Vikings quarterback Brett Favre raised eyebrows when he recently declared that his current team is the best team on which he ever has played.
The fact that the 2009 Vikings haven’t even qualified for the postseason -- and still might not -- makes it a very bold statement, in light of the accomplishments of the 1996 Packers.
The Super Bowl champion 1996 Packers.
And now some of Favre’s former teammates are sharing their views, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
“To say that the team he’s on now, after seven games, is better than the ’96 team -- that’s just preposterous,” safety LeRoy Butler said. “Not only did we have the No. 1 defense in 1996, but we had No. 1 special teams.”
Butler also takes issue with talk that Favre was the difference-maker for the Packers of the 1990s.
“This is my team. I played 181 games, I was there before Brett, before Reggie White and Ron Wolf and everybody. This team means a lot to me, so when somebody calls up on the radio show: ‘Brett Favre is the one that turned everything around’ -- it’s almost a disrespectful slap in the face.”
Tight end Mark Chmura was more specific. "[I]t all starts with Brett -- Brett’s not as good as he was. . . . They have Adrian Peterson, but I think Chester Taylor is a guy. . . . Our quarterback was 10 times better, our receivers were better, our special teams were much better.
“I mean, you’re talking about the No. 1 defense in the league at that time, maybe one of the best defenses ever to play the game. . . . When we played back then, teams feared us. I don’t know if teams fear the Minnesota Vikings today.”
And so as the Vikings prepare to play at Lambeau Field, coach Brad Childress can thank the ’96 Packers for giving him all the ammo he needs to get his troops fired up to finish their sweep of Favre’s former team.