After a productive week of practice, he has worked his way back into Haley’s good graces.  Whether he starts tonight is another matter, but it appears that Bowe’s focus and work ethic have improved since he was demoted to third team last week.  Now, he’ll have to carry that improvement to the game if he’s to stay in good favor.

Bowe was one of my players to watch in last week’s game and he was impressive.  He has followed that performance up with a solid week of practices that included time with the first time.  But, if you ask Jason Whitock, being tough on Bowe was the biggest mistake the Todd Haley could have ever made.  In the short term it sure looks like it’s worked out.

But as we know by now, Haley is looking for people that produce at the same level every week instead of “yo-yo” guys.  For Bowe to truly find his way out of the doghouse he needs to have the same type of game he had last week, no matter who is throwing the ball to him.  And then he needs to follow that with a killer week of practices in Kansas City.  Otherwise, we’ll be back on “Bowe-watch” for another two weeks until the season starts.

Late last night the Chiefs unveiled a brand new look over at KCChifes.com.

In addition to vibrant visuals, the new web presence will offer fans access to the first of many new features planned for kcchiefs.com, including the debut of Chiefs 365. A fully interactive, fan-friendly hub of all things Chiefs, Chiefs 365 represents a new social community that features message boards as well as blogs with user-generated video and photo sections.

Fans can also expect to see constantly updated information and several live video feeds hosted on the website every week.  Much of the compelling content is generated by Josh Looney and “Voice of the Chiefs” Mitch Holthus.  Their most recent video blogs from River Falls, Wisconsin, have already given fans an exclusive look at the 2009 Chiefs training camp like never before.  Hours of video are archived at the site and available on demand.

Slick looking site!  The folks at KCChiefs.com really have done an amazing job throughout training camp and it looks like that will carry over into the regular season.  There wasn’t a better job done of covering training camp in River Falls than the one by Josh Looney and I really look forward to what he has planned for the rest of the year.

Sure, the Vikings might have Brett Favre penciled in as their starting quarterback, but that doesn’t mean all of their questions have been answered at the position.

Favre is expected to start, with Jackson replacing him and John David Booty finishing the game.  Another person with knowledge of the situation said Favre would play the first series or two before being replaced.  Rosenfels is expected to rest his injured ankle.

Patience might be the key for the Vikings when deciding which to keep.

As the season nears, other teams might need a quarterback, because of injuries or ineffectiveness, creating a better market.  With three exhibition games remaining, the Vikings would be wise to showcase Jackson and Booty, hoping both play well enough to draw interest.

If they trade Rosenfels, he likely would attract a higher draft pick than Jackson. The Vikings signed Rosenfels, 31, to a two-year, $9 million extension after giving the Houston Texans a fourth-round draft pick in the offseason.

Booty was a fifth-round pick in 2008 and has yet to appear in an NFL regular-season game.

I’m sure Vikings fans right now don’t want to worry about needing their backup quarterback this season, but Favre barely held up last season so Minnesota better make the right call.  Rosenfels was looking like the starter right up until the moment Favre signed so you would think he’d be the one to keep.  But at the same time, Tarvaris Jackson was once seen as the QBOTF and it would kill them if Favre gets hurt and Jackson ends up succeeding elsewhere.

Tamba Hali:

“Really?  That’s nice.”

When he was told Favre was likely to start against the Chiefs, Hali said “Really? Huh.” Then he shrugged and walked away.

Bernard Pollard, who was part of the defense torched by Favre during last year’s Jets game:

“If I can get a free shot on him, I’m going to let him know.  I’m going to pay him back.”

Mike Vrabel on Favre missing training camp:

“It would be a distraction here for someone to show up in the middle of camp,however many two-a-days we had, however many full-padded practices — that’s certainly not what we’d be looking for.  He’s a competitor and I’m sure that’s what is driving him now.  I hope for his sake his body can still match his competitiveness.”

During the Chiefs’ daily running session yesterday, Vrabel was a bit more harsh:

“They got Brett Favre, (Bleep) ’em!”

Brandon Flowers, who got his first two career interceptions against Favre (including a pick six):

“Everybody wants to play against a quarterback like Brett Favre.  Those are games you never forget, when you play against a great quarterback. I  hope he plays.”

Todd Haley:

“He’s one of the great players of all time.  We (Arizona) went up there to the Meadowlands last year and he probably had one of his better games in a long time against us.  So I don’t have fond memories of Brett Favre.”

If Favre takes more than one, three step drop on Friday night I would be surprised.  But if you listen to Pollard, he sure would like to be right up front when Farve takes those steps.  Brett, if I were you, aside from being very rich I would take good care of my knees Friday.

I am absolutely shocked that the NFL Network hasn’t moved Friday’s game from a “replay” at 11pm EST to live at 8pm EST.  TV rules aren’t my thing, so I don’t know the red tape they might have to go through, but it seems like the perfect move.  Instead, while Favre is making his debut for the Vikings, the NFL Network will be showing the first episode of “Making The Squad: Miami Dolphins”.

Earlier today word came that Brett Favre had agreed to sign with the Minnesota Vikings.  Now it appears Favre’s jump right to starting quarterback won’t even wait a day.

Favre is expected to practice with the Vikings today and start in Friday’s home preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Packers coach Mike McCarthy told the Associated Press he wasn’t surprised by Favre’s decision.

“I don’t think anybody should be surprised by it.”

Many felt Favre wanted to play for the Vikings in large part to get revenge on the Packers, whom he felt forced him into retirement. “We always look forward to playing the Vikings,” McCarthy said. “If he’s going to play, that’s obviously his choice.”

Favre’s decision to join the Vikings now — after initially saying he didn’t want to go through the grind of a season — is an indication that he really wanted to avoid the rigors of a two-week training camp and living in a dorm for two weeks.

And now all eyes are squarely on Friday night’s Vikings-Chiefs game.  Yesterday the biggest story lines were how much Dwayne Bowe would work with the first team offense and Tarvaris Jackson fighting for the Vikings starting quarterback position.  Now it’s all Favre all the time, once again.

Matt Cassel, Larry Johnson, Bowe and the rest of the Chiefs will be in Minnesota Friday night, but I promise you no one in the national media will notice.

Brett Favre will come out of retirement (again) and sign a contract with the Minnesota Vikings, according to ESPN.

The deal will pay Favre $12 million this year and $13 million next season.  The contract does not contain performance bonuses.  As a vested veteran, Farve’s salary this season is guaranteed if he is on the opening day roster.

Earlier today, Favre boarded a plane in Mississippi bound for St. Paul, Minnesota.

Oh, Brett…  I wish we could quit you.  That way you might stay retired.

The Chiefs practice the two-minute drill, goal line and short yardage, killing the clock, saving time on the clock, using timeouts effectively.  At least once, usually twice a practice Haley lays out a situation for his team before the start of the drill.

“There are a lot of teams that don’t put a lot of time into it.  I would bet that we’re putting as much if not more time than any team in the league.  There’s a reason for that because I believe it wins or loses games for you.”

It’s been a struggle for some of the players to keep up with the situations, especially the younger guys on the Chiefs roster.  Part of that can be traced to the limited amount of time that college coaches are allowed to spend with players in practice and film study, according to Haley.

“Guys are coming into the league today and they really are not football smart.  The college coaches have a limited amount of time and they have got to dedicate that to game plans and the preparation.  We’ve got ground to make up … we can’t assume with these young guys coming into the league that they know how to handle a situation.  Definitely, there’s a learning curve … I’ve got to have a little patience.  It’s something that’s going to be part of what we do.  We are not going to be one of those teams that beats itself.”

Hmmm, a team that beats itself…  That sounds awfully familiar doesn’t it?  No one knows how quickly the Chiefs will take to the new offensive and defensive schemes, but it’s pretty clear that we won’t see the same fourth quarter collapses they were known for the past two seasons.

Fantasy football drafts are very much underway now and there are still questions surrounding the exact value of Matt Cassel and Larry Johnson.  Jim Rueda breaks down how Todd Haley will impact both players this season.

Will Cassell do for the Chiefs what he did for New England last year?  Will Haley allow Cassel to replicate his 2008 season, in which he completed 327 of 516 passes for 3,693 yards and 21 touchdowns?

If he does, does it mean Larry Johnson’s days as solid No. 1 fantasy running back are officially over?  Does it mean wide receiver Dwayne Bowe now joins the elite pass catchers in fantasy football (assuming he can move beyond third string on his own team’s depth chart)?

I mentioned this on the last episode of The Red & Gold Report and I’ll repeat it here: there aren’t any Chiefs worthy of being a No. 1 fantasy option.  Bowe and Johnson can serve as your second WR or RB but do not draft them expecting more than that.  As for Cassel, it’s not a matter of Haley allowing him to replicate his 2008 season.  He needs to have the tools and that isn’t going to happen until next season at the earliest.

The talk early yesterday coming out of Minnesota was surrounding Tarvaris Jackson trying to fight off Sage Rosenfels for the starting quarterback job.  Then came word that the Favre drama could still be alive and well.

Favre watch is back on.  Vikings players who want to remain anonymous are confirming the news.  One Viking says its already done.  Another apparently says he thinks Favre will be in by the third preseason game.  The Vikings front office has no comment.  Coach Childress has named Tarvaris Jackson to start in their next preseason game with the Kansas City Chiefs with Sage Rosenfels to follow.

Guess I spoke too soon yesterday, when I said about the Jackson-Rosenfels battle: “It’s not as much drama as it would have been if Brett Favre came out of retirement (again) to play for the Vikings.”  Looks like the two Minnesota quarterbacks are now having a Croyle-Thigpen-esque competition.  And it means that ESPN will cover Friday night’s game top-to-bottom with their all-Favre all the time coverage that I was hoping we were finally done with.

“I don’t know why he wants to do it.  What has he played, 18, 19 years?  He’s relatively healthy.  I assume he has all the money he needs.  What made him what he was is what’s inside him, how he loved the game.  To me, he’s picking some teams I don’t understand.  To be in Green Bay all those years and then go to Minnesota, that will arouse a lot of people. … This is a strong rival, not just a rival.”

Dawson played the final 14 years of his 19-year career with the Chiefs, leading Kansas City to the Super Bowl IV victory in the 1969 season.  When asked if he would ever have considered playing for a Chiefs rival such as the Raiders, Broncos or Chargers, Dawson smiled politely and shook his head.

“No, not at all.  I played 19 years and knew that I wasn’t the same quarterback that I was early in my career.  You know, you may be kidding yourself a little, but you know.  He’s not the same quarterback he was in the past. He can’t be. … I had some great years in Kansas City and eventually you have to say, when is enough?  How much is enough?”

Mr. Dawson, that is the million dollar question.  The New York Jets have already cost themselves a season (and a coach) to find out the answer and the Vikings are on the verge of doing the same thing.  I get it: players play, coaches coach, teachers teach, etc.  But at some point you need to realize the game has passed you by and you are not only doing damage to yourself but also the teams you are playing on.  It’s a young man’s game, Brett.  Time to go.