Packers not shocked by Favre's Minnesota move

By CHRIS JENKINS
AP Sports Writer

GREEN BAY, Wis.(AP) -- Nick Barnett tried. He really did.

But after reciting the preferred company line on Brett Favre's
upcoming comeback with the Minnesota Vikings - they look forward
to playing against any good quarterback, they always enjoy the
Vikings rivalry, blah, blah, blah - one of the Green Bay
Packers' most playful personalities couldn't help himself.

"I think he's a great quarterback, a great guy, a great leader,"
Barnett said. "Would I like to hit him? Hell, yeah, I'd like to
hit him. All these damn practices out here and they didn't let
us hit him."

Then the linebacker really hammed it up, looking directly into
one of the TV cameras stationed around his locker: "I want to
get a nice little shot on you, Brett. I said it. Put it on the
bulletin board."

It looks like Barnett and the Packers will get their chance.

Favre decided Tuesday to end his retirement for the second year
in a row, joining the Vikings in a red practice jersey just
weeks after Minnesota coach Brad Childress said Favre told him
he would stay retired. The latest chapter in Favre's
year-after-year retirement saga didn't exactly send shock waves
through his old stomping grounds of Lambeau Field, given a
summer's worth of rumors linking the former Packers standout
with a move to the rival Vikings.

"I'm not surprised by it," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "I
don't think anybody should be surprised by it."

But McCarthy did his best to avoid being drawn back into an
instant replay of last season's ugly, high-profile divorce
between one of the NFL's flagship franchises and its most
beloved player.

"I have no comment about it," McCarthy said. "We're a football
team that's looking to improve. If he's going to play, that's
obviously his choice."

Packers general manager Ted Thompson also didn't want any part
of the Favre situation, which caused a major distraction during
the Packers' training camp a year ago and lingered on well after
Favre was traded to the New York Jets.

After dodging a few questions about Favre on Tuesday, Thompson
refused to bite on a question about whether it's wise for a team
to tie its fortunes to a player with commitment issues so late
in training camp.

"You guys just try to get me in trouble," Thompson said,
smiling.

One of Favre's few close friends still on the team, veteran
receiver Donald Driver, wasn't looking forward to playing the
Vikings with the man he has called his "brother from another
mother" on the opposite sideline.

"If he's there, I am willing to face him," said Driver, who
spoke with Favre recently but didn't reveal details of the
conversation. "I don't have a choice. I don't have a choice at
all. I'll be ready."

Other players just shrugged it off.

"I don't care about that," cornerback Charles Woodson said.
"It's just another team."

Favre's former teammates acknowledged that he could make the
Vikings better, but said they didn't believe the move would put
their rivals over the top.

"He's a Hall of Famer," Driver said. "But I don't think it's
going to change who's on top of the division. That's our goal is
to be on top of the (NFC) North, and we're not going backward
for anyone. I know what we have over here, and that's a team
that's going to win the NFC North and go to the Super Bowl."

Barnett said the Packers are shaping up as a strong team behind
quarterback Aaron Rodgers, allowing them to mostly ignore Favre.

"Are we concerned with him? Absolutely not," Barnett said.
"We'll be concerned with him when we see him. ... Who cares? I
heard (Michael) Jordan's coming out of retirement, too."

Linebacker Aaron Kampman wasn't providing any bulletin board
material Tuesday, but acknowledged that facing Favre in a game
will be different from facing him in practice.

"The red jersey will be off," Kampman said.