Hearing From An Old Friend: Sidney Rice

No one topic brought more pleasure to his voice than his memories of playing with Favre and what it was like to have him on the Vikings' side after so many seasons with the Packers and one with the New York Jets prior to it.

“That whole season was definitely the most fun I had in my seven-year career," Rice said. "The moment that they brought Brett Favre into the building and the moment we got the news he was coming in...and we had the helicopters flying over the facility, it was pretty exciting. Being able to play with a legend is an amazing thing in itself, but after building and forming a relationship with Brett, he made the game so much more fun. His whole goal was to go out and have fun every single day and this is a guy who had been playing for 19 years previously."

Favre was considered one of the league's best improvisational players of all-time and earned a reputation as someone who specialized in "schoolyard football" where he just made things up as he went along and got guys to make plays. Rice remembers one in particular that caught him off guard, but that worked out stupendously.

"One of my favorite moments was playing in Green Bay his first game back at Lambeau as a Viking," he said. "He called me over to the side when we were in the huddle, and he’s actually drawing a play in the dirt. That was pretty crazy to me. He drew a play up, and it was a run play, and he actually told me what to do. Come down in motion, take one step off the line, and turn and look at him. And I’m like ‘What are you talking about?’ So obviously, I’m not going to not do what Brett Favre tells me to do. So I come down in motion, take a step off the line, look over to the left toward him and the ball's coming at me and it was a first down for 13 yards. It was completely mind-boggling, but those are some of the fun things about that season.”

Of course, there was more than just Favre on the roster as star power with the Vikings. Peterson was the straw that stirred the drink for much of his time wearing a purple uniform and will be considered one of the league's all-time greats at running back when it is all said and done. In a lot of ways, he is the last of a dying breed as someone who could tote the football 30-35 times a game and get stronger as the game went on. Rice was blown away by what he saw from "AD" in their time together in Minnesota and said guys raised their level of play to match his.

“It was absolutely amazing," he said. "Adrian is one of the guys who I can say has the ‘never give up’ attitude. So just being out there on the field with him was an absolute honor and his presence in the huddle made everyone else raise their level of competition and what they were bringing to the table, so someone who is getting the ball 25-35 times a game and still wrecking anything that steps in his way was truly amazing to watch and it was absolutely amazing to be on the field at the same time.”

The Vikings were considered one of the favorites to win it all during that 2009 season, which is not at all unlike the spot that the current iteration of the team in Minnesota is dealing with. His group was unable to get the job done and lost to the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship game, but he was lucky enough to be on a roster in Seattle with the Seahawks that won it all during the 2013 season. Rice would not re-sign with the Vikings after the 2011 campaign and joined the Seahawks for three years before retiring, but he did go out on top.

He named the biggest difference between making a playoff run and getting knocked out and riding things out until the very end and winning a trophy. Some of it was luck, but he also noted a difference in approach with what Pete Carroll preached to his team in Seattle.

“Some things go your way and some things don’t," Rice said. "One of the biggest things about our 2010 playoff run was turnovers and that’s something that’s huge in every single game that you play. And one thing we harped on day-in and day-out in Seattle. They do a wonderful job of preaching the importance of turnovers either on offense or defense. That was the thing that separated...I believe we had six turnovers (in the NFC Championship in 2010), and we were able to limit those mistakes in Seattle (in the 2014 Super Bowl win).”

Rice has not been with the Vikings since the 2010 campaign and has been out of football since 2014, but he still has a pair of teammates from his days with the Vikings still on the team in cornerback Marcus Sherels and defensive end Everson Griffen. He has nothing but glowing things to say about both players, but he singled out Sherels specifically as someone who is a special player and person and an inspiration to players looking to grind their way into a roster spot in the NFL.

“It’s truly amazing (to still have teammates playing for the Vikings). Marcus Sherels is an interesting story because he was an undrafted guy," he said. "I remember when he came in playing cornerback on the scout team and punt return and things like that. He was a guy that definitely put his time and earned his spot on the team, so it’s really, really exciting and a great, positive influential story for young people who don’t get drafted or come into the league and are trying to find your spot out on the field. You just go look at a guy like Sherels and see that if you put in the work, you come to work, he’s not a guy that talked a lot at all, never said much at all, came in and did what he was supposed to do and did what he was asked of by the coaching staff and carried about his business and he has been able to remain around on that team for a very long time now, so it is truly amazing to see.

“(And) Everson has been a beast since he walked in. The attitude about the game and being out on the field and preparing for the game has always been bar-none and that’s a guy who I’m sure will be around there as long as he’s healthy for an even longer period of time.”