Favre feeling at home in the dome

— Games indoors were often failures for Brett Favre in the early part of his career, particularly when his Green Bay Packers came to Minnesota's deafening dome.

More recently, though, Favre has played better inside than out, and that sure fits well with the Vikings.

Favre will play his first real game at the Metrodome as a member of the home team today when the Vikings take on the unbeaten San Francisco 49ers. The 39-year-old quarterback said he can't wait to crouch behind center and finally be able to function without all those purple-clad fans yelling against him.

"I think it will be awesome," Favre said. "I am looking forward to it, especially after playing the first two games on the road. It will be nice to get back home."

Favre has barely been here a month, but he's already calling Minnesota home.

"From a chemistry standpoint and in the locker room, the newness has worn off," Favre said.

He hasn't completed a pass longer than 21 yards and he's still trying to figure out the fine points of the way his receivers run their routes, but these are the numbers that truly matter: Favre has three touchdown passes, no interceptions and two victories.

"I don't see a guy that rides a roller coaster from week to week," Vikings Coach Brad Childress said. "He's a team guy, and he's a consummate team guy. As he has said to you and said to our team, he's got a history. He's got wins. He's got a Super Bowl ring. He's got money. He's here to win."

San Francisco Coach Mike Singletary, the Hall of Fame middle linebacker whose final year with Chicago was also Favre's first with the Packers, is still getting to know his 49ers as well.

After an embarrassing start last season, Singletary's relentless, grueling attempt to shape his squad into a tough, gritty group just likethose old Bears has begun to reap rewards. The Niners are 7-4 with Singletary in charge, including victories in their first two games of the year, and their 3-4 defense is developing into quite the stingy unit.

Just ask Adrian Peterson. During his fruitful rookie season with Minnesota in 2007, Peterson was held to a careerlow 3 yards on 14 rushes in a game at San Francisco.

"I think our guys understand that we are pretty decent," Singletary said. "We have a long ways to go before we can call ourselves a good football team. It's just a matter of continuing the work ethic, that's all."

The Niners might lead the league in that. They tuned up for the season with a seemingly endless series of twoa-day practice in full pads, a rarity in today's NFL.

"It was by far the toughest training camp I've been through," quarterback Shaun Hill said.

It must have worked for Hill, however, because the late bloomer beat out former first overall draft pick Alex Smith for the job. Hill hasn't thrown an interception yet, and he's improved his career record as a starter to 9-3.

His record through his first five years in the league? 0-0.

Undrafted out of Maryland in 2002 after working his way up to the starting spot there, Hill signed with Minnesota and was the third-stringer behind Daunte Culpepper and a bunch of backups - Todd Bouman, Gus Frerotte, Brad Johnson - for four years.

Hill never threw a pass in a regular-season game for Minnesota and was out of work until June 2006, when he joined the 49ers.

"I had spoke to my agent about possibly plan B. We didn't come up with a good one," Hill said, laughing.

Taking advantage of Smith's struggles and shoulder problem, though, Hillhas seen his patience and education on the sport's most complex position pay off. If he's branded as one of those manage-the-game guys who's mostly asked to hand off, get enough first downs, and stay away from costly turnovers to let the defense go to work, well, Hill can't worry about that.

"Those are things that every quarterback that is going to win needs to do," he said. "I don't know why it's different for me, but I suppose it is. Whatever it takes to get a W, that's all I care to do."

Sports, Pages 33 on 09/27/2009

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