Brett Favre didn't want to come out of Sunday's 26-7 loss to the Carolina Panthers. He let Minnesota Vikings coach Brad Childress know about it. And after the game he let the media know about it.
Television footage showed Favre and Childress in an animated discussion on the sideline during the third quarter, while the Vikings were still leading 7-6. With the offensive line struggling to contain Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers, Favre was getting hurried and knocked down.
Favre did not come out of the game. But The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune reported that according to people with knowledge of the situation, Childress also tried to remove Favre early from the Vikings' 27-10 victory over Detroit on Nov. 15. Favre eventually did come out of that game.
In comments Sunday after the game against the Panthers, Favre left it vague whether the motivation was to prevent him from getting hurt or to try and spark an offense that had been able to put only seven points on the board.
"Yeah, there was a heated discussion, I guess you would call it," Favre said of the exchange. "No secret, I was getting hit a little bit. I felt the pressure on a lot of plays. We had seven points. So I think everyone in the building was like, 'They're not moving the ball, they're not getting points.' Brad wanted to go in a different direction and I wanted to stay in the game.
"We were up 7-6. Yeah, it's not 70-6, but we're up 7-6," Favre added. "So I said, 'I'm staying in the game, I'm playing.' I don't know if it was exactly to protect me, or we had seven points, I'm not sure. That's his call. But we talked it out. We didn't have time, I didn't have time to sit there and say why or what. My response was, we've got to win this ballgame and I want to stay in and do whatever I can. Now, unfortunately, I didn't do that, but that was my intention."
Childress, who spoke to the media before Favre did after the game, downplayed the exchange.
"We were just having a good conversation about the game was heading at that point and time," Childress said. "And what we needed to do to head the other way."
Childress has pulled Favre from six games this season, usually when the Vikings had a big lead late.
Favre, whose play this season has helped Minnesota clinch back-to-back division titles for the first time since 1977-78, was 17 of 27 for 224 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception. The Vikings managed only 10 first downs and went 1-for-10 on third-down conversions.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Television footage showed Favre and Childress in an animated discussion on the sideline during the third quarter, while the Vikings were still leading 7-6. With the offensive line struggling to contain Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers, Favre was getting hurried and knocked down.
Favre did not come out of the game. But The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune reported that according to people with knowledge of the situation, Childress also tried to remove Favre early from the Vikings' 27-10 victory over Detroit on Nov. 15. Favre eventually did come out of that game.
In comments Sunday after the game against the Panthers, Favre left it vague whether the motivation was to prevent him from getting hurt or to try and spark an offense that had been able to put only seven points on the board.
"Yeah, there was a heated discussion, I guess you would call it," Favre said of the exchange. "No secret, I was getting hit a little bit. I felt the pressure on a lot of plays. We had seven points. So I think everyone in the building was like, 'They're not moving the ball, they're not getting points.' Brad wanted to go in a different direction and I wanted to stay in the game.
"We were up 7-6. Yeah, it's not 70-6, but we're up 7-6," Favre added. "So I said, 'I'm staying in the game, I'm playing.' I don't know if it was exactly to protect me, or we had seven points, I'm not sure. That's his call. But we talked it out. We didn't have time, I didn't have time to sit there and say why or what. My response was, we've got to win this ballgame and I want to stay in and do whatever I can. Now, unfortunately, I didn't do that, but that was my intention."
Childress, who spoke to the media before Favre did after the game, downplayed the exchange.
"We were just having a good conversation about the game was heading at that point and time," Childress said. "And what we needed to do to head the other way."
Childress has pulled Favre from six games this season, usually when the Vikings had a big lead late.
Favre, whose play this season has helped Minnesota clinch back-to-back division titles for the first time since 1977-78, was 17 of 27 for 224 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception. The Vikings managed only 10 first downs and went 1-for-10 on third-down conversions.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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