Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre doesn't have a whole lot of "good memories" when he thinks back to playing against fellow Hall of Famer John Randle.
Before Favre signed with the Vikings in 2009 and led them to the NFC Championship game, he built his career with division-rival Green Bay, where he played from 1992-2007 and received nine Pro Bowl nods.
Randle, the Vikings feared defense tackle, played 18 games with Minnesota against Favre, during which he recorded 12.5 sacks of the quarterback.
Prior to last night's Border Battle at U.S. Bank Stadium, Hyundai teamed up with Sunday Night Football to give fans an interaction for the ages. Cameras were set up in a Hyundai to take viewers on a ride-along with Favre and Randle as they reminisced about their time in the NFL together and years of the storied rivalry.
"Now, why on earth would 'good memories' be getting drilled and looking up and having you talking trash – and you were one of the best trash talkers," Favre laughed. "But it was good trash. It wasn't, like, filthy."
Responded Randle: "No, never extreme. What was so unique about it, you were the only quarterback that would talk back."
Matchups between Favre and Randle generated lots of hype. So much so that it sparked Nike to produce a 1998 commercial in which Randle sews a miniature Favre jersey, puts it on a chicken and proceeds to chase the bird around the backyard as practice for tracking the quarterback.
While the chicken may have been a bit of creative embellishment, it turns out Randle did use his opponent's jersey as motivation.
"All I heard about from people was that the tackling dummy had my jersey on it," Favre told Randle during their drive.
Randle confirmed.
"We could be playing Tampa Bay, we could be playing Detroit, and No. 4 stays on [the dummy] the whole season," laughed the defensive tackle.
"I take that as a compliment, I guess," Favre quipped. "I hated you, but I loved you at the same time."
Favre recalled a time Randle thwarted the passer's favorite play.
"We're playing here in Minnesota, it was a play we called 22 Scat Hank," Favre recounted. "I'm under center, and it's a five-step drop; I've got my slot [receiver] running a flat and my two outside guys running curls. Well, I get to three steps and I get hit by you. I'm on the ground, I get up, and you're talking trash – 'It's gonna be a long day,' whatever. And I'm thinking, 'Yeah, I already know that, John.' "
Randle estimated by memory that he had sacked Favre "12 or 13 times," nearly hitting the exact number on the head. He told Favre he didn't want him to be comfortable moving around the pocket.
"And it worked," Favre said. "How many times does the defensive line make a player uncomfortable? If they had a stat for that, you would rank No. 1."
Randle thanked Favre for the kind words, playing nice with his former enemy years after giving him nightmares.
"I'll tell you what, though. If I was a quarterback, I'd want to play like Brett Favre," Randle said.
Added Favre with a chuckle: "Well, that makes all those sacks feel much better."
