a mixture of man and zone looks as defenses try to contain Harvin's elusiveness, Rice's leaping skill and Shiancoe's ability to beat linebackers over the middle. Berrian hasn't made much of an impact so far, but his speed up the sideline still must be honored.

"They're all doing a nice job of route running and snapping and separating," Childress said Monday. "All those guys have the ability to win against man-to-man coverages."

Childress's version of the West Coast offense gives receivers ample freedom to adjust their routes. Favre's keen eye -- as well as tutoring from veteran receivers coach George Stewart -- clearly has helped them maximize that, but each week also has brought an example of one of them seeing the defender and deftly maneuvering into the right place to catch one of Favre's passes.

Before one particular play against the Seahawks, Favre saw Shiancoe covered to the outside, where he was supposed to take his route. Favre changed the call at the line, instead throwing straight up the middle to Shiancoe, who quickly looked back for the ball.

"He'd no more of thought to do that in the first year than a man on the moon," Childress said, referring to Shiancoe's struggles in 2007 after signing as a free agent from the New York Giants. "The offense has tremendous flexibility built within it. It's just a matter of understanding what's acceptable and then making sure the quarterback knows what you're going to do."

Shiancoe, who leads the team with seven touchdown receptions, had a season-high eight catches for 78 yards Sunday. One of them was a score and five others gave the Vikings a first down.

"We made sure that we worked on that this year, that man-to-man coverage, because that's what was killing us for the last couple of years," Shiancoe said. "Man-to-man coverage, people couldn't get open. So everybody is playing at that high level, and it's just fun." 

[Associated Press; By DAVE CAMPBELL]

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.