Henderson, a 2008 draft pick out of Maryland, had played in only one other game this year before suiting up against the Bengals this weekend to fill in on special teams for the injured Karl Paymah.  He made his presence felt by recovering a Darius Reynaud fumble at a point when a turnover might’ve given Cincinnati hope.

And now he will spend the rest of the regular season, and the Vikings‘ first playoff game, watching from the sidelines, without being paid.

The last Viking to be suspended for such a violation was Ray Edwards, who missed four games in 2007.  Of course, Kevin and Pat Williams had been set to be suspended last season for taking a banned substance, but the courts intervened, and those players have still not been punished for that particular incident (nor does it look like they ever will).

Henderson’s loss will not affect the linebacker rotation, but does leave Brad Childress with one less option on special teams, in the event of an injury.  Can you say “dumb ass?”

This is not only good news for the Vikings defense, it is great news.  The secondary has been shaky at best without Winfield, who is both the team’s best cover corner and its best run support guy among the DBs.  Winfield’s healthy return would buttress a unit that has been a source of great concern for Vikings coaches and fans the last few weeks.

I’m sure Antoine himself is champing at the bit to get back out…especially knowing that, if he makes it back for this weekend, he will be facing Matthew Stafford, who threw five picks in yesterday’s loss to the lowly Seahawks.

Then again, considering what a dogcrap team the Lions are, maybe the Vikes would be better off letting Antoine rest for one more week.  We can endure one more week of Karl Paymah and Asher Allen, if it means Antoine comes back even stronger.

1.  I don’t know if the emotion of the homecoming helped Brett Favre, but it certainly didn’t hurt him.  One thing’s for sure:  Brett likes playing against the Packers.  In his two games against them this year, he is 41-for-59 with 515 yards, 7 TDs and no picks.  2 of his 3 highest QB rating games are against the Packers (the other was against Baltimore).  And it’s not like you can just chalk it up to familiarity with the Packers team either:  they’re playing a different defense now than the one they had when he was there.  The main problem for the Pack against Favre has been the lack of pass rush.  You just can’t give that guy so much time.  If you let him stand in the pocket, he will pick apart your defense; doesn’t matter if he knows your players, knows your system or hates your GM.

2.  Go ahead teams – keep game-planning to stop Adrian Peterson first.  Keep bringing up extra men.  Keep keying on him.  He is still among the league leaders in yards, is still getting his touchdowns, and now he’s a legit threat catching the ball out of the backfield.  Oh, and he’s not fumbling anymore.  And, in case you didn’t notice, we’re 7-1.  So suck it.

3.  Percy Harvin had his best all-around game of the season, catching 5 balls for 84 yards and a touchdown (an assist on the touchdown to the Packers DBs for knocking each other out of the play), and helping set the Vikes up in great field position with two long kick returns.  Is he the rookie of the year?  I don’t know.  I do know that he is a serious, big-time weapon.  He has good hands, great speed, fantastic YAK ability and isn’t afraid to deliver the blow.  And being sick during the week doesn’t seem to affect him during games.

4.  The line of demarcation between good Vikings defense and poor Vikings defense was glaringly obvious.  When their front-4 is getting mad pressure, they are a great defense.  When their front-4 isn’t getting that much pressure, they are a weak, even porous defense.  Thankfully, Jared Allen and Ray Edwards were both dominating for long stretches of the game, and that was enough to keep the Packers from piling on the points.  Obviously, the Packers have a good QB and some nice receivers, and are going to get their yards and touchdowns.  The Vikings made enough plays when they needed to.

5.  Brad Childress can drive you nuts sometimes.  Late in the first half, he elects to go for it on fourth down instead of taking the field goal, and AD (who – memo to everyone – is NOT A GREAT SHORT YARDAGE BACK) gets stuffed.  So, Vikings get the ball back with a little over two minutes left, and instead of showing that same bulldog instinct, Chilly goes into his usual run the clock down, take the 3 and go into halftime mode (for which Troy Aikman and Howie Long both blasted him).  I’m not entirely certain what is going through Chilly’s mind, but, he has this bizarre, infuriating tendency to play it safer and safer the closer he gets to the half.  I think there might be some kind of childhood issue at play here.  I know he likes playing dress-up more than a normal man.  Dude’s head is full of snakes.

6.  At first I was amused by Packer fan bitterness, but now I’m actually worried for them.  I live in Wisconsin, so I know how such emotions can quickly turn into destructiveness, especially when alcohol enters the mix.  The whole state needs therapy.

7.  Brian Robison hasn’t done much this year.  I’m afraid that, if we remember him for anything, it will be the fumble that let the Packers back into the game.  He is officially the third-biggest knucklehead on the defense, behind Benny Sapp and Ray Edwards.  And speaking of Benny Sapp:  yeah, he had a nice game again, made a huge play batting down a pass late; but would someone please get hold of that young man and tell him to stop almost getting in fights, especially when we’re winning?

8.  I have come to the conclusion that Asher Allen and Karl Paymah both suck equally.  Thankfully, I think Antoine Winfield will be back after the bye, certainly after the Lions game.  And that’s good, because the less Allen/Paymah get on the field, the better the defense will be.

9.  Do the Vikings need to consider rotating defensive linemen more to keep guys fresh?  I ask because it seems like Jared Allen and Kevin Williams are fading as the game goes on.  Oh, and while we’re on the subject of K-Will:  Is there a better lineman in the league when it comes to batting/tipping/deflecting balls?  Those plays are as big as sacks and run-stuffs in the backfield, if you ask me.

10. John Sullivan says it was his fault that ball got snapped before Favre was ready.  Did he really need to tell us?

Bonus: Johnny Jolly, I thank you for being an idiot.