No, Bus Cook is not getting a tryout with the Vikings.  Though I have to admit that would be hilarious.

Actually, the guy getting the work-out today is none other than former Packer and Favre teammate Javon Walker.

When last we saw Mr. Walker, he was warming the bench in Oakland.  In his two years there, he caught only 15 balls.  To find his last decent season, you have to go back to 2006 with Denver, when he caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards.

Of course, Walker’s greatest year was in 2004 as a member of the Packers, when Favre threw to him 89 times for 1,382 yards and 12 TDs.

Now, at age 31 – is that all he is? – Walker is hoping for one more chance, with a team that boasts a Hall-of-Fame quarterback and a receiver corps that’s falling apart faster than a Gob Bluth magic show.

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In his latest media statement, given to a Hattiesburg TV reporter outside a high school, Brett spoke about two matters of pressing concern:  The Men’s Journal article where Bus Cook apparently ripped him, and his weight.

The summary:  Brett says Bus was only joking when he ranted about him being a drama queen, and indicates that he did not appreciate Men’s Journal taking Bus’ jesting remarks out of context and using them to brew up a controversy.  Also, Brett says he’s put on 14 pounds since January.  And that’s not 14 pounds of ankle-swelling either.

And now the video, for those who enjoy watching the Silver Fox do his Silver Fox thing:

Yes, Brett is talking a lot lately.  But he has still not said the words Brad Childress and Vikings fans long to hear.

He’s kind of a jerk that way, I don’t know if you’ve noticed.

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Though the injuries aren’t nearly as bad as those sustained by, say, many victims of the Haiti earthquake, they are still pretty nasty, and serve as a stark reminder of exactly how violent and potentially damaging football can be.

I have a funny feeling, however, that Brett and Bus weren’t simply motivated by a desire to educate the public about the perils of being an NFL quarterback.  There was a specific public relations purpose behind the release of these photos.

I’m not sure exactly what that purpose might have been, but I suspect it had something to do with answering the people who’ve been hammering Favre for the terrible play he made at the end of the title game, the one that cost the Vikings a chance at going to the Super Bowl.

The criticism of Favre there isn’t just that he threw the interception, but that he appeared to have enough open field in front of him to run for a few yards instead, and give Ryan Longwell a realistic shot at a game-winning field goal. The bruise pictures may, then, be a direct reply to the people who are grumbling because Favre didn’t run.

“See how bad his leg was?” the pictures say.  “Now do you think he still should’ve run?”

Actually, yes, I think he still should’ve run.

Even on a bad leg, he could’ve limped three or four yards and then gone out of bounds.  Maybe that wouldn’t have given the Vikings enough yards to get the field goal, but it still would’ve been better than attempting an impossible throw across his body, one that ended up being intercepted.

The last I looked, a difficult field goal attempt was still preferable to not having the ball at all.

So no Brett, your Tila Tequila-like photo release has not caused me to change my mind or forgive you for your idiot mistake.  Maybe if you’d released a photo showing your skull dented in, I would’ve believed a severe head injury and not your usual cowboy complex was to blame for that moronic attempted pass.

Besides, I’m sure you’ve played games where you were equally banged up, and still made plays.  Hell, you made plenty of plays against the Saints after taking all those hits.  The problem is, when you were called upon to make that one last vital play, you failed miserably, taking the hopes and dreams of Viking fans down with you.

Nice sympathy-grab, but I’m not buying it.