Think hard before coveting Favre

When Brett Favre was at home riding tractors in Hattiesburg, Miss., most people were more than willing to conveniently forget that his final pass in the NFL was an interception that essentially ended the Packers' dream season.

We wanted to focus on the 38-year-old finding the fountain of youth, and carrying -- sometime literally -- his teammates around Lambeau Field and to an improbable NFC Championship Game appearance.

Now that he has the "itch" to return, we're forced to debate whether it's a good idea.
And the debate shouldn't be a long one.

It won't be in Green Bay, so Favre will have to learn a new offense and get comfortable with new personnel in training camp.

We know he' not going to Chicago, Detroit or Minnesota. Carolina and Washington would be getting a bigger distraction than the possible upside is worth, considering Favre can't be considered a major upgrade over Jake Delhomme or Jason Campbell.
Kansas City, Miami and the Jets won't be contenders, so there's little point in shipping Favre off to any of those three.

It essentially boils down to Tampa Bay, where coach Jon Gruden has always had an affinity for older players and acquiring as many arms as possible. Favre fits both descriptions, and Gruden's version of the West Coast Offense should be among the easiest for Favre to pick up in a matter of weeks.

But that doesn't make it a good idea for the Bucs, who reached the playoffs last year with Jeff Garcia. Would Favre be much of an upgrade, if any?

Consider that Favre has thrown 100 interceptions over the past five years alone. Garcia threw just four all last season and has a 23-six TD-to-INT ratio the past two years.

For every highlight-reel touchdown, there are still far too many negative plays. The Bucs have a perfectly serviceable aging quarterback who doubles as a team leader. No need to bring the circus to town when the Bucs have an excellent chance to win one of the league's weakest divisions.

Lions & Giants NFC's paper tigers

A couple of NFC "contenders" got handed a heavy dose of reality Sunday.

The Lions and Giants, who entered Week 10 with 6-2 records, still have beaten a combined two teams that currently have winning records -- Detroit taking down Tampa Bay (5-4) and New York handling Washington (5-4).

Neither team's resume is particularly impressive, especially after Detroit was routed in Arizona and the Giants succumbed to Dallas for the second time this season. However, as the Cowboys and Packers continue to assert themselves as the only real class of the conference, the Lions and Giants exit the week still holding wild card spots.

The next litmus test comes when the Giants travel to Detroit next Sunday. But as two of only six NFC teams with winning records, even the loser at Ford Field has plenty of time to regroup for a playoff run.

"We know how good Detroit is," said Giants coach Tom Coughlin, "and we know that as the season gets shorter, all the games are tough. We have no excuses. We had our chances, our opportunities, and we just didn't play well enough to win. Not tonight. We were ineffective with the ball in the second half, we didn't get the quarterback pressure we wanted and it was a big game in our stadium and we couldn't control it."

There are a few quarterback situations worth keeping an eye on this week.

• Rex Grossman took over for injured Brian Griese and threw a game-winning touchdown for Chicago. Even if Griese's shoulder injury isn't serious, it will be interesting to see if coach Lovie Smith stick with Grossman.
• As the Ravens' season has unraveled, so has the play of Steve McNair. Coach Brian Billick declined to give him a strong vote of confidence, as he has in recent weeks. There's a good chance the Ravens make the switch to Kyle Boller this week.
• Getting knocked out of Sunday's lost to Denver was the only thing that kept the Chiefs' Damon Huard from being bench. Coach Herm Edwards is mulling starting Brodie Croyle in an attempt to spark his passing game averaging just 207.9 yards per game while throwing nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

4-0 Packers Hardly Perfect

Clearly the feel-good story through the first month of the season, the Green Bay Packers still can't get away from the notion that they're by far the least imposing of the four remaining unbeaten teams.

However, most people don't realize the Packers have an eight-game winning streak after finishing last season with four consecutive wins. And if they can manage to beat Chicago on Sunday, they'll put three games between themselves and their most feared competition in the NFC South (sorry, Detroit).

With two home games leading into their bye week, the Packers have plenty to be excited about. But they also have a lot of work to do to stay on top considering they have the league's worst running attack.

Sooner than later, the Packers must find production somewhere among the group of Vernand Morency, rookies Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn and second-year player Ryan Grant.

Quarterback Brett Favre is playing lights out with a 97.3 passer rating considering the one-dimensional offense he's running. But it's too much to expect Favre to play nearly mistake-free football through a 16-game schedule if his supporting cast doesn't step up in a hurry.

"We're not blind to the things we need to work on, and I think that's just part of keeping the focus of the football team," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.

Other quarterback news:

• Bears coach Lovie Smith is sticking with Brian Griese for at least another week, but one has to wonder how long the leash will be. At 1-3, the Bears are quickly running out of time to let Griese shake off the rust and help the scuffling offense become more consistent.
  
• Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart remains the starter, but he isn't making many fantasy owners happy. With Leinart struggling to find consistency and confidence in the new offense, coach Ken Whisenhunt has not been shy to turn to Kurt Warner, especially when the Cardinals want to run up-tempo.
  
• David Carr is coming off a horrendous first outing with Carolina. The Panthers better hope he rebounds quickly with Jake Delhomme likely out a few more games -- and possibly longer if surgery is required on his ailing elbow.
  
• Trent Dilfer will start the 49ers' next few games in place of injured Alex Smith. San Francisco's offensive line is already struggling mightily, missing several blocking assignments against Seattle, and it's not going to get any easier with an immobile backup quarterback under center.
  
• Bills quarterback J.P. Losman is recovering quickly from his knee injury, but the team won't rush him back for Monday night's game after rookie Trent Edwards' impressive debut.