Maybe it’s not fair to wonder whether Favre’s lack of offseason work makes a difference. But skipping work invites these kind of questions. Favre keeps talking about how high the Vikings set the bar last season, and how tough it will be to meet expectations.

He seemed to carry the blame for the loss squarely on his shoulders after the game as he ambled ever so slowly around the locker room.

“There’s three or four throws I missed. I have no excuse,” Favre said. He didn’t want to use his time off as a crutch. “I don’t buy any of that. Those are throws I should have.”

The parallels to the beginning of last season, if anything, are encouraging for the Vikings. Improvement should come. But this is a season with less forgiving schedule and a better team in the rival Packers in the division.

“I feel like we’re further along than last year,” Favre said. “The big talk last year, I remember, was that we couldn’t push the ball down the field. Well … we didn’t have to (early in the year).”

He has to now. This is a Vikings team built around Favre, whether he likes it or not. The offensive line had a decent day Thursday, but has a lot of question marks. The defense can be good, but it’s too much to expect it to be dominant.

To keep up with the Saints and Packers, the Vikings will have to be a high-octane passing attack again. They can’t wait forever for Favre to round into shape.

Both Favre and Childress mentioned after the game that they hoped to see the Saints again — in the playoffs. On Thursday night, after a stillborn offensive performance, that possibility seemed like a long way away.

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