This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Vikings 2009 season, during which longtime rival quarterback Brett Favre donned a Purple jersey.
In his first of two seasons with Minnesota, Favre was 363-of-531 passing for 4,202 yards, 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions for a career-high passer rating of 107.2.
Among Favre's most memorable games as a Viking was his trip to Lambeau Field, where he led Minnesota to a 38-26 win over his former team.
The matchup was recently pegged by SB Nation's Charles McDonald as **the “best NFL revenge game” in the past 25 years**. McDonald wrote:
Joining the Packers longtime NFC North rival guaranteed that Favre would be returning to Green Bay during the regular season.
[…]
In Week 8, Favre got his chance to show the Packers he could still play at a high level — and he did just that. Favre obliterated the Green Bay defense on his way to four touchdowns, three of which came in the second half to put the game away.
[…]
In two wins against the Packers that season, Favre threw seven touchdowns, zero interceptions, completed 69.4 percent of his passes, and [he wasn't] sacked a single time. Revenge doesn't get sweeter than that.
Favre's game against the Packers topped a list of seven "revenge games" highlighted by McDonald. Click **here** to see the complete lineup.
Coller: RB Mike Boone a 'wild card' for Vikings offense
The Vikings roster heading into next week's minicamp has a full running backs room with seven, including two fullbacks.
SKOR North's Matthew Coller took a look at one specific player in the position group: Mike Boone, who joined the Vikings last spring as a rookie free agent. Coller **called Boone a “wild card” in Minnesota’s offense** and wrote the following:
With veteran Latavius Murray exiting in free agency, the Vikings only experienced running back behind Dalvin Cook is Ameer Abdullah, who is likely to be the team's kick returner. The Vikings used a third-round draft pick on a bigger, more powerful runner in Alexander Mattison. They left the door open for Boone to win a gig as Cook's replacement in case of injury and as a versatile offensive weapon.
Coller quoted Boone, who said Tuesday that he's developed a better grasp of the game mentally.
"Learning concepts and structures of defense," Boone said. "Coming out of college they touch on that stuff but not as much [as] here. [Vikings running backs coach Kennedy Polamalu] is a great coach; he does a great job of understanding patterns, and that helps us play faster. I feel like I'm great in that area."
Early in Boone's college career he showed a high level of potential, averaging 6.4 and 7.2 yards per attempt in 2014 and 2015, respectively, but his production dipped over his final two seasons and teams passed over him despite his raw physical gifts. He said the Gary Kubiak outside zone running scheme is a fit for his talents.
"We trickled it in a little bit with college; we were mainly in between the tackles in my years," Boone said. "I feel like I have a good amount of speed and athleticism, [and] everybody in the running back room feels the same way about themselves. Outside zone allows us to get free and run a little bit; it feels good."
View images from the Vikings eighth OTA practice on June 4 at the TCO Performance Center.
Dennis Ryan celebrates 40 years with Vikings
June 1 marked 40 full-time years on the job for Vikings equipment manager Dennis Ryan.
Ryan has earned the respect and friendship of countless players and coaches over the years, earning the descriptor, "**the hardest-working man in show business**."
KSTP's Darren Wolfson **recently caught up with Ryan**, who is the Vikings longest-tenured everyday staffer (others, including Hall of Fame Coach Bud Grant, hold consultant roles).
"I've been very fortunate to be doing what I do, to be blessed with good health and enjoy the activity on the field on game day, always being on the move," Ryan told Wolfson. "I've really enjoyed the journey."
Ryan recalled one anecdote that occurred shortly after he started helping the team on a part-time basis as a 16-year-old:
"I remember my third day. It was breaking camp in Mankato," Ryan told Wolfson. "I helped the team move down to Mankato in 1975, and we went to move the team back to Midway Stadium. I was assigned to get the playbooks out of Bud Grant's room, so I went to the room and picked up the box and the bottom fell out and the playbooks went everywhere and Bud was standing directly behind me.
"I was just a kid in awe of Bud. Years later, I realized Bud set the whole thing up," he added with a laugh.
